iwi"i!ii  «»iari«ii«iiti 


UNIvER;>lTY  CF 
V^ALIFORNIA 


3VNTlTOOPOLOG3f  LIBRARY 


LIBRARY 

OF  THF 

University  of  California. 

GIFT    OF 

Uen  .  Chas,  ii,  Greewlsaf 
Class 


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PANORAMA 


OF 


NATIONS; 

OR, 

JOURNEYS  AMONG  THE   FAMILIES  OF  MEN: 

A  DESCRIPTION  OF  THEIR 

Homes,   Customs,    Habits,    Employments    and   Be- 

LiEEs;  Their  Cities,  Temples,  Monuments, 

Literature  and   Fine  Arts. 


H.  G.  Cutler, 

>\ 

Author  of  "The  Grimms,"  and  Contributor  to  the  Magaztne 
OF  AMERiCAN  History; 

AND 

L.  W.  Yagoy,    M.  S., 

Author  of  "Yaggv's  Graphic  Record,"  "  Yaggy's  Anatomical  Study,"  "Yaggy's 

Geographical  Study,"  "Museum  of  Antiquity,"  "Royal  Path 

OF  Life,"  "Our  Home  Counselor,"  "  Little  Gems." 


IT.LIJSTRATED.  ^^^T^Xr^ 

f^'      Of    THE 

(  UNIVERSITY 


STAR  publishing  COMPANY, 

CHICAGO, 

1892. 


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Rntered  according  to  Act  ol  Congress,  in  the  year  1888,  by 

WK.SFKHN    I'll  IfLlSH  I  NU    HOUSE, 

Id  Uie  Ollicc  ut'  tUu  Librarian  of  Congress,  Washington,  D.  (X 


<e- 


-^PKEFACE. 


14— j-—;;:- 


In  making  our  "  five  great  journeys  "  over  the  world,  as  the  reader  o{ 
our  book  will  have  done,  the  aim  has  been  to  picture  life  from  the 
human  standpoint,  the  frame  work  being  the  surrounding  conditions, 
such  as  striking  physical  features  of  a  country,  grand  ruins  and 
magnificent  buildings.  The  idea  has  been,  however,  to  follow  no  plan 
in  a  cast-iron  way,  but  to  seize  upon  the  salient  points  of  a  people's 
character,  as  evinced  by  their  dress,  home  life,  religion,  superstitions 
and  government,  and  whether  savage  or  civilized,  present  them  so  that 
the  good  and  bad  will  both  appear.  When  the  traveler  commences  to 
make  the  rounds  of  European  and  American  countries,  he  has,  of 
course,  left  far  behind  him  the  civilization  of  Africa,  Polynesia  and  Asia. 
The  contrasts  and  peculiarities  of  human  life  do  not  stand  out  in  such 
bold  relief  as  among  the  ancient  and  savage  families  of  mankind  ;  little, 
in  fact,,  can  be  said  which  would  throw  any  new  light  upon  the  habits  of 
people  whose  ways  are  open  to  the  world.  In  a  certain  sense,  also, 
private  life  is  secondary  to  governments,  literature,  art,  industry,  com- 
merce and  mechanics.  European  and  American  races  —  that  is,  the 
more  advanced  —  are,  as  the  centuries  go  by,  coming  to  have  general 
traits  of  character  ;  for  their  civilization  is  substantially  the  same.  But 
their  literatures,  their  modes  of  political  development,  their  rivers, 
mountains  and  valleys,  and  their  public  and  national  works,  are  the 
points  of  contrast  which  appear  to  be  especially  a  part  of  the  Indo-Euro- 
pean order  of  things. 

The  plan  which  has  been  pursued  in  taking  our  journeys,  and  pre- 
senting the  different  scenes  which  form  the  "  Panorama  of  Nations,"  is 
to  first  follow  the  emigration  of  the  Semitic,  Ethiopic  and  Nigritic  races 
into  Africa  tracing  their  course  down  the  Nile  and  the  eastern  coast  of 
the  continent ;  to  sketch  the  lives  of  the  people  of  southern,  central, 
western  and  northern  Africa,  as  they  are  found  grouped  in  ethnological 
families.  It  often  happens,  as  in  the  case  of  Africa,  that  geographical 
and  political  divisions  conform  to  distinct  races  and  tribes,  viz.:  Southern 
Africa  is  the  home  of  the  Zulu  Caffres,  Lower  Guinea  of  the  Congo 
Caffres,  and  Upper  Guinea  and  Soudan  of  the  negroes  ;  yet,  invariably, 
we  have  been  careful  to  show  how  the  geographical  division,  the  country 

218920 


I^  I'RKKACE. 

or  the  state,  is  fouiulecl  upon  the  race  or  tribe,  and  that  the  fortunes  of 
uar  and  the  advance  or  retreat  of  the  world's  famihes,  are  all  that  deter- 
mine political  boundaries. 

i-Voni  Africa  we  have  gone  to  the  islands  of  the  Indian  and  Pacific 
oceans,  sailincr  from  the  Malay  peninsula  to  Madagascar,  and  taking 
peeps  into  Borneo,  Sumatra,  Java;  have  visited  the  cannibals  of  the 
Feejee  Islands,  the  Sandwich  Islanders,  the  Papuans  of  New  Guinea, 
the  Australians  and  many  other  tribes  of  less  importance.  In  the  islands 
of  the  sea,  as  on  the  African  continent,  we  find  savage  life  vainly  oppos- 
ing itself  to  civilization,  and  either  furiously  going  down  before  it  or 
dying  a  lingering  death. 

The  third  journey  is  taken  through  the  countries  of  the  "land 
tribes,"  in  contrast  to  those  of  the  ocean.  Starting  again  from  Asia 
among  the  Tartars,  we  range  over  a  tremendous  expanse,  following  the 
streams  of  Tartar  and  Mongol  blood  to  the  Arctic  Ocean,  in  Europe, 
and  the  Arctic  Ocean  in  Asia,  across  Behring  Strait  and  the  North 
American  continent  into  Greenland.  The  countless  tribes  of  the  Rus- 
sian Empire,  and  the  Esquimaux  of  both  hemispheres  are  now  in  the 
'kaleidoscope."  Next,  during  the  same  mighty  journey,  the  Indians  of 
the  y\mericas  are  passed  in  review. 

Returning  to  Asia  for  a  fourth  time,  the  interesting  task  is 
before  us  of  going  among  the  ancient  Hindus,  the  Indo-Chinese  and 
the  Japanese,  and  "shaking  up  the  Asiatic  civilization  generally."  We 
do  not  greatly  bother  ourselves  whether  the  billions  of  people,  among 
whom  we  are  moving,  had  their  origin  in  Asia  Minor,  or  the  continent  of 
Lemuria,  which  is  now  said  to  be  under  the  ocean.  We  tell  what  we 
see,  with  sufficient  historical  information  to  make  it  intelligible. 

From  Turkey  in  Asia  the  fifth  journey  lies  over  all  of  Europe  and 
across  the  ocean  to  the  United  States. 

Before  we  close  we  would  tender  our  sincere  thanks  to  the  authors, 
both  in  luu'ope  and  America,  who  have  greatly  aided  us  in  this 
work.  Many  of  ihc  engravings  arc  taken  from  the  greatest  v/orks  ot 
German,  French  and  I^nglish  artists,  while  others  were  produced  with 
the  utmost  fidelity  by  our  own  special  artist. 


_*«...'0'.  ■   ^.fc. 


.,.^:^iC^|^>>;^,,. 


^CONTENTS. If 


FIVK  GRKAT  JOURNBYS. 


JOURNEY  NO.  I. 

A  BiRTH-PLACE  OF  RACES. 

(PuBC   17.) 

The  Plain  of  Mesopotamia— Floods  of  People  Which  Poured  from  it — Ruins  of  Assyrian  Grandeur— t 
Nineveh  and  Babyloa — The  Tower  of  Babel  Located — A  Journey  Toward  Egypt — The  Sues 
Canal  but  an  Ancient  Work. 

THE   EGYPTIANS. 

(I'agt-   ,8.) 

The  Copts,  or  Ancient  Inhabitants — The  Priests,  Clerks  and  Scholars  of  the  Land — The  Coptic 
Religion  and  Churches — The  Nile  and  its  Rise — Record  of  the  Niloraeter — Uarvests  and  Harvesters 
— The  Fellaheen — A  Day  in  tlieir  Huts — Gliding  up  the  Nile — A  Panorama  of  the  Land  of  Kuins 
A^loug  the  Way — Bedouins  and  their  Villages— At  the  Last  Cataract. 

THE   NUBIANS. 

(Page  37.) 

The  Gate  to  Nubia —  The  God  of  the  Nile  — Scenes  Along  the  Way — Nubian  Stragglers  and 
Their  Appearance — Nubia's  Aborigines,  the  Savage  Shangallas — In  the  Jungle  with  a  Hunter — 
Good  Traits — Omens  and  Superstitions — A  Terror  to  Abyssinian  Travelers — Another  Native 
Tribe,  the  Dongolese — Old  Dongola  and  the  Faithful  Priest — Dongolese  Manufactures  and  Agri- 
culture. 

THE  ABYSSINIANS. 

Grand  Table-Lands  and  Mountains  of  Ancient  jSthiopia — A  Military  Nation — The  Ras.  or  Com- 
mander in-Chief  and  his  Drummers — His  Troops  on  Parade  and  in  Action — The  Laws  of  the 
Kingdom — Plaintiff  and  Defendant,  Prisoner  and  Guard  Chained  Together — Blood  Feuds,  Coptic 
Curiosities — Boudda  Doctors — Hardy  Farmers  and  .Merchants — Their  Oppressions. 

THE  GALLAS. 

(Page  73.) 

With  the  '  Tartars  of  Africa  —A  Dash  at  the  Abyssinian  Army — Warriors  and  their  Horses — A 
Chiefs  Idea  of  Life — The  Galla  at  Home — A  Fair  Land — His  Houses,  and  Wives,  and  Ways — 
Off  Again  to  Battle — His  Omens — Galla  Surgeons  and  their  Feats — Republics  of  the  Gallas — 
Slaves  Treated  as  Equals — How  Transgressors  arc  Punished. 

EAST  AFRICANS. 

(Page  81.) 

Coast  Tribes  of  the  People  of  Zanzibar — Their  Unfriendliness  to  Travelers — Zanzibar  and  the  Slave 
Trade— Suspicious  Natives— The  Sultan's  Residence — Across  the  Island  to  a  Unique  Tribe - 
The  Original  Inhabitants— Their  Chiefs  Waiul  of  Ollice. 

MOZAMBIQUE. 

(P.ige  i?.) 

The  Seat  of  an  Ancient  Kingdom — Cattle  Better  Than  Gold — Remnants  of  the  Native  Empire  Along 
the  Zambesi  River — A  Kingdom  Where  Women  Have  More  Than  Their  Rights — Economical 
Graves— Tribes  With  Clothes  and  Tribes  Without  Clothes,  Side  bv  Side— Men  Who  Leave  Orna- 
mentation to  the  Women. 

ZULU   CAFFRES. 

(Pace   U5.I 

Personal  Characteristics —    Dancing  and  Courting   —Live  Birds  for  Ornaments — A  Cruel  Barber — 
Married  Life   — Wife- Whipping  by  Proxy — The  Caffres'  Good  Traits—  Superstitions  — Aiding 
the  Poor  and  Helping  the  Sick — ^Going  for  the  Doctor — A  Native  Physician — Rain-Makers — 
Their  Failures  and  Successes —    Zulu  Warfare   — Playing  With  Shot  and  Shell — Entire  Negli- 
gence of  Family  Duties,  Under  Defeat. 


VI  CUiN  TENTS. 

BECHUANAS  AND  HOTTENTOTS. 

Superiority  of  the  Former— Extent  of  Their  Power—  Tlie  Bushmen  —Tribal  Slaves— Warfare  cf 
the  Bechuanas— Pitiful  Plight  of  the  Slaves- A  Bushinan  Hunt- Williholdiiig  Products  of  the 
Chase — Bushmen  of  the  Mountains —  South  African  Aborigines,  the  Hottentots — Servants  and 
Cattlemen — Their  Character — European-Bechuanan  Civilization — Tribes  of  Southwestern 
Africa  —  Scattered  Tribes  of  Central  Africa— Large  Towns  and  Manufacturing  Villages — 
Courts  of  Justice— Good  Clothes  and  "Caste"  in  Society— A  Stanch  Native  Kingdom  in  the 
Midst  of  Foreign  Colonists. 

THE  CONGO  CAFFRES. 

Ancient  Kingdoms  of  Congo—  Fetich  Worship  — The  Great  Spirit  and  "  Its"  Uses— The  Spirit  of 
the  Woods— A  Feminine  Retaliation— Detecting  Witchcraft— The  Red-Water  Ordeal— How  They 
Treat  the  Dead  —  Rights  of  Property — A  Sweeping  Revenge — Coast  and  Interior  Tribes  — 
Their  DilTerent  Habits — Bringing  Ivory  to  the  Coast — The  King  of  Congo  Inviting  Homage — 
Native  States — Their  Peculiarities. 

THE  SENEGAMBIANS  (NEGROES). 

(r..ge  1 57-) 

The  Jalofs,  or  Kigritian  Aristocrats — The  Foulahs  and  Fellatahs — Their  Great  Empire  in 
Soudan — Its  Fragments — Warriors  as  Well  as  Scholars — The  Mandingoes  — Combining  Busi- 
ness with  Religion — The  Most  Zealous  Merchants  and  Mohammedans  of  Africa — Tribal  Arbi- 
trators— True  Negroes,  in  Certain  Traits  of  Character. 

NEGROES  OF  UPPER  GUINEA, 

(Page  ,f-3  ) 

Fetich  Upon   Fetich — Superstitions  of  the    Negroes — Driving  Evil  Spirits  from  a  Town — Fourth 
of  July  Funerals  —  Coast  Tribes  and  Kingdoms — The  Sailors  of  Africa  —  Scenes  on  the  Grain 
Coast —   Ashanti    —    Dahome}'     — Kings  with  Thousands  of  Wives — Human  Sacrifices — Ama- 
zonian Warriors  —  Serpent  AVorship  —  A  Native  Republic —  How  it  Nearly  Crushed  Dahomey — 
The  States  of  Soudan,    Bornoo  and  Begharmi — Their  Iron-Clad  Cavalrymen. 

THE   BERBERS.  ' 

(Page   iSi.) 

The  Touaricks,  or  Bandits  of  the  Desert— Their  Skill  in  Striking  Water— A  Warrior  on  His  Great 
Dromedary —  Republic  of  the  Seven  Cities  — Founding  a  Commonwealth  in  the  Sahara — 
Artificial  Oases — The  Mozabitcs — Their  Sacred  and  Their  Military  Cities,  Founded  upon  Rocks — 
Mild  Laws — People  Who  Return  to  Their  Desert  Homes  to  Die  —  The  Wareglas  — A  Singular 
People — Their  Immense  Date  Oases — Deposing  Their  Ruler. 


JOURNEY  NO.  2. 

THE   MALAYANS. 

(Page    ,yi.) 

Spread  of  the  Race  Over  tlie  Islands  of  the  Oceans— The  Madagascan  Malayans  —  The  Two 
Tribes  —  Madagascan  Slavery — -Vncient  History  —  The  Tribes  and  Their  Chiefs—  Degrad 
ing  the  Court  — The  Queen  and  Her  Government —  The  Queen's  Capital  —Christian  Persecu- 
tions—The Twelve  Sacred  Cities — Burning  of  the  Idols — The  Benefit  of  No  Roads  — 
Wonderful  Embankments  —  Rice  Culture  —  Madagascar  Markets — A  Conquered  Rice  Province 
—  Hou.ses  and  Clothes —  The  Queen  Appears  — Borneo  Malayans — The  Dyaks  — Marriages 
and  Funerals  —  Other  People  and  Other  Kingdoms— Those  of  the  Land  and  of  the  Sea— A  Bor- 
neo Forest —  An  Independent  English  State  —  i\Ii.\ed  Population — Sumatra  Malayans  —  A  Once 
Great  Kingdom  —  Natural  and  Political  Divisions  — Village  and  Home  Life  — Acheen,  the 
Native  State— Cannibals  and  Mechanics —An  Engineering  Feat — Rice  and  Sugar  Cane —Buffalo 
vs.  European  —  The  Javanese  —Houses  and  People  —  Sports — Female  Fashions — Reniains 
of  Ancient  Religions— The  Timorese  —The  Commercial  Tribes  — Philippine  Islanders  — The 
Bughis  or  Commercial  Tribe  of  the  Indian  .Vrchipelago. 


CONTENTS.  VII 

THE   POLYNESIANS. 

(Page  235.1 

The  Feejee  Canoibals  —Their  Grim  Chiefs  and  Awful  Appetites—  The  Tongese  —  High  Toned 
Society  —Society  High  and  Low— Royal  Keforin  — The  Old  and  the  New— A  Tattooed 
Warrior  — Houses  and  Mats— Home  Manufactures  — The  Samoans— The  Old  Party  and  the 
New— Lovers  of  Flowers— Tahitian  Idols  — War  Charms— Savage  Marcpiesans- The  Ilawai 
inns  — The  New  Zealanders— How  European  Customs  are  Killing  Them. 

THE    PAPUANS. 

(Page  =55.) 

Race  Characteristics  — Mental  Contrasts  — Dress  and  Ornaments  — Coa.st  and  Mountain  Tribes— 
The  Government— Their  Idol  and  Fetiches—  DukDuk  Dancers  —Feeding  tlie  Dead  — Weap- 
ons and  Boats— Trepang  and  Pearl  Fishing— Ways  of  the  Trader— Social  Kegulations  — 
Pirates  and  Coast  Tribes— House.';- The  Philippine  Negritos  — Revenge  upon  the  Malayans  — 
Homeless  Vagabonds  — The  E.vtinct  Tasmanians  — The  Semangs— How  they  Capture  the  Ele- 
phant and  Rhinoceros— Papuan  Blood  Sprinkled  Over  the  Isles  of  the  Pacific. 

THE   AUSTRALIANS. 

(P;,Se   .;,,  ) 

Natural  Obstacles  to  a  Better  Acquaintance  With  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Interior  Tribes  — The  Great 
Inland  Flood  Breeder— Interior  Savages  — Native  Superstitions  — How  They  Look  — The 
Mode  of  Using  the  Boomerang  — After  His  Food  — Native  Dances  —  Mysteries  of  the  "Bora" 
—  Burial  Customs— Eating  Favorite  Children— Spirits  of  the  Woods  and  ".Tumped  Up  White 
Men"— Using  Skulls  for  Drinking  Cups— An  Australian  Cowboy  —A  Dying  Race— Intem- 
perance and  Disease  Extinguishing  tue  Native  Population—  On  the  War  Path  —  Aboriginal 
vs.  Squatter— Australian  vs.  Australian— A  Native  Boy's  Cool  Jlurder  of  His  Mother— The 
Native  Police— Jlischievous  Feasts  of  Flesh,  Fish  and  Fowl— Their  Results- Civilized  Aus- 
tralia— ^England  in  Australia. 


JOURNEY  NO.  5. 

THE  TARTARS. 

(P.ii;.-  3. J,, I 

Turkestan,  the  Ancient  Home  of  the  Turks— Now  it  is  the  Country  of  the  Tartars— The  Settled 
Population  — A  Great  BattleGround  of  Rices— The-  Nomads  —The  Kerghez,  Children  of  the 
Steppes— How  they  Look,  Dress  and  Live— Tiieir  Beliefs  and  Superstitions— The  Civilized 
Uzbecks,  Who  Govern  the  Rest— The  Way  in  Which  They  do  it— Relation  of  the  Native  Gov- 
ernment to  Russia— Siberian  Calmucks— Homeliest  People  in  the  AVorkl— Sliamanism,  or  Spirit 
Worship— Lamaism,  or  ths  C  irrupted  Buddliism— S):uething  About  the  People  of  Mongolia,  or 
Chinese  Tartary— How  They  are  Incorporated  into  the  Great  Empire,  etc.,  etc. 

THE  ARCTICS. 

iPiiSe  3=1  ) 

People  who  Dwell  in  the  Frozen  World  of  Asia,  America  and  Europe— A  Grand  Mi.xture  of  Tartars 
and  Mongols— Tlie  Samoyeds  —Formerly  a  Great  Nation- Now  Split  into  Two  Widely  Sepa- 
rated Tribes—  How  They  Dress  —How  They  Live— What  They  Eat— Att  Insight  into  Their 
Ways  of  Thought—  Shamanism  and  its  Impostor  of  a  Priest  —The  Ostiacks  and  Vog\ils 
—  Fishing  and  Hunting  — Their  Idolatry —  Native  Honesty  — The  Finns  —The  Cleanly 
Native  — Saving  a  Language  — An  Ancient  City  — The  Lapps  —A  Matter-of-Fact  People  — 
A  Religious  Mi.xture  — Sea-Coast  and  Jlountain  Lapps— A  Lapp  School  and  Church  —  Towards 
Behring  Str.ait— The  Buriats  —The  Good  of  Lamaism  —  The  Lama  and  Shaman  —  The  Holy 
Sea  — The  Yakuts  —A  Horse-Eating  People  — Yakut  Manufacturers- The  Yakuts' City  — 
'■  Fallen  Stars"— The  Tungoo.ses  —A  Native  Huntsman- Mounting  the  Reindeer— Trapping 
and  Eating— Amoor  River  People— The  Kamlehadales  —A  Kamtchadale  Village— Winter 
and  Summer  Huts— Wonderful  Runs  of  Sal ■nou— The  True  Hyperboreans  —  Over  Behring 
Strait  into  America— The  Escjuimaux  —  Doctors  Disagree  —The  Truth  About  Color— Uni- 
formity of  Language— An  Esquimaux  Costume— How  the  Women  Cradle  Their  Babies— Their 
Skill  in  Sewing— The  Esquimaux.Pride- The  Jlen  as  Sculptors— Ingenious  Boats  and  Spears — 
Easy-Running  Sleds—  Hunting  anil  Fishing  — Esquimaux  as  Travelers  — Feasts  and  Pastimes— 
Their  Christianity  —  Social  and  Hunting  Regulations. 


VIII  CONTENTS. 

NORTH  AMERICAN   INDIANS. 

Alaska— Remnants  of  the  Great  Tribes— Present  Ways  of  Living— The  Indians' "  Totem  "—The 
Flatheads— Th«  Apaches,  tlie  Navajoes,  the  Algonquius  and  the  Chippewas— Indian  Pio. 
neers— The  Cheyennes— The  Arapahoes— Other  Noted  Western  Tribes— The  Dakotas— The 
Sioux,  the  Shoshonces,  the  Utes,  the  Kiowas,  the  Pueblos,  and  tlie  Huron-Iroquois  Family— 
The  Six  Nations— The  Five  Nations— Tbe  Cherokees— Creeks  and  Seminoles— Choctaws  and 
Chickasaws— Tribal  Government— Indian  Religion  and  Medicine. 

THE   MEXICANS. 

(Pai;.-   4,,.) 

Mythology  of  Mexico— Its  Primitive  People— The  Holy  Cross  and  Virgin— An  Aboriginal  Tribe— 
The  Mexican  as  He  Is — Miners  and  Muleteers — A  Mexican  Bonanza — Mexican  Sports — City  of 
Mexico— Holy  Week— Female  Beauty— In  the  Suburbs— The  Central  Americans— Remains  of 
Kingdoms— The  Honduraus— The  Nicaraguans— The  Guatemalans— Costa  Rica— The  San  Sal- 
vadorians. 

SOUTH    AMERICAN    INDIANS. 

(H.ige  420  ) 

The  Patagonians— The  Weak  Terra  del  Fuegians— The  Patagonians  again — Dress  and  Horse  Gear- 
Work  of  Both  Sexes— Amusements— The  Children— Entering  Society— Hunting  Ostriches— 
Guanacos,  etc. — A  Dreary  Country — The  Brazilian  Indians — PIia>uicians  of  the  Amazon — 
Burial  .lars — Botecudos — The  Amazons — Semi  Civilized  Life — Kitchen  Utensils — More  Femi- 
nine vVork — Human  and  Brute  Fishermen — Reverence  for  the  Aged — Their  Religious  Be 
liefs — The  Brazilians — The  Caribs  and  Arrawaks — The  Mozcas — Panama  Canal — The  Ecuado- 
rians— The  Andi-Peruvians — Traces  of  the  Empire — Some  Inca  Tribes — The  Antisians,  or 
White  Men— The  Araucanians— The  Chilians— The  Centaurs  of  South  America— The  Gauchos. 


JOU 


RNEY  NO.  4. 


THE   TURKS. 

(P.ige  4r,7.l 

Founders  of  the  Empire — The  Apostles  of  Mohammedanism — Church  and  Slate  One— Turkish 
Reforms — The  Koran's  Soldier — What  Foreigners  Have  Done — Schools — The  Koran's  Laws — 
What  Part  the  Woman  Plays— The  Turk  at  Home— The  Bride  of  the  Harem— On  the  Street- 
The  Turkish  Graveyards — Outside  the  Mosque — Fasting  and  Pilgrimages — The  Dervishes — The 
Syrians — The  Druses — The  JIaronites — Smyrna — The  Hebrevrs  and  Jerusalem — The  Road  to 
Jericho — Bethlehemites — Nazareth — Tbe  Armenians — Their  Powerful  Church — The  Kurds — 
Saving   Remnants. 

THE  ARABS. 

(Page  4yy.> 

Decline  of  Mahammedanism — The  Marabouts — The  Chiefs — Best  Breed  of  Horses — Blooded  Camels — 
The  Bedouins — In  the  Tent — Bottomless  Gulfs  of  Sand — As  a  Commercial  People — Desert 
Travel — Town  Life — Native  Justice — Arabian  Architecture. 

PERSIANS  AND   AFGHANS. 

,Pa^._.   ;,-.) 

Their  Intimate  Connection — Ruins  and  Historic  Spots — The  Country — Agriculture — Persian  No- 
mads— Brave  and  Haniy  Women — Town  Life  in  Persia — Tbe  Water  Supply — Village  Occupa- 
tions— Unattractive  .\rchitecture — Clever  Women  and  Managers — Social  and  Domestic  Cus- 
toms— Calling  and  Gossiping— Wives  and  Children — ^A  Persian  Harem — Modern  Fire- Worship- 
ers— Persian  Mohammedanism — The  Nestorians — Music  and  Religion — Persian  Superstitions— 
The  Shah — The  Shah's  Time — The  Independent  Afghans— Geogra]ihical  Position — Tbe  Clans- 
Religious  Tolerance — The  Belooches — Thieves  on  Principle — Brave  Soldiers 

THE   HINDUS 

(P.ig.-  ;i'  I 
The  System  of  Caste— A  Brahman— Castes  and  Tribes— A  Native  Hunt— The  Tarauls— The 
Rajpoots — Tbe  Gypsies'  Land — Other  Great  Tribes — The  Ceylonese — Religions  of  India — In- 
fluence of  Buddhism — A  Mohammedan — The  Fakir — A  Parsce — A  Sikh — A  Hindu  Family — 
A  Son's  Birth — He  Goes  to  School — The  Girl's  Education  —Marriage  Cel'emonies — Female  Edu- 
cation— "The  Order  of  Merit" — A  Patriarch's  Death — The  Sacred  Cilv. 


CONTENTS.  IX 

THE   INDO-CHINESE. 

('■ag.-  575-) 

A  Bewildering  Antiquity — Neglect  of  Natural  Advantages — The  Basis  of  the  Slate — The  School 
Boy — Preparing  for  Ilis  Degrees — Competitive  Examinations — Ottices  to  be  Filled — Manners 
Adapted  to  Intellectual  Pursuits — Religious  Tolerance — Chinese  Doctrines — Chinese  Gods^ 
Domestic  and  Social  Life — ^Loyal  Dress — They  Refuse  to  Shave  Their  Heads — Chinese  Houses — 
Chinese  .Marriages— Filial  Obedience  and  Respect— Agriculture — Fishing — Chinese  Commerce— 
The  Mongols — The  Thibetans — Lamaism — The  Two  Lamas — Their  Fine  Woolens  and 
Shawls — The  Burmese — The  Ancient  Peguans— The  Government — Robbed  by  Officials— The 
Royal  Capital — Classes  of  Society — Costumes  of  Ladies  and  Gentlemen — Ornaments  and 
Charms — Building  a  House — Outside  of  the  House — Courtship  and  Marriage — Villages  and 
Agriculturists — The  Priests — Monasteries  and  Payahs — Buddhist  "Shoots" — The  Siamese — 
The  Parent  Race — Personal  Appearance — An  Asiatic  Venice — Vast  Palaces  and  Temples — The 
Two  Kings— OneTliird  of  the  People  Slaves— Buddhism  Absolute — The  Anamese — The 
Cambodians — Aboriginal  Tribes — Riches  and  Sloth. 

THE   JAPANESE. 

Government  and  Religion — Corner  Stone  of  Society— .\[arriage  and  Women's  Duties— Dress  and 
Personal  Adornment — Amusements — Jugglers  and  Acrobats — The  Nobility  of  Gladiators — The 
Theatre — Bathing  and  Tea  Houses — European  Habits — Unworthy  of  Japan — Style  of  Archi- 
tecture— Within  the  House — The  Last  Resting  Place— Agriculture  and  Manufactures — The 
Japanese  as  Artists— The  First,  Last— The  Coreans— Coming  From  Their  Shell — Why  They 
Fear  the  Priests — Their  Superstitions — Men  and  Women. 


JOURNEY  NO.  5. 


THE   GREEKS. 

The  Acropolis— Temples  of  Jupiter  and  Theseus— Law  and  Philosophy — The  Academy — A  Grand 
Stand — A  Link  Between  Old  and  New — Modern  Athens- The  Greek  and  His  Costumes — Por- 
ters and  Merchants— The  Greek  at  Home— Life  and  Death— The  Famous  Laurium  Mines— 
Marathons  Plain — Rocky  Salamis — From  Athens  to  Thebes — From  Thebes  to  Jlount  Par- 
nassus— On  Sac'red  Ground — Corinth  and  Peloponnesus — Agamemnon's  City — The  Most 
Ancient  Greece— Sparta  and  Messenia — A  Famous  Statue — Pcactful  Olympia  and  Her  Games — 
Olyrapia's  Ruins— Arcadian  Simplicity — Soldier  Monks— The  Greek  Church — The  Styx — 
The  Waters  of  Lepanto — Beyond  the  Historic  Waters — A  Famous  Southern  Isle — Among 
the  Vineyards — Home  Life  in  Country  and  Town — Greek  Weddings — Brigand  and  Peasant — 
Ancient  Greece  in  Turkey. 

THE    ITALIANS. 

(Page  703.) 

Modern  Rome — Capitoline  Hill — The  Pantheon — The  Vatican  and  St.  Peter's — Peter's  Prison — 
The  Life  of  To-Day— The  Catacombs— The  Coloseum  and  the  Forum— The  Italian  Peas- 
ant—Florence and  the  Republics — The  Medici  Family — The  City  from  the  Medici  Villa — Gali- 
leo's Homes — Vallambrosa's  Valley — Within  the  City — Politics  and  Religion — Palaces  and  Gar- 
dens—Historic Bridges — The  Genoese — Naples — The  Buried  Cities— The  Dead  and  the  Liv- 
ing—Venice Rising  from  the  Sea— The  Church  of  St.  Mark — A  Gondola  Trip — Milan— Pisa— 
The  Sicilians  and   Mount  Etna— The  Capital — Syracuse  and  Her  Rival. 

THE   SPANIARDS. 

(P.igc  735.J 

The  Basques — Ignatius  Loyola — Spanish  Gypsies — Cadiz — Carthage  in  Spain — Spanish  Morocco — 
Seville— Cordova— The  Gardens  of  Spain— The  Gothic-Roman  Princes— Toledo— Granada 
and  the  .Uhambra- Southern  and  Eastern  Coasts — The  Cid— Barcelona— The  Romans  and 
Celts— The  Mecca  of  Spain— Valladolid— Salamanca— The  Escurial— Madrid— Amusements  of 
the  Native — Colonial  Possessions — The  Portusuese. 


X  CONTENTS. 

THE   FRENCH. 

(!'...;'■  7";.) 
French   Marriages — The  Bretons  of    Fiance — Oul    Into  tlie   Fighting  World — The   People  of  the 

Pyrenees — Royalty  and   Religion — A  Wonderful   Fortilied  City — The  Vineyard  of  the  Earth — 

From  Nice  to  Calais — Marseilles — Deserts   and  Ruins — Lyons  and  Her  Weavers — Gleams  from 

Eastern  France — Cheery  Normandy — The  Conqueror's  Home — Norman  Girls — The  Approach  to 

Paria — A  Bird'sEye  View — Old  Paris — North  of  the  Seine — South  of  the  Seine — St.  Vincent  de 

I^aul — Victor  Hugo — The    Military  Quarters — Boulevards  and  Parks — Theatres  and   Delicate 

Economy — Supple  and  Muscular  People. 

THE  GERMANS. 

The  Government  and  the  Army — Educational  Drill— Students'  Nicknames — Duels — Great  Univer- 
sity Lights — Heidelberg— Leipsic — Agriculturists — The  Forests  of  Germany — The  High  and 
the  Low  Germans — The  German  and  the  Rhine — Folk  Lore — The  Harlz  Mountains — The 
Brocken  and  Goethe — The  Hartz  Towns — JIanufacture  of  German  Beer^Bavaiia  and 
Wi'irtemberg — Cologne — Berlin — Some  Famou>  German  Cities — Ostreich,  or  Austria — Vienna. 

THE  SCANDINAVIANS. 

The  Danish  Peasant — The  Danish  Seamen — Copenhagen — Natural  and  Artificial  Boundary — Rav 
ages  of  the  Lemmings — Peasant  and  Cottager — The  Swedes — Stockholm — The   Norwegians — 
Wild  Life  on  the  Coasts — A  Gigantic  Snow  Field — Uncertaintj-of  Crops — A  Man  and  Citizen — 
The  Icelanders. 

THE  DUTCH. 

(Page  S53.) 

Their  Dikes  Assaulted— The  Zuyder  Zee  Country — Further  Ravages  of  the  Sea — The  Dikes,  and 
How  They  Look — The  Canals- Drawing  off  the  Seas — The  Sea  as  an  Ally— Scenes  on  the 
Canals — Everyone  Sedate  and  Clean — The  Kermis  and  Home — Peat  Beds,  High  and  Low — The 
Herring  Fisheries — A  Little  History — Winter  in  Holland — Promoting  the  Public  Good — The 
Belgians — Belgium's  City 

THE  SWISS. 

I  Page  E75.) 

The  Swiss  Republic— Family  Life  in  the  Alps — Physical  and  National  Center— Another  Glorious 
Country— Hunting  the  Chamois — Land  of  the  Reformation — The  Swiss  Capital — The  Lake 
Dwellings— Zurich  and  Constance — Tracing  the  Rhine— St.  Gothard's  Tunnel — The  Rhone 
Glacier — St.  Bernard — Mont  Blanc. 

THE  RUSSIANS. 

I  Paee  B.,1  ) 

A  Gigantic  Land — The  Pure  Slavs— The  Cossacks — The  Circassians — The  Georgians— Modes  of 
Travel— Exiles  to  Siberia — Government  and  Army  Life — The  Sword  and  the  Cross — Image 
Worshiping — Typical  Ceremonials — Nobility  and  Peasantry — In  a  Peasant  Village— Great 
Middle  Class— St.  Petersburg— The  Winter  Palace — Peter's  Statue — Winter  Sports  and  Scenes — 
Moscow— Outside  the  Kremlin — Kazan— Novogorod,  the  Great — The  Russian  Hunter — Crini 
Tartary — The  Hungarians— The  Bohemians. 

THE  AN^LO-SAXONS. 

Basis  of  the  Englishman — The  Less  Ruling  the  Greater — E.xploring  the  Thames— O.xford-From 
Oxford  to  Windsor— From  Windsor  to  London — London  and  London  "City" — The  Fashion 
able  West  End— The  C^ity — London  Tower  and  the  Docks— Where  Peter  Worked — Woolwich 
and  Greenwich — Canterbury  and  Thomas  a  Becket — Dover  and  Hastings — The  Chalky  ClifTs 
and  Old  Forests— Eiisom  Salts  and  Races— The  Forest  of  Death— The  Isle  of  Wight— To  Eddy- 
stone  Lighthouse — From  the  New  Forest.Inland-AhmgBri.Ktol  Channel — King  Arthur's  Land — 
A  Literary  Land— Dreary  Dartmoor — Rocks  and  Flowers— Houses  and  Jlines— Among  Miners  and 
Fishermen — A  Dead  Language — Bristol  and  Baili— Shi  kcspeaie'e  Avon— A  Second  Holland — 
Cathedral  Cities- Cambridge  — Bunyan,  Cowper  an<l  Vendam— Yarmouth  Flats— A  Famous 
Battle-Field— Back  to  Nottingham— Byron  and  Robin'  Hood— A  Castle  and  Country  Inns- 
America  in  England— English  york—Mancheslcr— Liverpool— Gladstone  and  His  E.slate— Jlan- 
ufacturing  and  Mechanical  England— "  Peveril  of  the  Peak  "—The  Pottery  Shire— The  Border 
Land— The  Scolch—Edinlnirgh— Melrose  and  Abbotsford— Burns  and  the  Ayr— The  Clyde  and 
Glasgow — Glasgow — The  Scotlii-h  Highlands- The  Actual  Highlaud.s — The  Welsh  and  Suowdon 
—The  Irish— Irish  Cities  and  Scenery— 'I'he  British  in  America. 


CONTENTS. 


XI 


THE  AMERICAN  ANGLO-SAXONS. 

(Page  1005.) 

fbe  Typical  American— Maine— All  That  Is  Left  of  Them— Maine  Scenery— The  Scholarly  Dis- 
tricts-New York— Philadelphia- The  Iron  and  Coal  Regions  — The  Cumberlands  and  the 
Potomac— Ohio  Iron  and  Wool— Cincinnati— The  Queen  of  the  Lakes— Wheat  Harvesters— Life 
on  the  Plains— The  Western  Mining  Country— Yellowstone  National  Park— X'tah  Civilization— 
The  Columbia  River— Salmon  Fishing— The  Golden  State— San  Francisco— Old  Catholic 
Missions— Nature's  Wonders— Through  to  the  Mississippi— St.  Louis— New  Orleans— Renewed 
Life  of  the  South. 


TOPICAL  INDEX. 


A  Land  of  Decay, 

Abyssinia, 

The  Tartars  of  Africa, 

The  East  Africans, 

Mozambique, 

The  Zulu  Caffres, 

The  Southern  Becliuanas, 

The  Congo  CafTres, 

Scnegambian  Tribes, 

Negroes  of  Upper  Guinea, 

The  Berbers, 
The  Malayans, 

The  ^Madagascar  Malayans, 

Borneo  Malayans, 

Sumatra  Malayans, 

The  Javanese,     . 
The  Polynesians, 

The  Papuans,      .  .  . 

The  Australians, 
The  Tartars, 
The  Arctics, 
Toward  Behring  Strait, 
The  Esquimaux, 
North  American  Indians, 
The  Mexicans  and  Central  Americans, 
South  American  Indians, 
The  Turks, 
The  Arabs, 
Persians  and  Afghans, 
The  Hindus, 
The  Indo-Chinese, 
The  .Japanese  and  Coreans, 
The  Greeks, 
The  Italians, 
The  Spaniards. 
The  Frencli, 
The  Germans, 
The  Scanf'inavians, 
The  Dutch, 
The  .Swiss, 
The  Russians, 
The  Anglo-Saxons, 
The  American  Anglo-Sasons, 


17—  54 
55—  73 
73—  80 
81—  86 
87—  94 
95—106 
107—128 
129—156 
157—162 
163—179 
181—190 
191— 192 
193—210 
211—215 
216—222 
223—233 
23.5—254 
255— •-78 
279—312 
313—320 
321—344 
345—366 
367—380 
381—410 
411—428 
429—466 
467—498 
499-514 
51.5— .540 
541—574 
575—642 
643—666 
667—702 
703—7.34 
735—766 
767—800 
801—840 
841—852 
853—874 
87r)— 890 
891—938 
939-1001 
1005-1034 


»>- 


£^^- 


"^€^,. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


-°KV^)^ 


.f^^ 


An  Egyptian  Temple, 

.       19 

A  Copt,               .... 

20 

Egyptian  Ornaments, 

23 

A  Jew  of  Cairo, 

24 

Egyptian  Singers,     . 

.      29 

An  Egyptian  Cliair, 

31 

Scene  on  tlie  Nile,    . 

.       34 

A  Nubian,          .... 

41 

Dinka  Huts, 

.       43 

Central  Africa  War  Weapons, 

45 

Tattooed  Warriors. 

.       46 

On  tlie  Shores  of  the  Nyanza, 

49 

Princess  and  Warrior  of  Ugunda, 

.       50 

Audience  Hall  of  the  King, 

51 

Ugunda  Huts, 

.       52 

An  Abyssinian  Warrior, 

56 

An  Abyssinian  King, 

.       57 

Abyssinian  Crown, 

61 

Abyssinian  Household, 

.       63 

Abyssinian  Slave, 

66 

A  Virgin, 

.       68 

A  Sacred  Ark, 

69 

Wall  Ornaments, 

.       70 

Grave  of  a  Damara, 

88 

The  Zambesis, 

.      92 

Utensils  of  the  CafEres, 

96 

Building  the  Bride's  Hut, 

.      99 

A  Native  Warrior, 

104 

Notable  Chief  and  Warrior, 

.     105 

Agriculture  Under  Difficulties, 

108 

AGroup  of  Bushmen, 

.     109 

Caves  of  the  Bushmen, 

110 

A  Civilized  Bushman, 

.     112 

The  Slaves'  Hiding  Place, 

114 

A  Europeanized  Caffre, 

.     110 

A  Namaqua,       .... 

117 

Scene  in  Southwestern  Africa, 

.     118 

Damara  Warrior  and  Maiden, 

120 

Wooden  Utensils  of  the  Ovampos, 

122 

A  Native  Village, 

124 

A  Native  at  Livingstone's  Funeral, 

.     125 

Central  African  Manufacturers, 

127 

Types  of  the  Congos, 

.     130 

A  Congo  King, 

131 

A  Precious  Pair, 

.     183 

Killing  Witches  in  West  Africa, 

135 

A  Fetich  Man  on  the  Coast, 

.     136 

A  Group  of  Musicians, 

139 

Head  Dresses  of  the  Congos, 

.     142 

Congo  Heads,     .... 

143 

Congo  Shields, 

.     145 

A  Collection  of  Arrows, 

146 

Natives  of  Loango, 

.     147 

A  Hoyal  Pair, 

148 

A  Boat  of  the  Warlike  Congos, 

.     150 

A  Carved  Tusk, 

151 

Dreary  Scenes  in  Southwestern  Africa, 

152 

Mountain  Warriors, 

156 

A  Native  Cup, 

.     160 

In  the  Stocks, 

l(i4 

A  Village  on  the  Grain  Coast, 

.     167 

Scene  in  Soudan, 

180 

Sladagascan  Lady, 

.     206 

A  Head  Hunter, 

212 

A  Village  Market  House, 

.     218 

ABalta,              .... 

220 

A  Javanese  Plow,     . 

.     223 

A  Native  Rig, 

224 

A  Javanese  House, 

.     225 

A  Javanese  Fork, 

226 

A  Javanese  Loom, 

.     227 

A  Malayan  Prau, 

231 

A  Native  of  Luzon, 

.     232 

Home  Manufactures, 

233 

A  Feejee  Chief, 

.     236 

A  Chief's  House, 

237 

A  Feejee  Cannibal, 

.     238 

Polynesian  Beauties, 

239 

A  Feejeean  Village  Scene, 

.     240 

A  Civilized  Girl, 

241 

Women  of  Tonga, 

.     242 

Tongese  Braided  Work, 

244 

Native  Fashion, 

.     246 

A  Samoan  Girl, 

247 

Of  the  King's  Party, 

.     248 

Head  Protector, 

249 

Native  Idols. 

.     251 

War  Anuilets, 

252 

Tatliic>ed  Maoris, 

.     25.'i 

A  Papuan  Warrior, 

258 

A  Temple  on  the  Coast, 

.     259 

Dancing  Fiends. 

262 

A  BoatSliaped  Coffin, 

.     263 

In  Full  Dress, 

265 

XIV 


ILLUSTRATIUN.S. 


A  Sea-coast  House, 

.     269 

Last  of  the  Tasmanians, 

274 

Two  Views  of  the  Queen, 

.     275 

A  New  Ireland  Boy, 

276 

A  New  Irelaiifler, 

.     277 

Au  Auslraliav  Savage, 

280 

Australian  Boomerangs, 

.     285 

On  the  Hunt,      . 

289 

The  Corroboree, 

.     290 

Traveling  Women, 

293 

An  Australian  Grave, 

.     296 

Hatchets  of  the  Australians,     . 

301 

An  Australian  Camp, 

.     302 

Waiting  for  the  Uiver  Fall, 

303 

A  West  Australian  Forest    . 

.     307 

A  Native  Victorian, 

308 

A  Tartar, 

.     317 

Camel  of  Tartar  Emigrant, 

318 

Calmuck  Tartars,     . 

.     319 

Calmuck  Dwellings, 

322 

A  Samoyed  Cossack, 

.     324 

An  Ostiak, 

326 

An  Ostiak  Family, 

.     327 

A  Vogul  Encampment,              , 

330 

Cape  Washington, 

.     334 

Laplanders, 

335 

Lapland  Sledges, 

.     336 

Fishing  in  Lapland, 

340 

A  Lapland  Church, 

.     342 

Native  Siberians, 

346 

Implements  of  Siberia, 

.     348 

A  Yakut  Woman, 

353 

A  Tungoose, 

.     356 

Hunters  of  Siberia, 

358 

Siberian  Dog  Sledge, 

.     361 

Winter  and  Summer  Huts, 

363 

Tchuktchis  C;hildren, 

.     364 

An  Esquimau  Group, 

369 

Starting  on  a  Journey, 

.     374 

A  Greenland  Housewife, 

376 

Lalirador  Esquimaux, 

.     380 

Indian  Curiosities, 

382 

Totem  Poles  and  Indian  Huts, 

.     384 

Indian  Grave, 

387 

Muir  Glacier,  Alaska— front  vie\i 

h             .    389 

A  Sioux  Warrior, 

396 

View  of  Muir  Glacier, 

.    404 

A  Mexican, 

414 

A  Mexican  Girl, 

.     421 

Scene  in  Patagonia, 

432 

Patagf)nian  Dancers, 

.     436 

Entrance  to  Fortescue  Bay, 

439 

Amazonian  Indians, 

.     442 

War  Trumpet, 

444 

Colossal  Head  Carved  in  Stone, 

.     455 

Peruvian  flarvings. 

457 

An  Araiicanian  Family, 

.     460 

A  Turkish  Soldier,      " . 

471 

A  .Syrian,      .  . 

Village  in  Syria, 
A  Druse  Lady, 
An  Old  Turk,    . 
A  Man  of  Jerusalem, 
At  Jerusalem's  AVall, 
Au  Armenian, 

An  Armenian  Bishop, 

A  Woman  of  Aden, 

A  Bedouin, 

Bedouins, 

A  Loaded  Camel, 

Bronze  Workers, 

Field  Hands, 

Wealthy  Merchants, 

Smoking  a  Water  Pipe 

The  Bastinado, 

An  Afghan, 

Burgliers  of  Ceylon, 

Water  Carrier, 

Indian  Tree  Huts, 

A  Brahman  at  Prayer, 

Chief  of  a  Village, 

A  Tiger  Hunt, 

Women  of  Ceylon, 

House  in  Ceylon,     . 

Hindoo  Gypsies, 

A  Baggage  Animal, 

A  Banyan  Forest, 

Bas  Relief,  Indian  Temple, 

Scene  in  Ceylon, 

Royal  Palace  at  Agra. 

Cloth  Vender, 

Scene  at  Benares, 

Hiver  Scene  in  China, 

A  Scene  in  China, 

The  Emperor's  Palace, 

A  Burmese  Couple, 

Arrangement  of  Ear-ring, 

Priest  Sounding  Bell  of  Tempi 

Siamese  Men, 

Laotian  Houses, 

Scene  at  Bangkok, 
Girl  from  Anam, 
A  Japanese, 

A  Noble  Lady, 
Selling  Marine  Animals, 
A  .lapanese  Girl, 
Nobleman  and  Servant, 
Riding  in  a  Palanquin, 
Interior  of  a  Tea  House, 
Temple  Garden  in  Tokio, 
A  Japanese  Bedroom, 
Singers  and  Musicians, 
Temple  of  Neptune, 
Embossed  Shoulder  Strap, 
Venris  of  Milo, 
A  Greek  Cross, 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


XV 


Bas  Relief,  Greeks  of  Fifth  Century, 

694 

Renbrandt  Van  Ryn,     . 

860 

Base  of  Statue  of  Ariadne, 

696 

A  Nt.at  Dutch  Inn. 

.     863 

Modern  Greeli  Peasants, 

(i9« 

Going  to  I5apti.>m, 

865 

Grecli  Brigands, 

.     700 

Exterior  of  a  Dutch  House, 

.     806 

Street  Scene  in  Rome. 

706 

Reading  a  Condemned  Book, 

873 

The  Fates — by  Michael  Angelo, 

.     717 

Swiss  Scenes, 

.     876 

Design  for  an  Ornament, 

718 

A  Cossack  Family, 

893 

Plaque — by  Cellini, 

.     719 

A  Voter, 

.     893 

Bronze  Helmet  Ornament, 

720 

Cossack  Watch  Tower, 

894 

Wall  Painting.  Pompeii. 

.     723 

Ready  for  Action, 

.     895 

Tombs  of  Pompeii, 

724 

A  Circassian  Girl, 

896 

Garden  at  Pompeii, 

.     725 

On  With  the  Dance  ! 

.     898 

Marble  Table  found  at  Pompeii, 

726 

A  Siljcrian  Exile, 

903 

A  Gypsy  CUiief,        .             . 

.     739 

View  of  Omsk, 

.     904 

A  Spanish  Girl, 

745 

Soldier  of  the  Caucasus, 

905 

Gate  of  the  Alhambra. 

.     749 

Cossack  of  the  Line, 

.     906 

Peasant  of  Eastern  Spain, 

751 

A  Russian  Village, 

913 

Port  of  Alicante, 

.     752 

A  Lady  of  Fashion, 

.     932 

Scene  in  Salamanca, 

757 

Scene  in  Russia, 

930 

Spanish  Water  Carrier, 

.     760 

Noted  Picture  of  Lot's  Wife,           .  , 

.     948 

Bull  Fighters, 

763 

Piece  of  Statuary, 

949 

A  Farmer  of  Brittany, 

.     768 

Waterloo  Bridge.                   .          .  . 

.     951 

A  Beggar  of  Brittany, 

769 

St.  Andrew's  Church,  Holborn, 

953 

Renaissance  Window,  Rouen, 

.     784 

Fish  Sale  in  Cornwall, 

.     966 

A  Modern  French  Painter, 

793 

Old  English  Doorway, 

972 

St.  Vincent  de  Paul, 

.     794 

An  Old  English  Lady, 

.     974 

Bust  of  Victor  Hugo,     . 

795 

A  Derbyshire  Inn, 

977 

Schiller,         .... 

.     809 

Old  English  Gateway, 

.     980 

Heine,                  .             .             .             . 

810 

English  Pottery, 

984 

A  Village  Group,     . 

.     816 

In  the  Emerald  Isle, 

.   1002 

Watching  the  Rhine,     . 

819 

Evangeline, 

1008 

."cene  on  the  Rhine, 

.     821 

An  American  Palace, 

.   1010 

Goethe,                .             .             .             . 

823 

Carved  Oak  Settee, 

1013 

Old  German  Gateway, 

.     825 

Sculptor's  Home, . 

.   1018 

Museum  at  Berlin, 

834 

Falls  in  National  Park, 

1022 

Frederickshaven. 

.     843 

A  Specimen  Room,              .            , 

.   1028 

Swedish  Landscape, 

846 

Carmel  Mission, 

1029 

In  a  Dutch  Port, 

.     855 

Cathedral  Rock, 

.  1031 

•^?r 


North  America, 

Africa, 

A  Central  African  Feast,     - 

Australia  and  Ockanica    - 

SoDTii  America, 

An  Arab  Warrior, 

Asia,         -  -  - 

Europe,         -  -  .  - 

The  Pigeons  of  St.  Mark — Venice, 

A  Spanish  Cobbler's  Shop, 

A  German  Harvest  Scene, 

On  The  Coast  of  Hollanii, 

A  Mountain  Maid — Switzerland, 

A  Russian  Wedding, 

An  English  Country  Crossing, 

An  American  Home  Scene, 


Frontispiece. 

17 

126 

-  193 
429 

-  502 
515 

-  6G7 
728 

.   759 
815 

-  868 
879 

-  901 
920 

-  1033 


COLORED     RLHTES. 


Africa,  -  .  .  -  . 

Types  of  Malayans  and  Negroes, 
Types  of  Australians  and  Malayans,    - 
Australia,  .  .  .  . 

New  Zealand,  .  .  .  . 

New  Guinea,        .  .  .  - 

Types  op  Brazilians  and  Patagonians, 
Brazil,       .  .  -  .  . 

South  America,         .  .  .  . 

East  India  Islands, 

China  and  Japan,      .  -  .  . 

Types  of  Mongolians  and  Malayans, 


39 
103 
199 
203 
250 
261 
440 
451 
462 
541 
58fi 
a.jli 


A  LAND  OF  DECAY. 


BIRTH-PLACE  OF  RACES. 

liJOURING  through  a  narrow  mountain  gorge  into  the  broad 
plains  of  Mesopotamia,  the  River  Euphrates  was  once  the 
patron  of  a  most  ancient,  energetic  and  splendid  civiHzation. 
With  the  Tigris,  it  is  now  the  boundary  of  a  proHfic  land  of 
decay.  From  those  plains  once  poured  forth  vast  floods  of 
people  and  yet  those  left  behind  were  the  founders  of  glo- 
rious empires,  the  builders  of  Nineveh  and  Babylon.  These 
mio-hty  capitals  are  now  little  more  than  unsightly  mounds 
of  clay  and  sun-dried  brick,  among  which  dirty  Arabs  are 
delvine  for  the  building  material  of  modern  houses.  From 
near  the  ruins  of  Babylon  looms  up  a  gigantic  mound,  standing 
alone  in  the  midst  of  a  vast  plain  —  the  tower  of  Babel!  you  recog- 
nize it  at  once.  Other  mounds  of  lesser  note,  now  scattered,  now 
grouped,  now  in  the  form  of  triangles;  shafts  of  columns;  Assyrian 
forts;  rocks  crowned  with  ancient  castles;  old  towns  filled  with  Roman 
and  Saracenic  architecture ;  groves  of  palm  trees ;  clouds  of  scorch- 
ino-  sand  borne  by  the  south  winds;  decaying  walls  of  gigantic  canals, 
vainly  appealing  to  Turkish  "enterprise;"  a  tribe  of  restless  Arabs 
with  their  camels,  horses,  sheep  and  women,  their  crude  furniture 
and  all  their  effects,  seeking  fresh  pasture;  answering  sheets  of 
tlame  rising  from  the  fertile  river  tracts  and  springing  from  the  hatred 
of  the  harvesters  who  have  gathered  their  grain  and  are  burning  all 
o-reen  forage  to  keep  it  from  those  same  thievish  Arabs;  a  wandering 
dervish,  only  interrupting  his  prayers  to  light  his  pipe,  asks  for  gifts  from 
the  faithful,  or  to  search  for  vermin;  the  sound  of  an  Arab  water-wheel 
in  the  distance;  a  Turkish  fortress  perched  upon  a  storm-beaten  mound 
inclosing  the  ruins  of  centuries;  narrow  roads  hanging  to  the  mountain 
sides  and  dropping  to  the  plain  below;  gorgeous  mountain  tints  painted 
by  a  bold  eastern  sun  and  flung  upon  the  background  of  a  soft  eastern 
sky;  a  valley  in  which  nestles  a  village  where  Noah  is  said  to  have  planted 
his  vineyard;  a  dyke  built  by  Nimrod,  the  mighty  hunter;  a  griffin's 

17  2 


1 8  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

cave,  at  the  mouth  of  which  the  Tiqris  roars  and  foams  —  such  is  the 
country  in  which  rose  and  fell  the  oldest  known  civilization  of  the 
world. 

Leaving  the  Euphrates  river  we  enter  the  Syrian  desert,  and  mid- 
wa\'  between  the  great  river  and  the  Mediterranean  sea,  in  a  small  oasis, 
find  the  famed  ruins  of  Palmyra;  the  "  Tadmor  in  the  Desert."  Across 
to  Baalbek — grant!  ruins  again  !  The  omnipresent  Arab  is  there  also, 
as  at  Palmyra,  sheltered  by  his  crazy  hut  and  raising  his  corn  and  olives 
among  the  ruins.  Striking  south,  we  are  still  oppressed  by  ruins — some 
thirty  of  them  —  before  we  skirt  the  coast  of  the  Dead  Sea,  and  cross  a 
desert  tract  of  country  and  the  Suez  canal  into  the  land  of  pyramids. 
What  more  natural  than  that  we  should  journey  from  the  land  of  ancient 
Assyria  to  the  land  of  Egypt;  for  we  are  following  in  the  footsteps  of 
the  races  and  families  of  men,  and  the  ancient  Egyptians  are  supposed 
to  have  preceded  us  in  that  little  trip,  overland,  by. some  thousands  of 
years. 

EGYPT. 

Straight  toward  the  Mediterranean  sea  a  black  line  shoots  across 
the  desert  waste,  binding  together  a  chain  of  lakes  and  lagoons,  and 
markincj  the  threshold  to  the  land  of  shadows  and  sunshine.  Another 
line  winds  toward  Cairo,  and  still  another  seems  to  shoot  more  directly 
and  with  more  momentum  toward  that  great  emporium  to  which  our 
journey  lies.  In  the  ship  canal  constructed  for  the  commerce  of  the 
world,  and  in  the  fresh-water  canal  built  for  the  convenience  of  the 
isthmus  inhabitants,  are  repeated  the  performances  of  the  ancient 
Egyptians  and  Persians,  accomplished  before  the  wild  Scythians  ever 
dreamed  of  crossing  the  Bosphorus  and  laying  the  foundation  of  the 
most  advanced  of  European  civilization.  Traces  of  that  first  canal  are 
found  deep  in  the  desert  sand  of  the  isthmus  country,  where  Egypt's 
frontier  was  threatened  by  those  same  savage  tribes  who  now  appear  as 
Frenchmen,  as  Englishmen,  as  Germans,  as  representatives  of  nations 
which  have  sprung  from  the  decay  of  the  old.  Here  were  her  fortresses 
and  from  the  banks  of  the  Nile  came  fresh  water,  provisions  and  rein- 
forcements, if  necessary,  to  the  defenders  of  the  civilization  of  those 
days  ;  and  Persia  had  her  ship  canal  from  sea  to  sea  ;  but  it  was  left  to 
these  days  to  shoot  the  railroad  across  the  desert  into  the  very  haunts 
of  antiquity,  into  the  very  shadows  of  the  P)Tamids.  But  we 
pass  them  by,  and  the  splendid  mosques  of  Cairo,  and  the  tombs 
of   its   rulers,   and    the  beautiful    villas    in    the    suburbs,    and   ancient 


AN  EGYPTIAN  lEMPLE. 


20 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


glory,  and  present  attempts  at  mag^nihcence,  and  go  into  the 
"  by-ways  and  hedges  "  to  get  acquainted  with  the  people.  We  will 
have  nothing  to  do  with  the  Turk,  for  he  is  not  a  native  ;  although  he 
has  imposed  many  of  his  customs  among  the  Egyptians.  We  shall 
avoid  the  Italians,  French,  English,  Armenians  and  other  nationalities 
who  live  in  the  "Erank"  quarter  of  Cairo  and  Alexandria,  and  who 


A  COPT. 


are  traveling  up  and  down  the  Nile  country,  viewing  curiosities,  traffic- 
ing  in  precious  stones,  or  awaiting  the  return  of  the  pilgrims  from  Mecca 
laden  with  the  wealth  of  the  far  East  ;  who  are  the  agents  of  commer- 
cial houses  in  their  native  lands,  or  the  principals  themselves  in  this 
central  station  of  the  overland   route  to    India.     Eor  the  present  we 


Ecivrr  21 

have  no  interest  in  these  people-,  except  ni  so  far  as  they  have  relations 
to  a  very  intelligent,  courteous,  industrious  and  humble  class  of  the 
Eo-yptians,  tiiI':  Copts.  They  number  about  one-fifteenth  of  the  entire 
population  of  the  country,  and  are  the  sole  remnant  of  the  ancient 
Eo-yptians.  1  n  Lower  Egypt  they  are  of  a  yellowish  tinge,  which  shades 
into  a  dark  brown  further  south.  The  Copts  inhabit  small  sections  of 
the  larger  cities,  while  in  Upper  Egypt  they  have  settled  whole  towns 
and  villages.  What  is  their  business  ?  They  are  clerks  and  account- 
ants in  o-overnmentand  mercantile  offices  ;  they  are  the  Christian  priests 
of  Eo-ypt,  cheerful,  humane  and  hospitable,  with  their  convents  and 
monasteries  scattered  along  the  Nile.  They  are  the  scribes,  priests  and 
scholars  of  Egypt,  and  an-  ink-horn  at  the  girdle  (for  they  wear  the 
turban  and  flowing  robe)  is  a  masculine  badge,  as  is  the  cross,  tattooed 
upon  the  hand  of  the  Copt  woman,  her  mark  of  honor.  The  Coptic 
priesthood  have  considerably  lapsed  from  the  rigor  of  their  religious 
observances  as  primitive  Christians,  although  in  the  regular  monasteries 
their  discipline  is  still  severe.  The  dress  is  a  simple  skirt  of  coarse 
woolen  fabric.  Only  on  feast  days  are  small  quantities  of  animal  food 
allowed,  the  ordinary  food  being  black  bread  and  lentils.  The  convents, 
when  not  situated  on  some  inaccessible  rock,  are  surrounded  by  a  high 
and  strong  wall  which  has  only  a  single  iron  door,  and  in  some  cases  is 
wholly  without  opening,  the  means  of  entrance  being  a  pulley  from  the 
top. 

The  religious  rites  of  the  Copt  are  many  and  severe,  the  services 
lasting  many  hours  at  a  time.  Seven  times  daily  he  repeats  his  Pater 
Nosier,  and  begs  for  Divine  mercy  forty-one.  The  churches  are  deco- 
rated with  ornaments  of  ostrich  eggs  and  divided  into  four  compart- 
ments. Furthest  from  the  doorway  is  the  chancel,  or  sanctuary,  where 
the  eucharist  is  celebrated,  and  which  is  hidden  behind  a  high  screen. 
Next  is  the  room  where  the  priests  interpret  in  Arabic  the  Coptic 
service  to  the  singers,  the  leading  men  of  the  congregation  and  to 
strangers.  In  the  third  compartment  are  the  mass  of  the  congregation, 
moving  round  in  their  bare  feet  to  pray  before  the  pictures  of  the  saints, 
or  leaning  upon  long  crutches  for  support.  The  veiled  women  occupy 
the  fourth  room,  which  is  dimly  lighted,  and  usually  situated  in  the 
extreme  rear  of  the  church. 

The  domestic  life  of  tlie  Copts  is  ver}-  siniilar  to  that  of  the  Arabs 
who  have  settled  along  the  Nile.  They  have  adopted  also  many  of  the 
Moslem  customs,  such  as  the  veiling  of  the  faces  of  many  of  their 
women.  Some  Coptic  women  are  allowed  to  go  out  from  time  to  time 
and  even  to  visit  and  shop  pretty  freely.     Others,  again,  are  as  closely 


22  l'AX(JRA.MA    UF    XATIUXS. 

secluded  as  if  they  were  actual  denizens  of  a   harem.      Nearly  all  keep 
black  female  slaves  instead  of  hiring  servants. 

There   are  some  peculiarities   in   the   Coptic    marriage   ceremony, 


EGYPTIAN  DRNAMENTS. 


however.     The  bride,  unlike  the  Moslem,  has  no  canopy  to  cover  her 
in  the  procession  to  the  bridegroom's  house.      At  the  preliminary  feast, 


THE    NILE    AXU    EGVl'T. 


23 


pigeons  are  released  from  pies  and  tly  around  the  room  shaking-  bells 
attached  to  their  feet.  After  the  marriage  ceremon\-,  the  priests  set  on 
the  foreheads  of  the  new  couple  a  thin  gilt  diadem.  In  entering  her 
husband's  house,  the  bride  must  step  over  the  blood  of  a  newly  killed 
lamb.  The  whole  pageant,  after  lasting  eight  days,  ends  with  a  grand 
feast  at  the  bridesrroom's  house.  This  is  the  custom,  of  course,  amone 
the  well-to-do  classes,  but  certainly  would  not  prevail  in  the  hut  of  a 
poor  chicken  hatcher  or  fellah  (farmer).  But  we  shall  soon  be  among 
these  poor  swarth)- sons  of  the  Nile  and  it  will  become  evident  that  they 
could  not  be  the  originators  of  pageants  and  feasts  of  superlative 
grandeur. 

THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 

It  is  impossible  for  the  humblest  Egyptian  to  omit  the  Nile  as  an 
element  in  his  life  ;  for  in  her  bosom  lie  life  and  death.  Food,  drink 
and  clothing  spring  from  her  brooding  over  the  soil.  "  May  Allah  bless 
thee  as  he  blessed  the  course  of  the  Nile  !  "  exclaims  the  poor  woman 
on  its  banks  to  the  traveler.  "  Mohammed  would  not  have  crone  to 
Paradise  had  he  drunk  of  the  Nile,"  says  an  Arabian  proverb.  She 
seems  a  living,  moving  thing  —  either  a  benefactor  or  a  monster  ;  her 
benefactions,  generally,  make  her  the  power  for  good  in  Egypt  and  an 
all-pervading  influence  of  blessedness.  A  few  days  in  the  spring  and 
fall  she  rests  from  her  labors.  Then  the  tributaries  from  the  mountains 
and  table-lands  of  Abyssinia  and  from  the  recesses  of  Central  Africa 
commence  to  trickle  into  her  mighty  channel  and  the  great  event,  older 
than  the'pyramids  and  yet  ever  momentous,  is  soon  recorded  in  Cairo. 
Across  a  branch  of  the  river,  near  the  metropolis,  is  a  small  island,  in 
which  is  sunk  a  square  wall  or  chamber.  In  the  center  of  this  chamber 
is  a  graduated  pillar  divided  into  cubits  of  about  twenty-two  inches  each. 
Sometime  in  June  the  water  commences  to  rise  in  the  pillar,  or  nilo- 
meter,  and  Egyptian  life  again  hangs  upon  the  pleasure  of  old  mother 
Nile.  Every  morning  four  official  criers  proclaim  throughout  Cairo  the 
heiijht  to  which  the  water  has  risen.  When  the  sixteenth  cubit  is 
reached,  it  is  quite  certain  that  there  will  be  a  harvest  and  the  Sultan's 
land  tax  is  levied — what  portion  of  it  is  collected  from  the  shrewd  natives 
is  another  thing.  While  the  water  line  is  creeping  between  the  six- 
teenth and  the  eighteenth  cubits,  Cairo  and  Egypt  are  breathless  with 
interest  and  anxiety.  A  straggling  street  runs  from  the  city  down  to 
Fostat,  its  suburb  and  port.  From  F"ostat  a  canal  of  irrigation  runs 
through  Cairo  and  is  continued  some  miles  be\ond.      It  is  believed  to 


24 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


form  part  of  an  ancient  canal,  traces  of  which  we  found  in  the  desert 
sands  toward  Suez.  As  the  water  line  in  the  nilometer  rises  toward  the 
eighteenth  cubit,  this  becomes  a  locality  of  supreme  interest.  The  talk 
even  among  the  counting  houses  and  government  offices  ;  among  the 
Europeans  with  their  Coptic  clerks;  in  the  public  gardens  haunted  by 
French  and  German  strollers  ;  in  the  bazaars  filled  with  the  goods  and 
nationalities  of  the  East ;  around  the  mosques  in  the  city,  and  the  cof- 
fee booths  and  fairs  in  the  suburbs;  among  the  serpent  charmers  and 
storj-  tellers — the  talk  of  Cairo  itself  is  plentifully  interspersed  with  refer- 


f  / 


X 


A  JEW  OF  CAIRO. 


■.-  '■•,.    <■ 

S\^';  •"■■■■■■ 


ences  to  the  probable  outcome  of  the  rise.  Famine  has  already  been 
averted,  and  the  Sultan  has  his  tax — ^on  paper.  It  now  remains  to  be 
seen  whether  the  Nile  will  come  up  to  the  standard  of  aljiimlancc  which 
is  marked  on  the  fascinating  nilometer  liy  tlie  eighteenth  cubit,  and 
which  determines  whether  the  pacha  shall  cut  the  banks  which  confine 
the  waters  and  lead  it  into  this  grand  canal,  and  thence  into  six  thousand 
other  artificial  channels  and  reservoirs  scattered  throughout  the  region. 
Millions  of  anxious  fellaheen  and  Copts,  and  wandering  bands  of  Bedou- 


THE    NILE    AND    EGYPT.  25 

ins  and  gypsies,  are  at  the  same  time  casting  anxious  eyes  upon  the 
broad,  swelling  bosom  of  the  Nile,  or,  remembering  her  as  generally 
kind,  already  see  her  muddy  waters  depositing  their  magic  loam  upon 
the  parched  land,  and  the  fruits  and  grains  of  the  world  springing  into 
crreen  life.  Bounty  or  famine  depends  upon  what  has  been  going  on  in 
the  far-away  regions  of  Central  Africa  and  the  mountains  of   Abyssinia. 

Nature  has  been  good,  and  the  rains  have  fallen  which  bring  the 
waters  of  the  Nile  up  to  the  eighteenth  cubit  of  the  nilometer.  The 
command  is  given  by  the  authorities  of  Cairo.  The  pacha,  attended  by 
his  grandees,  cuts  the  confining  mounds,  and  another  harvest  and  season 
of  plenty  is  assured.  All  classes  now  flock  to  the  river  side  and,  it  may 
be,  the  whole  night  is  spent  in  festivity.  Like  scenes  of  jubilee  occur 
for  hundreds  of  miles  along  the  banks  of  the  god-like  river.  Between 
September  20  and  30  the  river  is  at  its  greatest  height,  remains  stationary 
for  about  fifteen  days  and  then  usually  commences  to  fall.  Should  the 
v/aters  rise  above  twenty-four  feet  then  the  river  ceases  to  be  a  "good 
Nile,"  and  woe  be  to  the  little  villages  which  lie  in  the  level  strip  along 
her  banks  should  she  go  far  above  that  point.  The  whole  valley  of  the 
Nile  is  now  a  vast  lake,  and  as  the  inundated  country  at  length  appears 
it  is  seen  to  be  covered  with  a  layer  of  rich  loam,  averaging  not  more 
than  one-twentieth  of  an  inch.  The  strip  fertilized  is  only  two  or  three 
miles  in  breadth,  but  the  soil,  thus  annually  replenished,  has  filled  the 
granaries  of  eastern  and  western  kingdoms,  and  as  long  as  the  Nile  does 
her  duty,  cannot  be  impoverished.  When  the  waters  recede,  vegetation 
springs  up,  crisp  and  green.  The  beautiful  date  palms,  which  are  so 
sympathetic,  look  brighter  and  more  martial  as  they  rise  from  the  river 
side  or  protectingly  group  themselves  around  little  hamlets  or  villages. 
The  sturdy  peasant,  or  fellah,  comes  from  his  mud  hut  and  casts  his 
wheat  and  barley  upon  the  loam.  Later,  he  drives  his  sheep,  goats  and 
oxen  upon  the  "sown"  grain  to  trample  it  in.  In  some  places  plough- 
ing is  thought  necessary,  but  is  usually  dispensed  with.  Beans,  peas, 
lentils,  clover,  flax,  lettuce,  hemp,  tobacco  and  water-melons  go  through 
with  much  the  same  process,  and  yet  the  fellah  confidently  expects,  from 
past  experience,  to  harvest  good  crops  within  three  or  four  months.  In 
summer,  chiefly  by  artificial  irrigation,  maize,  onions,  sugar  cane,  cotton, 
coffee,  indigo  and  madder  are  brought  from  the  bountiful  soil,  and  tem- 
perate and  tropical  fruits  vie  with  one  another  in  lusciousness. 

April,  the  great  harvest  month,  sees  the  fields  of  Egypt  white  with 
barley  and  golden  with  wheat.  Later  appear  the  tiny  green  oranges, 
which  do  not  mature  for  six  months.  Then  the  corn,  which  crackles 
with    dryness    as   it    is  heaped  upon  the  camels,   is  carried  off  to  be 


26  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

threshed.  Seated  in  his  wooden  chair  the  peasant  drives  his  rude  cart 
round  and  round  over  the  grain.  Some  of  the  weaUhy  land  ov.  ners  have 
introduced  modern  threshing  macliines,  but  tliis  primitive  object  is  still 
as  famiHar  a  sight  as  the  poor  fellah  who  has  abandoned  his  desert  for 
the  garden  spots  of  Egypt.  His  wants  are  few,  however,  —  "  a  draught 
of  Nile  water,  a  handful  of  lentils,  or  a  pitjce  of  bread  made  like  a  pan- 
cake and  touijh  as  wash-leather"  —  and,  since  fuel  costs  nothing;,  he  orets 
along  very  well.  He  has  also  various  crude  devices  for  irrigating  his 
land.  A  large  wheel  may  be  run  out  into  the  river  and,  with  its  hollow 
paddles,  turned  by  the  current.  The  water  is  thus  caught  up  and 
emptied  into  a  trench  or  tank  on  the  bank.  Or  our  Egyptian  farmer 
may  call  the  creaking  "sakieh"  into  service  —  a  series  of  cogwheels 
brought  to  bear  upon  an  endless  string  of  leathern  vessels  which  empty 
their  contents  into  a  pool.  Over  the  wheels  is  a  thatched  roof,  and 
under  the  roof  camels  or  buffaloes  are  plodding  around  a  beaten  path. 

Thus  is  revealed  the  motive  power.  From  the  pool  the  water  is  car- 
ried off  on  its  refreshing  errand  by  a  wooden  shaft.  Ruder,  but  more 
common  than  these  quite-mechanical  contrivances  is  an  elevating 
machine  consisting  of  a  long  pole  working  on  a  pivot,  a  lump  of  clay  or  a 
stone  at  one  end  and  a  bucket  at  the  other,  the  whole  arrangement  being 
fastened  to  a  simple  framework  of  logs.  Thousands  of  these  "re-formed" 
Arabs  —  naked  or  half-naked  men,  women  aixl  children  —  virtually  spend 
their  lives  before  their  "shadoof"  in  dipping  water  from  the  Nile  to  irri- 
gate the  fields.  The  water  which  is  thus  ])oured  into  trenches  on  the 
bank  runs  into  small  channels  or  ridges  of  earth  which  divide  the  land 
into  squares.  The  cultivator  uses  his  feet  to  regulate  the  flow  of  water 
to  each  part.  By  a  dexterous  movement  of  his  toes,  he  forms  a  tiny 
embankment  in  one  of  the  trenches,  or  removes  the  obstruction,  or  makes 
an  aperture  in  one  of  the  ridges,  or  closes  it  up  again,  as  the  condition  of 
the  crop  requires.  After  all  their  labor  when  the  grain  is  about  ready  to 
be  harvested  the  vast  flocks  of  geese,  wild  cluck,  hawks,  pigeons,  and 
cranes  which  darken  the  sky,  may  threaten  a  complete  destruction  of 
their  crop.  At  these  times,  instead  of  scarecrows,  the  fellaheen  place 
small  stands  or  platforms  in  the  fields,  from  which  young  boys  armed 
with  slines  do  wonderful  execution. 


•&- 


THE  FELLAHEEN. 

Next  to  the  birds,  the  greatest  enemies  of  the  fellaheen  are  the  tax 

.collectors,  who  do  not  hesitate  to  vigorously  apply  the  stick  when  they 

find  an  unusually  stubborn  subject ;  and  after  the  application  of  such 


THE    FEI.LAIIKKX.  2/ 

forcible  arouments,  if  he  still  refuses  to  disgorge  the  coin  which  is  clearly 
due  the   Sultan,   as  proven  by  the   nilometer's  record,  his  wife  and  his 
neiohbors  exalt  him  as  a  hero  and  a  patriot.      Their  many  tricks  to  evade 
the  dues,  which  trickery  they  consider  one  of  the  paramount  duties  of 
life,  are  illustrati\-e  of  their  many-sided  characters.      Some  years  ago  the 
tax  upon  country  produce  brought  into  cities  was  so  increased  as  to  be 
really  a  burden  upon  our  rural  friends.     At  the  station  where  two  coun- 
try roads  meet,  a  poor  fellah  would  be  seen  dancing  about  "hopping 
mad,"  because  he  hail  been  forced  to  pay  more  than  he  expected,  or  had 
been  caught  at  some  of  his  evasive  tricks.    But  after  swearing  and  lament- 
ing in  his  native    tongue,  he  would    re-load  his   ass,  throw  off  all  his 
burdens  of  spirit  and  proceed  with  as  unruffled  a  countenance  as  though 
evei^  tax  fiend  in  Hg}pt  had  started  for  Constantinople.     Occasionally, 
however,  they  do  escape  the  sharp-eyed  officials,  though  this  is  not  the 
case  in  the  following  instance.     A  funeral  procession  enters  the  city  by 
the  chief  country  road,  the  chanting  mollahs  (religious  doctors)  walking 
behind,  accompanied  by  men  carrying  the  coffin  with  a  red  shawl  over  it, 
as  is  the  usual  custom.      But  the  official   scents  something  in  the  wind 
which  is  not  a  badly  preserved  corpse,  and  orders  a  halt  and  an  investiga- 
tion.    The  coffin,  which  in  the  East  is  only  covered  with  a  pall,  is  found 
to  be  filled  with  cheese !     If  the  cheese  had  been  a  corpse  it  w-ould  have 
entered  the  city  free  of  duty.      Neither  are  the  fellaheen  always  honest  in 
their  dealings  with  private  parties.       A  traveler  tells  the  story  that  he 
once  observed  a  large  heap  of  little  clay  balls  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile 
which,  evidently,  were  not  formed  by  nature.       He  asked  a  fellah  who 
stood  near  what  they  were  for,  as  there  were  two  or  three  such  heaps. 
"Oh,"  he  coolly  replied,  "they  are  for  mixing  with  corn.       Many  boats 
laden  with  corn  stop    here."      A  boatman   added  that  the   village   was 
famous  for  a  peculiar  kind  of  clay,  of  a  corn  color,  but  weighing  heavier 
than  the  grain. 

As  a  rule,  however,  the  fellaheen,  who  comprise  four-fifths  of  the 
Egyptian  population,  are  honest,  lazy,  patient,  merry  and  domestic. 
They  are  the  brawn  of  Egypt  and  cling  jealously  to  her  most  ancient 
customs,  strenuously  opposing  the  introduction  of  implements  of  modern 
invention  even  when  the  attempt  is  made  by  their  Turkish  masters. 
The  men  average  five  feet  eisrht  inches  in  height,  and  have  broad  chests, 
muscular  limbs  and  generally  black,  piercing  eyes,  straight  thick  noses, 
large  but  well-formed  mouths,  full  lips,  beautiful  teeth  and  fine,  oval  faces. 
Their  dress  rarely  consists  of  more  than  a  shirt,  leaving  bare  the  arms, 
legs  and  breast.  The  distinctive  garl)  of  the  fellaha,  or  peasant'swife,  is 
the  dark-blue  cotton  and  black  muslin  veil.      In   the  towns  many  wear 


28  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

prints  ot  various  colors  for  trousers,  and  for  the  sliort  waistcoat  without 
sleeves,  which  is  worn  in  winter  as  an  additional  garment.  The  favorite 
hues  are  orange,  pink  and  )'eIlo\v,  or  magenta  crimson.  The  older 
women,  even  among  quite  poor  people,  frequently  dye  their  grey  locks 
a  tawny  orange  color.  When  we  speak  of  the  "older  women  "  Ave  mean 
those  far  this  side  of  thirty.  From  twelve  —  the  usual  aee  of  marriat)-e  — 
to  eighteen  or  nineteen  nearly  all  the  women  are  splendidly  formed 
and  many  of  them  are  real  beauties,  but  after  that  they  rapidly  wither, 

THEIR  WIVES. 

Having  introduced  the  fellah  and  spoken  of  his  occupation  and  dis- 
position, it  is  no  more  than  just  that  we  should  do  the  same  for  his  wife. 
While  he  is  abroad  tending  his  cattle  or  sheep,  looking  after  his  crops, 
selling  fodder,  fruit,  milk  or  vegetables,  or  looking  after  the  irrigation  of 
his  land,  we  shall  enter  his  home,  meet  his  wife  and  family,  and  see  how 
and  where  they  live. 

The  houses  of  the  fellaheen  are  all  of  the  same  general  type,  the 
wealthier  of  them,  of  course,  living  in  a  large  mud  "mansion"  instead 
of  occupying  one  about  four  feet  in  height.  The  well-to-do  may  have 
carpets  and  mattresses,  little  coffee  cups  and  some  brass  cooking  vessels 
instead  of  a  sleeping  mat,  a  water  jug  and  a  few  rude  kitchen  utensils ; 
and  their  daily  bill  of  fare  may  include  more  items  than  coarse  bread  and 
onions,  cheese,  dates,  beans  and  rice.  In  some  of  the  houses  of  the 
more  pretentious  peasants  there  is  a  separate  apartment,  called  "  hareem," 
for  the  women  ;  but  it  is  usually  dirty  and  disorderly  and  a  pitiful  par- 
ody upon  the  magnificence  of  its  Moslem  prototype.  The  wife  of  the 
rich  fellah  displays  gold  ornaments,  a  brocaded  silk  vest,  a  black  muslin 
veil  and,  on  special  occasions,  trousers;  the  poor  fellaha  has  her  silver 
bracelets  and  her  dark  cotton  garments,  often  thin  and  ragged. 

As  soon  as  it  is  light  the  poor  woman  gets  up  from  her  mat,  spread 
in  the  low  one-room  hut,  and  shakes  herself ;  or,  if  the  weather  is  hot, 
she  has  been  sleeping  outside,  with  her  family.  Having  thus  completed 
her  toilet,  she  and  her  husband  and  children  gather  round  a  small  earthen 
dish  containing  boiled  beans  and  oil,  pickles  or  chopped  herbs,  green 
onions  or  carrots.  Possibly  the  family  do  not  go  to  all  this  trouble,  but 
each  takes  what  pleases  him,  when  he  likes,  the  substantial  part  of  the 
food  being  a  coarse  kind  of  bread  in  which  is  mixed  some  most  bitter 
seeds  which  seem  to  immensely  tickle  the  palate  of  the  average  Egyp- 
tian. The  father  now,  in  all  probability,  goes  to  his  work,  and  the 
mother,  if  she  has  none  to  do,  wanders  away  to  gossip  with  the  neigh- 


EGYI'IIAX  SIN(;ER. 


PANORAMA    Ol-'    NATIONS. 


bors,  leavini^r  the  children  to  roll  in  the  dust  or  otherwise  shift  for  them- 
selves. If  she  has  no  neighbors  and  lives  in  the  country,  she  may  go  ofi 
with  her  husband  and  the  children  to  assist  him  in  drawing  water  to  irri- 
gate their  land.  If  it  is  baking  day,  or  she  has  some  other  simple 
household  duty  to  perform,  she  deposits  her  infant  (in  appearance  a  heap 
of  dirty  rags)  upon  the  first  spot  which  strikes  herj 
eyes,  when  the  idea  comes  to  her.  It  ma\'  be  on 
a  heap  of  rubbish,  with  the  sun  beating  down 
upon  it  or  the  flies  swarming  over  it.  If  she  is  a 
country  fellaha  working  with  her  husband,  the 
infant  may  go  down  in  the  mud.  Should  she  be 
eating  an  onion,  or  a  pickle,  or  a  raw  carrot,  and 
the  baby  cries  —  and  has  teeth — she  will,  as  likely 
as  not,  fill  its  little  mouth  with  whatever  she  is 
enjoying.  But  bread-making  day  has  really  arrived, 
and  approaching  the  windowless  mud-hut,  with 
its  wooden  door  and  huge  wooden  key,  we  find 
that  the  woman  has  brought  the  strength  of  the 
whole  family  to  bear  upon  her  task.  Perhaps  the 
smaller  children  and  an  old  grandmother  are  pick- 
ing and  cleaningf  the  corn,  the  older  boys  or  the 
father  carrying  it  off  to  be  ground  and  bringing 
back  the  flour.  A  grown  daughter  or  a  sister  is 
sifting  the  flour  and  with  the  fellaha's  assistance 
mixing  the  leaven,  working  up  the  dough  and  shap- 
ing it  into  round  cakes.  These  are  then  baked  in 
the  mud  oven  of  the  hut,  or,  if  the  fellaha  lives  in 
a  village,  the  batch  may  be  taken  to  the  public 
oven. 

When  evening  comes  a  pretense  is  usually 
made  to  unite  the  family.  They  sit  in  a  circle,  often 
on  the  eround  —  mother,  father,  children,  sister 
and  grandmother  —  and  dip  their  cakes  of  bread 
into  a  veeetable  mess  before  them,  contained  in  a 
coarse  earthen  pan.  They  eat  in  comparative 
silence.,  often,  and  when  each  is  satisfied  he  gets 
up  and  goes  away.  Sometimes  the  man  eats  alone,  or  with  his  sons  ;  and 
the  women  finish  the  bowl.  But  this  practice  obtains  only  among  those 
upon  whom  the  Moslem  customs  have  a  strong  hold.  If  the  fellah  fam- 
ily, in  whose  house  we  visit,  is  above  the  average  in  respectability,  after 
supper  is  finished,  wife,  daughter  or  slave  brings  in  a  basin  and  pours  water 


EGM'TIAN  VASE 


EGVi'TIAN    SCIIUULS. 


31 


over  the  hands.  Whether  the  family  sleep  indoors  or  out,  depends, 
principally,  upon  the  season  of  the  year.  But  let  them  sleep,  for  the 
present,  wherever  they  are  and  whoever  they  are  —  whether  the  Mos- 
lem who  has  gone  through  with  his  evening  devotions  on  a  carpet 
spread  on  the  ground,  or  the  Coptic  Christian  who  has  said  his  prayers 
and  counted  his  beads  forty  and  one  times  during  the  day. 

EGYPTIAN    SCHOOLS. 


In  many  of  the  villages  along  the  Nile,  Moslem  and  Copt  dwell  in 
comparative  peace,  the  men  working  together  in  the  fields  and  their 
children  attending  the  same  school,  when  one  has  been  established  in  a 
rural   district   by  some   European  missionary.      The  boys,  however,  far 

outnumber  the  o-irls,  from  the  fact  that 
maidens  are  more  useful  at  home  than  their 
brothers  ;  that  they  are  called  away  from 
school  before  they  have  made  much  prog- 
ress, to  become  wives,  and  that  Moslem 
Egyptians  are  generally  imbued  with  the 
Turkish  indifference  to  female  educa- 
tion and  advancement.  The  little  girls 
attend  in  loose  frocks  called  "  ofellebeehs," 
I  with  muslin  or  gauze  veils,  slippers  in 
winter,  and  in  summer  wooden  clo^js 
which  are  kicked  off  when  they  seat  them- 
selves. In  the  native  schools  little  is 
taught  besides  the  Koran  and  the  merest 
elements  of  arithmetic.  Though  the 
school-master  may  be  blind,  if  he  can 
repeat  the  Moslem  bible  without  stum- 
bling, the  permanency  of  his  position  is 
AN  EGYPTIAN  CHAIR.  assurcd.    The  school  is  generally  attached 

to  the  village  mosque,  which  is  built  of  mud  with  a  white-washed  spire. 
Its  locality  can  be  ascertained  beyond  a  doubt  by  the  tremendous  hub- 
bub which  always  proceeds  from  a  Moslem  school  ;  for  all  those  who  are 
learning  to  read  are  sitting  upon  the  ground  with  the  school-master,  vig- 
orously rocking  their  bodies  back  and  forth,  and  reciting  their  lessons 
from  their  wooden  tablets  and  at  the  top  of  their  voices.  Before  the 
older  pupils,  on  little  desks  made  of  palm  sticks,  are  copies  of  the  Koran 
or  some  of  its  thirty  sections.  They  also  are  going  through  with  the 
same  form  of  gymnastics,  which  is  thought  to  be  an  aid  to  the  memory. 


32  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

In  the  small  towns  and  villages  the  masters  of  the  schools  are  nearly 
as  ignorant  as  the  pupils,  but  manage  by  their  native  shrewdness  to  hide 
their  lack  of  learning.  Naturally  the  "  salary  "  is  a  mere  nothing.  But 
in  Cairo,  where  the  course  of  instruction  is  somewhat  broader,  the 
remuneration  to  the  school-master  is  correspondingly  greater  ;  from  the 
parent  of  each  pupil  there  is  sent  to  him,  every  Thursday,  what  would 
be  equivalent  to  three  cents.  The  master  of  a  school  attached  to  a 
mosque  or  public  building,  in  Cairo,  also  receives  yearly  apiece  of  white 
muslin  for  a  turban,  a  piece  of  linen  and  a  pair  of  shoes.  Each 
boy  receives,  at  the  same  time,  a  linen  skull  cap,  eight  or  nine  yards 
of  cotton  cloth,  half  a  piece  of  linen,  a  pair  of  shoes,  and  in  some 
cases  from  three  to  six  cents.  These  presents  are  supplied  by  funds 
bequeathed  to  the  school.  Although  several  -Sultans  of  enlightened 
views  have  attempted  to  reform  the  cause  of  education  in  Egypt,  they 
have  found  it  a  graceless  task,  the  prejudice  and  ignorance  of  the  bulk 
of  the  population  being  as  firmly  set  against  any  innovation  here  as  they 
are  in  the  field  of  agriculture.  So  the  boy  continues  to  shout  his  les- 
sons, and  the  poor  little  maiden  is  often  not  allowed  to  know  much  of 
her  Koran,  for,  when  a  mere  child,  she  is  hurried  away  from  home  to 
wed  somebody  whom,  perchance,  she  has  never  seen.  In  a  few  short 
years,  when  she  begins  to  fade,  she  fails  to  understand  the  cause  of  the 
great  rejoicing  which  then  took  place  ;  or  of  the  bright-hued  procession 
which  followed  her  red  silk  canopy,  under  which  she  herself  walked  cov- 
ered from  head  to  foot  with  a  large  red  shawl  ;  or  why  discordant  bands 
of  music  and  sweetly  tinkling  singers  should  do  their  best  to  celebrate 
the  event,  as  if  her  world  did  not  know  that  marriage  was  the  stepping- 
stone  to  dismal,  neglected  old  age. 

GLIDING  UP  THE   NILE. 

In  this  general  view  of  the  customs,  dispositions  and  daily  life  of  the 
Copts  and  fellaheen,  who  really  are  the  two  components  of  the  modern 
Egyptians,  we  have  failed  to  even  touch  upon  salient  points,  which 
to  omit,  would  leave  the  pitture  of  the  Land  of  the  Nile  and 
its  people  incomplete  and  colorless.  We  have  got  acquainted  with 
some  of  the  people,  so  that  they  do  not  seem  like  strangers  to  us,  and 
now  must  just  skim  the  surface  of  their  mysterious  country — another' 
land  of  decay — stopping  at  a  point  or  two  which  is  typical  of  their 
modern  institutions.  As  you  pass  through  the  delta  of  the  Nile,  the 
flocks. of  pelican,  wild  duck  and  other  fowl  make  the  waters  hum  and 
you  might  imagine,  if  it  were  not  for  that  narrow  strip  of  desert,  that  you 


GLIDING    UP    THE    NILE.  33 

had  by  mistake  wandered  into  the  State  of  Louisiana.  The  tremendous 
fields  of  grain  which,  in  season,  would  be  stretching  down  to  the  river's 
edge  for  three  miles  on  either  hand,  would  also  soon  dispel  the  illusion 
caused  by  the  presence  of  these  myriads  of  water  fowl.  Alexandria, 
a  strange  combination  of  decay  and  life,  being  left  behind,  the  fertile 
strip  of  country  grows  quite  narrow  as  Cairo  comes  into  view — Cairo, 
with  its  dark  and  gloomy  streets,  its  great  mosques  and  its  seven  miles 
of  area  which  is  the  focal  point  of  three  distinct  civilizations.  The 
slaves  of  Africa,  the  spices  and  fabrics  of  the  East  and  the  gold  of 
Europe  are  all  cast  into  Cairo,  and  a  tremendous  jumble  of  English- 
men and  Germans,  French  and  Americans,  Arabs,  Copts,  Armenians, 
camels,  asses,  dogs,  funeral  and  marriage  processions,  bazaars,  veiled 
women,  Turks,  caravans  and  noise  is  the  result.  Opposite  to  Cairo,  and 
extending  along  a  slope  to  the  river,  are  the  sixty  pyramids  ;  the  ravages 
of  time,  and  the  depredations  of  Arab  builders  for  ages,  having  given 
some  of  them  a  somewhat  irregular  outline  as  they  stand  up  against  the 
clear  sky  in  their  gloomy  grandeur. 

The  mountains  now  approach  nearer  to  the  river  than  they  did  in 
Lower  Eo-ypt,  and  over  the  desert  a  picturesque  group  of  Bedouins  are 
wandering.  They  have  been  brought  into  subjection  by  rigorous 
governmental  treatment,  but  still  proudly  cling  to  their  nomadic  ways 
notwithstanding  their  race  has  been  abandoned  by  so  many  tribes  who 
have  settled  down  into  the  drudgery  of  partial  civilization.  They  are 
therefore  harmless  to  travelers.  They  are  dressed  in  clothes  of  camel's 
hair,  with  girdles  of  leather,  and  their  wives  wear  the  dark  cotton  robe  of 
the  fellaha,  with  an  additional  veil  of  crimson  or  white  crape.  Entering 
the  river's  fertile  strip  the  Arab  band  is  seen  to  approach  a  cluster  of 
mud  huts,  under  a  grove  of  palms,  and  connected  with  a  farm. 
They  talk  with  the  bailiff  in  charge  of  the  land  and  the  fellaheen, 
and  quickly  pitch  their  tents  beside  the  hut.  They  have  returned 
to  watch  his  crops  and  cattle,  for  they  have  been  found  trust- 
worthy before,  although  it  is  impossible  to  foretell  when  their 
thieving  propensities  will  seize  upon  them.  Wandering,  like  the 
Arab,  through  the  pyramid  section,  we  find  that  an  opportunity  is 
given  them  to  rob  us  in  genteel  civilized  fashion.  The  sheik  of  a  tribe 
has  founded  his  village  at  the  foot  of  one  of  the  pyramids  and  compla- 
cently levies  his  tribute  upon  curiosity  seekers,  who,  under  the  hallucina- 
tion that  they  will  be  "conducted"  are  rushed  up  its  sides  at  railroad 
speed,  over  steps  of  three  or  four  feet  in  height,  by  his  impetuous  and 
"lungless"  Arabs.  Still  skirting  along  the  Nile,  or  through  Egypt, 
with  its  mid-days  of  white  heat,  its  purple  mountain  shadows,  its  cold 

3 


faiiiBaaiMiMiBaiiiiiiisiiiiaiiiiiiiiiiiiiKiili^ 


GLIDING    UP    THE    NILE.  35 

twilights  and  mellow  "  after-glows,"  its  deserts  and  gardens,  its  hills 
pierced  with  pictured  tombs,  its  bee  boats  stopping  wherever  the  flowers 
bloom,  its  boatmen's  chants  heard  with  choruses  and  clappings  of  hands, 
its  boats  built  as  they  were  in  the  days  of  the  Pharaohs  with  their  trian- 
gular sails,  its  limestone  pyramids  and  sandstone  temples  —  while 
wonderful  nature  and  human  life  cast  themselves  and  their  moods  over 
this  country  of  Egyptian,  Grecian  and  Roman  ruins — "  our  special  artist" 
finds — what  ?  Another  specimen  village,  and  the  Bedouins  have  actually 
so  far  ventured  into  the  confines  of  civilization  as  to  settle  in  it.  The 
village,  which  is  a  short  distance  from  the  beach,  is  thickly  sprinkled 
with  palms.  A  plot  near  by  is  also  covered  with  gum  trees.  The 
houses  are  of  the  vulgar  mud,  but  the  large  herd  of  cattle  in  the  vicinity 
and  the  rich  ornaments  worn  by  the  women,  who  are  grouped  near  the 
river  bank,  are  sufficient  evidences  that  the  Bedouins  have  gained  by 
changing  their  ways  of  living.  If  you  had  been  inclined  to  visit  the 
sheik  of  the  village  he  would,  perhaps,  have  spread  a  Persian  carpet  for 
you  under  the  shade  of  one  of  these  gum  trees,  and,  in  the  presence 
of  his  chief  men,  would  politely  have  inquired  as  to  your  goings  and 
comings.  His  house  is  also  open  to  you.  But,  it  may  be,  j'ou  had 
better  rest  content  with  seeing  the  outside  of  the  village,  especially  it 
you  have  any  valuables  which  you  wish  to  retain. 

Let  us  now  pass  Siout,  from  which  the  Nubian  caravans  are  departing, 
and  to  which  some  of  our  fellah  acquaintances  have  journeyed  to  lay  mat- 
ters before  the  governor  of  Central  Egypt  which  are  too  momentous  to 
be  settled  by  any  village  authority.  Let  us  pass  the  Christian  town  of 
Ekhmin,  with  its  Coptic  convent  and  its  great  ruins,  and  even  the  broad 
plain  covered  with  the  remains  of  fallen  Thebes,  her  dark  mountain 
tombs  in  the  back-ground.  All  these  wonders,  of  which  you  may  read 
in  hundreds  of  books  and  see  them  stand  forth  from  thousands  of  bold 
engravings,  are  lightly  skimmed  over,  only  to  enter  a  modest  village 
beyond  and  see  what  is  going  on  there.  In  Siout  the  governoi  may 
dispense  justice  as  he  pleases  for  all  the  interest  we  takt  in  his  grand 
ways — but  here  is  a  village  court-house  !  It  would  correspond  to  our 
county  court,  several  villages  and  towns  bringing  their  legal  affairs  to  it, 
and  is  crowded  with  handsome,  sturdy  peasants.  At  the  door  stand  the 
keepers — two  half-naked  lads  with  long  sticks.  The  room  is  small  and 
approached  by  a  narrow,  dirty  staircase.  Many  of  the  windows  are 
broken,  the  panes  being  stuffed  with  rags  or  a  ragged  curtain  to  keep 
out  the  sun.  At  a  number  of  inky,  crazy-looking  wooden  desks  in  front, 
sit  several  scribes  writing  ;  while  on  a  ragged  divan,  with  soiled  cushions, 
sit  a  dozen  more,  each  with  paper  or  inkhorn  of  brass  in  his  girdle  or  his 


36  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

hand.  Each  head  scribe  chants  out  the  contents  of  his  paper,  in  a 
sonorous,  but  not  very  loud  tone  of  \/oice,  to  his  assistant,  who  copies  it. 
The  dinner  hour  having  arrived,  does  the  court  adjourn?  That  would 
hardly  accord  with  the  dignity  of  the  Turkish  judge.  A  lad  brings  into 
the  court-room  a  tray,  upon  which  are  vegetaoles,  bread,  cheese  and  a 
watermelon ;  whereupon  the  Court,  with  two  of  his  assistants,  calmly 
proceed  to  dip  their  bits  of  bread  in  the  vegetable  dishes  and  go  through 
the  whole  course.  Then,  leisurely  wiping  their  hands,  they  resume 
work. 

In  the  village,  outside  of  the  sleepy  court-room,  a  lively  scene  is 
found  in  the  shape  of  the  weekly  market.  We  see  no  booths,  but  each 
seller  spreads  his  wares  before  him  on  little  mats ,  cloth,  wool,  tobacco, 
butter,  salt,  curds,  handkerchiefs,  sugar,  coffee,  thread,  etc.,  are  displayed 
for  sale.  Veiled  women,  decorated  according  to  their  condition  with 
colored  glass  or  white  shells,  silver  bracelets,  golden  coins  or  antique 
jewels,  chat,  examine  and  sometimes  buy.  Gentle  Egyptian  cattle  wander 
about  unmolested.  The  fellaha  even  appears  as  a  '  sales-lady"  beside 
her  pile  of  egg-plants  or  gourds,  and  shrilly  proclaims  their  virtues.  A 
Bedouin  chief  even  appears  upon  his  strong  horse,  his  saddle  furnished 
with  cases  of  pistols.  Elderly  peasants,  in  turbans  of  white  or  crimson 
sit  in  sunny  spots,  smoking  and  chatting  over  their  bargains.  All  this 
animation  and  enjoyment  and  indolence  are  fondled  by  a  bright  Egyp- 
tian sun.  These  fairs  are  certainly  a  great  institution  of  Egyptian 
peasant  and  village  life. 

But  adieu  to  the  fair  and  to  the  village  with  its  mud  huts,  some 
standing  alone  and  some  clustering  around  a  common  court-yard,  some 
filled  with  vermin  and  others  with  chickens  in  all  stages  of  artificial 
development ;  to  clerical,  priestly  Copt,  to  brawny,  mercurial  fellah,  and 
to  picturesque,  thievish  Bedouin.  We  are  traveling  into  Upper  Egypt, 
where  the  valley  of  the  Nile  so  contracts  that  the  sandstone  rocks  over- 
hang the  water.  From  these  rugged  cliffs  were  quarried  the  huge  stones 
which  went  into  the  building  of  the  ruined  monuments  and  temples  of 
Upper  Egypt  and  Nubia.  Here  is  the  home  of  the  Copt  and  his  vihages 
are  scattered  all  along  the  rocky  banks,  his  convents  often  crowning  a 
precipitous  height  or  the  ruins  of  some  imposing  structure.  He  and  his 
priest  chose  these  dreary  dwelling  places  when  their  ways  of  living  were 
more  ascetic  than  they  now  are ;  when  the  early  Christians  hid  themselve. 
in  caves  both  from  choice  and  from  necessity;  but  having  once  planted 
their  feet  in  this  rocky  gorge  the  ties  of  kindred  and  the  bonds  of  poverty 
have  kept  them  there.  With  the  roar  of  the  cataracts  in  our  ears  we 
say  good-bye  to  Egypt,  but  not  to  the  Nile. 


ETHIOPIA    ALONG   THE    NILE.  37 

ETHIOPIA  ALONG  THE  NILE. 

The  name  "  Ethiopia  "  calls  up  all  the  savage  tribes,  the  mystery  and 
darkness  of  Central  Africa.  To  our  childhood  mind  an  Ethiopian  could 
be  nothing  but  the  blackest  of  the  black;  a  great,  uncouth,  thick-lipped 
beast,  roaming  over  a  vast  territory  which  stared  at  us  with  fearful 
blankness  from  the  center  of  Africa.  Ethiopia  included  all  the  unknown, 
and  the  Ethiopian  everything  in  man  which  was  calculated  to  produce  a 
ni'^htmare.  But  the  truth  of  the  matter  is  that  ancient  Ethiopia  was 
renowned  even  in  Greece  and  Rome  as  a  land  of  high  civilization  ;  the 
Ethiopians  were  called  "  the  blameless  race  "  and  the  favored  friends  of  the 
gods.  In  her  mightiest  days,  Ethiopia  was  the  rival  of  Egypt  in  all  that 
was  grand  and  glorious,  as  is  attested  by  the  ruins  of  her  vast  temples 
in  Nubia,  some  of  which  were  hewn  from  mountains  of  solid  rock.  Her 
tribes  are  now  scattered  from  the  northern  confines  of  the  Sahara  desert, 
through  Nubia,  Abyssinia,  along  the  banks  of  the  Upper  Nile  and 
around  the  shores  of  its  lakes,  and  into  the  most  hidden  recesses  of  the 
continent,  where  they  merge  with  the  true  negroes  of  Soudan  and  Cen- 
tral Africa.  They  have  scattered,  and  been  driven,  and  settled  in  a  ter- 
ritory stretching  from  Northern  to  Southern  Africa,  and  from  the  Red 
Sea  to  the  Atlantic,  the  best  physical  specimens  of  the  ancient  Ethio- 
pians being  found  in  the  Tuaricks  of  the  central  Sahara  desert.  Nubia 
was  evidently  the  center  of  Ethiopian  civilization,  her  present  popula- 
tion consisting  of  the  descendants  of  her  ancient  people,  and  of  various 
tribes  of  Arabs,  most  of  whom  invaded  the  country  in  Mohammed's 
time. 

The  first  ray  of  intelligence  which  pierces  the  darkness  enshrouding 
Ethiopian  history  and  which  bears  upon  the  origin  of  the  Nubians,  as 
we  find  them  to-day,  is  that  in  the  early  part  of  the  Christian  era  a  pow- 
erful tribe  of  Lybians  appeared  south  of  Egypt  who  were  called  Nobat^e, 
or  Nuba.  The  Nuba  now  occupy  a  small  tract  of  country  below  the  ter- 
ritory of  the  Dongolese  in  Southern  Nubia.  They  are  supposed  to  be 
Berbers. 

THE  DONGOLESE. 

The  two  most  distinct  tribes  of  Nubians,  however,  who  have  least 
of  the  Arab  blood,  and  are  the  truest  types  of  natives  in  the  country,  are 
the  Dongolese  and  the  Shangallas.  The  Dongolese  are  also  supposed 
to  be  the  remains  of  the  Lybian  tribe  of  Nuba  to  whom  the  Romans 
granted  land  south  of  the  first  cataract  in  return  for  which  they  protected 


3S  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

Egypt's  frontier  from  the  fierce  attacks  of  Southern  Ethiopian  tribes. 
At  first  they  were  a  Christian  people  and  formed  quite  a  powerful  nation, 
whose  capital  was  at  Dongola  and  whose  territory  covered  most  of  Lower 
Nubia,  now  inhabited  by  their  Moslem  conquerors,  the  Arabs.  The 
vicinity  of  old  Dongola,  in  the  center  of  Nubia,  seems  to  have  been  the 
nucleus  of  the  ancient  as  well  as  the  more  modern  Christian  civilization. 
Here  a  Christian  queen  reigned  over  the  Dongolese,  and  at  the  foot  of 
a  cliff  which  rises  four  hundred  feet  and  formed  the  site  of  her  capital 
are  found  five  or  six  rock-hewn  temples  of  vast  magnitude.  Their  walls 
are  covered  with  hieroglyphics,  in  high  relief,  representing  figures  and 
deeds  of  kings  and  gods.  The  houses  of  old  Dongola  are  now  mostly 
in  ruins,  but  on  the  highest  part  of  the  rocky  cliff  a  simple  Coptic  church 
rises  into  view.  The  walls  are  ornamented  with  crude  paintings,  and 
the  attendant  priest  in  his  black  robes,  with  his  long  and  ragged  hair,  is 
wiping  their  unsightly  and  cracked  surfaces  with  an  old  rag.  Services 
have  not  been  held  in  the  church  for  many  years,  but  the  priest  keeps 
guard  within  it  and  reads  his  Amharic  bible  all  day  long,  and  far  into  the 
night,  by  the  light  of  the  stars.  So  he  does  not  mind  the  fact  that  nearly 
all  its  people  have  crossed  the  river  and  built  themselves  houses,  and 
have  gone  to  raising  grain  and  fruits  and  cotton.  This  latter  product 
requiring  an  abundant  supply  of  water,  a  rude  canal  has  been  constructed 
communicating  with  the  Nile.  When  the  canal  is  dry  water  is  conveyed 
across  country  in  numerous  small  aqueducts,  built  on  upright  tim- 
bers, to  the  cotton  fields  beyond.  None  of  this  cotton  finds  its  way  to 
Lower  Egypt  ;  but  the  people  along  the  river  for  many  miles  and  thous- 
ands of  wandering  Arabs  wear  clothes  made  in  Old  Dongola,  or  opposite 
its  former  site.  There  are  many  primitive  looms  in  the  vicinity,  the 
light-colored  Dongolese  women  working  at  them  and  turning  out  strips 
of  cloth  about  ten  feet  in  length  and  fifteen  inches  wide.  A  strip  of  this- 
cloth,  simply  rolled  around  the  loins  and  shoulders  of  the  Arab,  with  a 
pair  of  drawers,  completes  the  dress  of  our  nomadic  customer.  It  is  said 
to  last  him  five  or  six  years.  Many  of  the  children  are  sent  out  to  mind 
the  oxen  which  propel  the  "sakieh"  wheels.  You  have  seen  them  in  the 
land  of  Egypt  but  did  not  know  that  under  a  palm,  or  rock  near  by,  a 
half-naked  girl  or  boy  was  lying  apparently  asleep.  But  let  the  monot- 
onous creaking  stop  for  a  moment  and  a  shrill  cry  would  start  the  patient 
beasts  on  their  everlasting  rounds,  and  the  water  would  continue  to  flow 
over  the  fields.  If  not  thus  employed  they  are  seen  along  the  river 
banks  fishing  with  hook  or  trap  for  the  muddy-tasting  shall,  bultee  or 
kharmoot ;  they  are  waging  an  exciting  warfare  with  the  white  ants  which 
sometimes  threaten  the  scant  household  furnishings  of  their  homes;  or 


"*?^- 


AFRICA. 


THE    SHANGALLAS.  39 

they  are  out  picking  cotton  or  sewing  seed.  We  find  the  Dongolese 
living  in  the  same  wretched  huts  as  the  Egyptians,  consisting  often  of 
one  room,  with  a  court-yard  for  the  goats  and  fowl.  Though  the  fertile 
strip  of  the  Nile  averages  ten  or  twelve  miles  through  the  one  hundred 
miles  covered  by  the  territory  of  the  Dongolese,  and  bears  two  annual 
crops  of  corn  and  dates,  cotton,  tobacco,  coffee,  opium,  indigo,  sugar- 
cane, beans  and  saffron,  they  are  indolent  by  nature  and  [)rcfer  to  collect 
slaves  in  the  further  regions  of  the  Nile  and  sell  them  in  Egypt.  They 
raise  fine  cattle,  also,  which  require  less  attention  than  the  crops,  and 
pride  themselves  on  the  superior  breed  of  their  horses,  which  are,  indeed, 
larofer  than  the  Arabian.  As  has  been  intimated,  the  Dongolese  are 
whiter  than  the  Nubians  in  general.  They  seem  originally  to  ha\e  been 
a  tribe  living  north  of  the  Ethiopians,  and  have  had  a  slight  mixture  of 
Arabian  and  Mameluke,  or  Circassian  blood.  Driven  from  Egypt, 
where  they  were  once  the  ruling  power,  the  Mamelukes  founded  New 
Dongola,  but  finally,  as  a  people,  became  extinct.  The  Mamelukes  were 
driven  out  by  the  Turks  who  still  garrison  the  town  with  negroes  from 
the  White  Nile. 

THE  SHANGALLAS. 

A  relic  of  the  most  degraded  of  the  Ethiopian  tribes  are  the  Shan- 
gallas  found  in  the  country  to  the  west  of  Abyssinia  and  in  Southeastern 
Nubia,  although  the  boundary  line  between  the  two  countries  is  very 
indefinite.  Though  savage  and  bloodthirsty  in  an  extreme  degree  in 
their  attacks  upon  rival  tribes  and  travelers  entering  Abyssinia,  some 
rays  of  humanity  still  gleam  from  their  natures;  for  they  always  spare 
women  and  children.  They  are  powerfully  built,  from  the  waist  upward, 
and  so  swift  of  foot  that  they  scarcely  ever  employ  beasts  for  riding. 
They  use  the  spear  and  the  two-edged  sword  common  in  all  this  por- 
tion of  Africa,  and  though  they  are  at  constant  war  with  the  partially 
Europeanized  people  of  Abyssinia  who  are  armed  with  comparatively 
modern  weapons,  they  are  so  fearless  and  hardy  that  their  numbers  do 
not  seem  to  diminish.  In  their  mode  of  warfare,  they  also  evince  a 
singular  love  of  "fairness."  They  never  mutilate  the  persons  of  the 
fallen  and,  except  in  a  regular  attack,  two  will  never  attack  one.  Let 
twenty  Shangallas  meet  an  enemy,  and  instead  of  a  cowardly  and  over- 
powering onslaught,  lots  would  be  cast,  and  he  upon  whom  the  choice 
fell,  would  go  forth  fiercely  to  meet  his  adversary,  the  others  looking  on 
at  the  combat,  with  perfect  indifference,  even  if  it  should  end  in  their 
comrade's  death.     Their  chief  food  is  meat  and  wild  honey,  with  which 


40  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

their  country  abounds,  and  in  the  rainy  season  they  Hve  often  in  caves, 
where  large  fires  are  kept  hghted  night  and  day.  Many  of  these  caves 
are  capable  of  containing  a  whole  village,  and  in  them  they  often  take 
refuge  from  the  attacks  of  the  Abyssinians  who  seldom  venture  into 
their  country  except  in  large  force.  The  Shangallas  live  to  a  great 
extent  on  roots,  and  on  the  carcasses  of  elephants,  slain  by  Abys- 
sinian hunterswho  have  ventured  over  the  border.  These  they  frequently 
dispute  with  the  lions.  They  eat  also  snakes  of  all  kinds.  When  alone 
in  the  jungle  the  Shangalla  fills  his  large  gourd  with  water  and  wild 
honey,  catches  his  snake  and  cuts  off  its  head  with  his  sword,  lights  two 
immense  fires,  roasts  his  snake  on  the  embers,  then  he  gorges  himself, 
and  stretches  out  his  naked  body  between  the  fires.  If  he  is  not  seized 
by  a  man-eating  lion,  or  trampled  upon  by  an  elephant,  he  awakes, 
drains  the  contents  of  the  gourd  well  fermented  by  the  heat,  and  starts 
off  in  search  of  man  or  beast.  His  courage  is  fortified  by  the  same 
liquor  ("pale  mead")  which  the  ancient  Britons  drank. 

Strange  to  say,  the  Shangallas  have  a  deep-rooted  prejudice  against 
making  any  attacks  at  night  and  they  never  start  on  an  expedition  with- 
out consulting  the  birds,  whose  chirpings  they  say  they  understand.  If 
a  bad  omen  encounters  them  on  the  road,  they  quit  the  prey  even  if  in 
sight  of  it  and  return  for  the  day.  The  hunters  from  Abyssinia  who 
come  into  the  Shangalla's  country  for  elephants  have  many  like  notions  ; 
they,  for  instance,  will  only  descend  from  the  hills  into  the  jungle  below 
for  seven  days  at  a  time.  Although  the  border  people  of  the  Shangallas 
have  an  exciting  time  of  it  with  Abyssinian  hunters  and  soldiers,  ele- 
phants, rhinoceros,  buffaloes  and  lions,  and  live  as  they  can,  those  in  the 
interior  have  fat  flocks  of  sheep  and  herds  of  cattle.  From  these  few 
particulars  it  will  be  seen  how  widely  separated  they  are  from  the  indo- 
lent and  fair-skinned  Dongolese  with  their  crude  cotton  looms,  their 
cultivated  lands,  their  boats  coming  from  the  Blue  and  the  White  Nile 
laden  with  gum,  senna,  ivory  and  slaves,  their  bazaars  and  dancing  girls, 
their  neero  soldiers  and  their  Turkish  officials.  Here  are  the  two 
extremes. 

Remnants  also  of  the  northern  race  or  tribes  who  assisted  Egypt  in 
her  continual  war  with  Ethiopia  are  supposed  to  exist  in  the  Bisharien, 
who  inhabit  the  desert  east  of  the  river  and  live  entirely  upon  flesh  and 
milk,  and  the  Takas  who  live  in  the  mountains.  A  number  of  negro  or 
Ethiopian  tribes  are  scattered  along  the  Blue  and  White  Nile,  some  of 
them  beingf  the  remnants  of  a  crude  state  called  the  Kingdom  of  Sennar 
which  gave  the  Egyptians  an  imniense  amount  of  trouble  before  they  were 
brought  into  any  kind  of  subjection.     There  are  also  several  collections 


THE    SHANGALLAS. 


41 


of  oases  in  South  Nubia  inhabited  by  black  warUke  tribes,  some  of  whom 
are  clad  in  iron  armor  and  are  fine  horsemen. 

Generally  speaking,  the  Arabs  proper  occupy  the  northern  third  of 
Nubia,  the  majority  of  those  who  make  even  a  pretense  of  having  an 
occupation  acting  as  guides  to  caravans  and  as  camel  drivers,  and  letting 
out  camels  for  hire.  The  only  tax  which  the  government  imposes  on  the 
Arabian  population  is  to  fix  a  price  at  which  their  camels  must  be  sup- 
jdied.  This  is  somewhat  less  than  they  can  obtain  from  traveling 
merchants,  and  although  they  are  allowed  to  roam  the  country  at  their 
own  "  sweet  will "  they  are  great  grumblers  when  called  upon  by  the 
<Tovernment  to  fulfill  their  part  of  the  agreement.  The  Wady-el-Kab  is 
a  large  oasis  with  many  wells, 
extending  more  than  a  hun- 
dred  miles,  parallel  to  the  Nile 
and  about  fifty  miles  to  the 
west  of  it.  Here,  in  the  dry 
season,  many  thousands  of 
camels  are  gathered.  It  is 
therefore  the  general  meeting 
j^lace  of  government  officials 
and  travelers  who  wish  to  hire 
camels.  Another  class  of 
Arabs  have  partially  settled 
down  on  the  banks  of  the 
river,  intermarried  with  the 
fixed  population  and  devoted 
themselves  the  greater  part  of 
the  year  to  agriculture.  They 
are  also  liable  to  this  species 
of  mild  demand  on  the  part  of 
the  government  and  bear  a 
tax  in  proportion  to  the  num- 
ber of  water  wheels  they  run, 
in  common  with  the  rest  of 
the  agricultural  population. 

The  typical  Nubian,  as  he  has  been  formed  by  a  blending  of  Arab- 
ian, Berber,  Circassian,  Ethiopian  and  negro  tribes,  is  a  handsome,  dark- 
brown  mulatto  —  bold,  frank,  cheerful  and  lazy.  In  Upper  Nubia  his 
villages  show  some  evidences  of  enterprise,  some  of  the  houses  being  two 
stories  high,  and  built  in  quite  a  pleasing  fashion  of  a  kind  of  concrete. 
Others  are  constructed  in  the  following  manner,  and  in  Egypt  the  fellah 


A  NUBIAN. 


42  •  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

or  poor  Copt,  would  consider  them  quite  in  the  nature  of  palaces  :  A 
circle  of  strong  posts,  each  a  yard  apart  and  about  twenty  feet  in 
diameter,  are  interlaced  with  pliable  branches  of  trees  which  are  covered 
with  stalks  tied  together  with  long  river  grass.  The  skeleton  of  the  roof, 
which  is  formed  on  the  ground,  is  made  of  beams  corresponding  to  the 
posts  of  the  wall,  and  when  raised  in  position  is  covered  with  a  thatch  of 
straw  and  grass  upon  a  bed  of  plaited  twigs.  The  roofs  of  these  houses 
are  in  many  instances  occupied  by  storks  who  form  their  nests  around 
the  apex. 

NUBIAN  CHARACTERISTICS. 

The  last  heard  of  Egypt,  was  the  roaring  of  the  Nile's  First  Cataract 
Avhich  ushers  us  into  Nubia — the  land  of  granite  and  sandstone  ;  of  flowery 
islands  and  grim  Ethiopian  temples;  of  myth  and  music;  of  desert  waste 
and  wandering  tribes  ;  of  gold  and  slaves  and  the  conglomeration  of  many 
families  of  men.  Assouan,  the  frontier  town,  is  the  gate  to  Ethiopia. 
Here  the  Nile  encounters  rocky  islands  and  unyielding  cliffs  and  protests 
at  the  change  in  much  foaming  and  rushing  of  waters.  It  has  been  so 
peaceable  heretofore,  that  we  must  call  this  pouring  of  its  floods  through 
this  narrow  channel,  over  rocks  and  islets,  a  "cataract."  From  Assouan 
we  had  best  ascend  the  rapids  in  our  "dahabieh,"  or  native  boat.  We 
are  dashed  hither  and  thither  as  if  our  destination  were  nowhere  and 
seem  to  be  having  a  much  more  exciting  time  than  the  little  brown  Nubians 
who  are  coolly  launching  themselves  into  the  boiling  stream  on  logs 
of  wood,  their  clothing,  if  they  have  any,  being  carried  in  a  bundle  over 
their  heads.  They  are  simply  descending  the  cataract  in  their  passage 
across  the  river,  while  we  are  ascending  it.  Having  been  rowed  into 
still  water  one  may  soon  reach  the  island  of  PhiL'e,  which  is  implicitly 
believed  by  many  of  the  natives  to  be  the  dwelling  place  of  the  god  who 
blesses  the  Nile  and  causes  it  to  rise  and  bless  the  soil.  As  proof  you 
may  see  his  very  temple  there.  The  fertile  strip  is,  as  a  rule,  more  nar- 
row in  Nubia  than  in  Egypt,  three-fourths  of  the  country  being  waste;  so 
that  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  water  wheels  are  as  plentiful  as 
Ethiopian  ruins  we  should  be  tempted  to  be  skeptical  on  the  score  of  the 
power  of  Isis,  this  god  of  the  Nile.  But  Isis,  with  the  help  of  the  water- 
wheels,  does  very  well,  considering  the  material  he  has  to  work  with. 
The  soil,  however,  can  support  but  a  scanty  population  and  many  of  its 
inhabitants  emigrate  to  the  large  cities  of  Lower  Egypt  to  find  employ- 
ment. Much  of  the  work  in  the  fields  is  therefore  done  by  women  and 
children,  and  it  is  possible  that  this  is  one  explanation  of  the  general 
prevalence  of  polygamy.      In  many  parts  of  Nubia  the  wife  is  purchased 


44  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

of  the  parents  with  money.      The  standard  price  of  a  wife  among  the 
Arabs  is  six  camels,  three  going  to  the  bridegroom. 

As  you  pass  along  the  river  or  the  roadside  near  it,  you  have  ample 
time  to  observe  many  clear-cut  faces,  especially  among  the  girls  who  are 
in  the  fields  or  gathered  about  a  well  to  draw  water.  The  one  disagree- 
able  thing  about  them  all  is  the  castor  oil  which  not  only  exudes  from 
the  bare  skin  of  their  body  but  seems  about  to  drip  from  their  cork-screw 
curls.  The  costume  of  the  young  Nubian  girl,  aside  from  a  light  veil 
thrown  over  her  head,  is  a  short  petticoat  of  tiny  strips  of  leather,  orna- 
mented with  shells  and  beads.  The  women  wear  a  tunic  of  camel-hair, 
looped  upon  each  shoulder  and  leaving  the  arms  bare.  The  men  wear 
turbans  usually,  and  linen,  cotton  and  woolen  garments,  their  weapons  a 
lance  and  a  shield,  the  latter  being  made  of  the  hide  of  a  hippopotamus. 
The  Nubians  and  many  of  the  tribes  further  south,  along  the  Upper  Nile, 
are  much  given  to  dancing  and  music,  their  chief  instrument  being  a  guitaf 
of  five  strings  with  a  sounding  board  of  gazelle  hide.  In  common  with 
all  semi-civilized  nations,  their  commercial  facilities  are  of  the  crudest 
kind.  They  have  no  national  currency  but  receive  the  coins  of  Egypt 
and  Europe,  also  measuring  the  value  of  theirexchanges  with  glass  beads, 
coral,  cloth,  skirts  and  cows.  Maize  is  measured  by  the  handful ;  cloth 
from  the  elbow  to  the  fingers.  All  these  things  you  learn  by  gliding  up 
the  Nile  and  keeping  your  ears  and  eyes  open.  Ascending  the  White 
river  higher  and  higher,  the  iron-clad  tribes  and  the  warlike  horsemen  of 
Southern  Nubia  are  left  behind.  The  banks  of  the  river  and  the  shores 
of  the  lakes  which  lead  up  to  its  source  are  swarming  with  savage  life  and 
peculiarities.  Our  next  excursion  will  be  into  that  very  country  which 
was  the  nightmare  of  our  youthful  days,  although  even  there  we  may 
find  traits  which  might  cause  civilization  itself  a  momentary  confusion,  as 
we  did  amono;  the  savage,  but  fair-minded  warriors  of  the  Shangfallas, 

UNORGANIZED  ETHIOPIA. 

Various  tribes  of  Arabs  of  pastoral-nomadic  habits  live  along  both 
sides  of  the  river  until  the  outposts  of  Nubia  are  reached.  Afterwards 
Ethiopia  comes  more  prominently  into  view  in  the  persons  of  the  Chilluks 
and  the  Dinkas,  tribes  whose  worship  is  almost  confined  to  the  cow. 
The  specimens  which  they  present  of  their  divinity  are  poor  and 
forlorn  and  give  but  little  milk.  But  they  never  kill  them  for  food : 
firstly,  because  of  their  superstition  and  secondly,  because  the  sheik  of 
every  tribe  detains  as  slaves  those  who  do  not  possess  at  least  one  cow. 
Whatever  their  condition  might  have  been  at  one  time,  and  the  Chilluks 


CENTRAL  AFRICA  WAR  WEAPONS. 


46 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


are  said  to  have  formerly  been  the  founders  of  a  kingdom  in  Sennar, 
they  are  now  a  miserable  people.  They  inhabit  a  country  of  jungles  and 
bogs,  the  haunts  of  swarms  of  huge  mosquitoes,  of  lions,  leopards,  hippo- 
potami, buffaloes  and  crocodiles.  They  seem  not  to  have  the  ambition  or 
courage  to  emigrate  to  a  more  favored  district  and  rest  satisfied  with  keep- 


A  TATTOOED  WARRIOR. 


ing  their  enemies  at  a  distance  by  setting  fire  to  the  heaps  of  refuse  which 
surround  their  villages.  Almost  too  timid  to  hunt,  they  live  upon  the 
detestable  fish  which  the  Nile  affords,  and  under  the  curtain  of  the 
dense  clouds  of  smoke  which  hang  over  their  huts,  they  wander  round 
in  idleness.     The  only  industry  which  they  really   engage   in  is  that  of 


UNORGANIZED    ETHIOPIA.  47 

faithfully  smearing  their  bodies  with  muck  and  ashes.  Their  jaws  are 
usually  very  protuberant  and  they  thinlc  to  add  to  the  "beauty"  of  their 
appearance  by  knocking  out  some  of  their  front  teeth,  usually  two  above 
and  two  below.  Also  by  thrusting  pieces  of  wood  through  their  lips, 
which  remain  there  as  permanent  ornaments,  their  conversation  is 
accompanied  by  a  lively  clatter  as  if  upon  the  castanets.  About  the 
only  thing  in  the  way  of  an  accomplishment  which  these  tribes  show  is 
monopolized  by  the  women  or  the  girls,  who  make  some  pretensions  in 
the  terpsichorean  art ;  but  even  their  proficiency  is  left  far  behind  by  the 
girl  of  the  Njam-Njam  nation  whose  country  is  several  hundred  miles 
to  the  south. 

The  Njam-Njams  seem  to  be  a  tribe  of  rovers.  Their  women  are 
noted  for  their  grace  and  beauty  and  are  taken  as  slaves  by  the  chiefs 
of  all  the  tribes  who  so  desire.  It  is  said  that  their  own  people  sell 
them  and  that  the  women  themselves  do  not  consider  their  condition 
slavery.  They  are  copper  colored,  short  in  stature,  with  small 
hands  and  feet.  Like  the  men,  their  ankles,  arms  and  necks  are 
encased  in  a  perfect  cDat  of  mail,  either  of  steel  or  copper  rings.  The 
head  is  kept  painfully  elevated  by  the  choking  necklace,  while  the  ears, 
nose  and  mouth  are  either  brass  or  iron-clad.  Naturally,  when  any  of 
the  great  sheiks  hold  a  congo,  or  dance,  they  are  in  greaf  demand  and 
come,  voluntarily,  from  many  miles  distant.  The  leading  musical  instru- 
ment upon  such  occasions  is  a  wooden  horse  beaten  on  its  sides 
with  drumsticks,  or  a  sort  of  a  frame-work  made  of  banana  trees.  They 
also  have  horns  made  of  elephant  tusks. 

Beyond  a  vast  stretch  of  dreary  country  are  found  the  Baris,  a  tall 
tribe  of  warriors  and  agriculturists.  They  have  numerous  villages  and 
great  herds  of  cattle,  but  are  treacherous  and  cowardly.  This  tribe  go 
naked,  and  shave  the  head  and  face,  smearing  the  skin  with  an  oxide  of 
iron  mixed  with  grease,  or  a  powder  which  they  obtain  from  a  certain 
tree.  Every  chief  has  for  the  sole  use  of  his  people  one  or  more  of 
these  trees  which  he  jealously  guards.  They  are  armed  with  bow  and 
arrow  and  lance,  speak  a  not  unmusical  language  and  always  call  each 
other  "giglie,"  or  friend.  Their  camps  or  villages  are  encircled  with 
straw  palisades  to  keep  off  lions,  leopards  and  wild  cats.  The  Baris  are 
the  last  of  the  native  tribes,  along  the  Nile,  who  are  under  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  Egypt. 

The  Njam-Njams  live  to  the  west  of  the  Baris.  The  women  are 
pleasing  and  the  men  are  warlike.  The  tribe  seems  to  be  allied  to  the 
Caff  res  both  in  its  mode  of  warfare  and  physical  characteristics.  In  fact 
traces  of  this  people  are  found  in  tribes  which  inhabit  the  lake  regions 


^8  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

of  Central  Africa,  the  coasts  of  Zanzibar  and  Mozambique,  and  along 
the  banks  of  the  Zambesi  river.  The  Njam-Njams,  in  common  with 
their  neighbors,  manufacture  a  kind  of  cloth  from  the  bark  of  the  wild 
fig  tree,  which  they  make  into  waist  clothes,  but  they  are  very  fond  of 
the  European  fabric,  and  are  frequently  hired  to  make  war  against  less 
skillful  tribes  by  presents  of  cotton  cloth.  They  are  remarkably  mus- 
cular and  agile,  and  engage  the  enemy  hand-to-hand,  slashing  and  stab- 
bing with  a  huge  knife.  Their  assailants  may  be  the  Baris,  who  use 
poisoned  arrows,  but  the  Njam-Njams,  protecting  their  bodies  with  won- 
derful quickness  from  the  shower  of  deadly  missiles,  bound  into  their 
ran'ks  and  cut  or  stab  many  to  death.  Not  content  with  this  they  pur- 
sue survivors  into  the  villages,  which  they  raze  to  the  ground,  taking  cat- 
tle, provisions,  women  and  everything  which  they  consider  of  value. 
With  all  their  bravery  in  the  fight,  they  are  undoubtedly  cannibals  and 
often  feast,  after  their  battles,  upon  the  flesh  of  their  enemies.  To  the 
inquiries  of  the  curious  who  have  ventured  among  them  they  usually 
give  the  outside  world  to  understand  that  they  eat  human  flesh  only 
when  other  meat  is  scarce,  and  when  nature  craves  a  stronger  diet  than 
their  usual  one  of  bananas. 

Contrary  to  the  general  supposition,  the  boldest  native  seldom 
attacks  the  elephant  with  his  lance.  The  country  of  the  Baris  and  the 
Njam-Njams  is  a  great  "  stamping-ground  "  for  the  mastodon.  Con- 
cealed in  the  branches  of  some  huge  tree  sits  the  hunter,  having  in  his 
hand  a  huge  loaded  spear  which  he  lets  drop  upon  the  back  of  the  great 
beast  as  he  passes  underneath.  The  wound  may  not  be  at  once  fatal, 
but  if  the  hunter  is  at  all  skillful  it  usually  proves  so,  eventually. 
Another  plan  is  to  dig  deep  trenches  that  are  covered  with  leaves  and 
sticks,  though  this  mode  of  capture  has  become  so  "  old  a  story  "  that 
the  wary  elephant  seldom  falls  into  the  trap.  A  large  area  of  the  tall 
jungle  grass  is  selected  by  the  sheik  of  the  village  and  a  wide  space 
cleaned  completely  around  it.  When  a  large  herd  of  elephants  enter 
Ihe  jungle  to  feed,  the  grass  is  fired,  The  beasts  rush  in  all  directions, 
and  those  which  are  not  trampled  to  death  or  suffocated,  meet  their  fate 
at  the  hands  of  the  natives,  who  form  a  living  wall  beyond  the  fire.  The 
blackened,  though  uninjured,  tusks  go  to  the  chiefs ;  the  people  have 
the  flesh. 

The  marriage  custom  of  these  people  consists  in  the  suitor  present- 
ing the  father  of  his  intended  with  as  many  huge  knives  as  his  generos- 
ity, or  anxiety,  or  affection,  may  prompt.  The  handle  is  curiously 
wrought,  and  wound  with  copper  wire.     When  the  warrior  receives  his 


49 


o 


D 
X 

a 

X 
H 

O 


RO 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIUXS. 


l)ridc',  sliL-  comes  to  hiin   quite   unornamented.  and  he  must  go   to  work 
and  make  the  countless  rings  which  embelHsh  her. 

ON   THE  SHORES  OE   LAKE  \'ICTORE\  XYANZA. 

The  shores  of  Lake  Victoria  Nyanza   and  the  regions  roundabout 
simply  swarm  with  strange  savage  life.     One  tribe  who  are  said  to  be  mor- 


tar _-.^::;=-.=-^;^si~-^--   /^i7lf:StfffKM'T^R[;f'°^V^te»i 

PRIN'CESS  AND  WARRHIR  OF  ITjl'NnA. 

allv  far  superior  to  most  of  the  natives  of  Africa  ijronounce  their  words 
like  yelping  dogs,  which  may  be  partially  accounted  for  by  the  fact 
that  they  perforate  the  lip  and  introduce  therein  either  a  piece  of  copper, 
or  a  well  shaped  bead  held  in  its  place  by  a  liead  lik(;  a  nail.  These  peo- 
ple bring  to  bear  all  the  powers  of  their  mind,  so  far  as  dress  goes,  upon 
the  construction  of  fantastic  and  wonderful  head-dresses.     The  natives 


ox    THE    SHORES    OF    LAKE    VICTORIA    NVANZA.  5T 

in  tliis  region  who  make  a  specialty  of  clotlies,  manufacture  them  from 
the  Ijark  of  a  wild  fiy  tree.  This  the)'  cut  into  strips,  beat  with  a 
peculiar  wooden  instrument  and  sew  together  in  large  sheets.  The 
"togas  "thus  formed  are  tied  over  the  left  shoulder.  Their  milk  jars 
and  pots  are  fashioned  into  many  curious  devices  and  are  a  fine  kind  of 
ware.  They  arm  themselves  with  the  spear  or  lance  and  when  they 
sally  forth  upon  a  campaign,  their  wives  accompany  them.  This  arrange- 
ment does  not  seem  either  to  be  entirely  for  "company's  sake."  The 
women  form  the  commissary  department  of  the  army.  They  carry  the 
provisions  and  grind  the  grain  between  two  stones  to  sustain  the  soldiers 
on  the  march.  Upon  being  attacked,  or  charging  the  enemy,  the  women 
are  usually  sent  to  the  rear  with  the  baggage.     The  chief  is  arrayed  in 


gr'^^^^^i* 


AUDIENCE  HALL  OF  THE  KIXG. 


a  dark  robe,  ornamented  with  graceful  lines  and  rows  of  black  dots,  and 
wears  sandals  upon  his  feet. 

At  length  on  the  shores  of  Lake  \'ictoria  Nyanza  we  come  upon  a 
nation  which  has  made  the  wearing  of  clothing  obligatory.  The  land  of 
the  Ucrundi,  with  its  "  IM'Tse,"  has  become  celebrated  as  the  scene  of 
the  most  astounding  contradictions  in  savage  life.  The  roads  approach- 
ing his  dominions  are  broad  and  kept  in  good  order.  •  The  country  has 
a  national  standard,  consisting  of  a  red  and  white  flag,  from  which  hancr 
three  strips  of  long-haired  monkey  skin.  When  the  column  is  upon  the 
march,  horns  and  drums  keep  up  a  deafening  din  ;  its  volume  is  swelled, 
if  possible,  by  a  vocal  imitation  of  the  crow,  given  by  the  whole  arm)', 
the  whole  performance  forcibly  reminding  one  of  a  political  procession 
in  our  own  country.     A  solid  body  of  lancers  fort)-  or  fifty  front,  and  a 


52 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


collection  of  skirmishers  on  each  side  of  them  armed  with  firelocks  and 
decked  with  fez  of  flannel  and  black  feathers,  march  alono-  the  broad 
road  toward  the  palace  of  the  king.  A  succession  of  hills  covered  with 
banana  groves  roll  away  toward  the  lake  and  every  point  of  elevation 
is  covered  with  a  clothed  native,  as  the  king's  body-guard,  escorting 
some  honored  guest,  go  marching  on  to  meet  the  king  himself  who 
stands  at  the  outer  gate  of  the  palace.  This  is  situated  on  a  hill  and  in 
the  center  of  an  amphitheater  formed  by  seven  high  palisades.  The 
palace  is  a  large  pyramidal  hut,  supported  by  interior  columns.  It  is 
approached  by  seven  gates,  the  intervals  between  the  palisade  walls 
being  occupied  by  the  houses  of  the  king's  ministers.  The  king 
welcomes    his  guest  and   is  followed  by  his  commander-in-chief,  body- 


UGUNDA  HUTS. 


guard  and  procession.  As  they  pass  through  each  gate  a  huge  cow-bell 
wildly  proclaims  the  progress  of  the  royal  march.  The  king  is  of  a 
light  copper  tint,  dressed  in  a  long  cloak  of  blue  cloth,  trimmed  with 
gold.  Around  his  head  is  wound  a  white  turban.  His  waist  is 
encircled  by  a  golden  belt,  from  which  is  suspended  a  scimetar,  and  his 
feet  are  encased  in  sandals.  .Seated  upon  a  chair  over  which  is  thrown  a 
cloth  of  gold,  the  king  receives  the  reports  of  his  various  ministers  who 
throw  themselves  upon  their  faces  before  him.  Afterwards  the  distin- 
guished guest  is  entertained  by  witnessing  the  most  horrible  scenes  of 
decapitation,  practiced  by  his  official  headsmen  upon  those  who  have 
come  under  the  royal  displeasure.  The  beating  of  drums  and  the  toot- 
ing of  horns  accompany  these  bloody  deeds.  And  this  in  a  country 
where  clothes  are  required  to  be  worn  by  legislative  enactment ;  in 
which  a  regular  currency  is  in  circulation  consisting  of  European  goods, 
copper  and  shells  ;  where  there  are  tanners  .-md  iron  makers  of  modern 


ox    THE    SHORES    OF    VICTORIA    NVAXZA.  53 

proficiency  ;    in   wliich  the  territory  is  not  onl)-  divided  into  districts  but 
the  government  has  regular  departments  of  state. 

Ugunda  is  the  land  of  bananas.  P'rom  the  fruit  is  extracted  an 
unfermented  and  delicious  liquor  of  which  the  females  are  extrava- 
gantly fond,  most  of  them  carrying  gourds  around  their  necks  filled  with 
it  and  from  which  they  drink  from  time  to  time.  The  water  in  the 
stock  of  the  tree  is  drunk  when  the  pure  article  is  not  easily  obtained. 
The  men  extract  the  banana  liquor  and  ferment  it.  The  cattle  raised 
in  this  country  are  of  the  choicest  breeds.  The  soil  is  cultivated  by  the 
women,  the  sterner  sex  giving  their  time  to  war  or  elephant  hunting. 
Sugar-cane  is  considered  a  great  luxury,  and  very  often  one  sees  the 
Ugunda  passing  by,  chewing  the  end  of  a  long  stalk  that  trails  behind 
him.  The  walls  of  the  huts  are  also  made  of  sugar-cane,  roofed  with 
jungle  grass,  the  interior  being  divided  into  compartments  and  kept  very 
clean.  Whatever  may  be  said  of  the  abominable  practices  of  many  of 
these  tribes,  as  we  approach  the  Equator  (where  the  Ugunda  nation  is) 
it  is  remarkable  how  much  neater  their  habitations  are  as  a  rule,  than 
those  of  nations  farther  north.  Even  the  poorer  classes  of  Egyptians 
and  Nubians  suffer  in  comparison.  The  regulation  which  has  been  no 
ticed  in  regard  to  clothing  may  also  have  a  sanitary  bearing,  the  nature 
of  which  would  not  be  suspected  by  those  who  have  not  experienced  an 
equatorial  climate.  Except  during  April  the  atmosphere  is  "chronic- 
ally" damp  and  the  nights  are  invariably  cold.  In  the  daytime  when 
the  sun  breaks  through  the  clouds  the  heat  is  such  as  has  made  Central 
Africa  a  fearful  charnel  house  for  the  average  European. 

On  the  contrary,  the  lower  grades  of  animal  and  all  vegetable  life 
appear  at  their  best.  The  lion  and  elephant,  the  hippopotomus,  the 
rhinoceros,  the  crocodile  and  the  ourang-outang  are  as  much  products  of 
the  tpics  as  the  gigantic  baobab,  or  cotton  tree.  The  ostrich,  the 
largest  of  birds,  grows  under  the  encouragement  of  African  climate  as  do 
the  giant  quadrupeds.  The  python  and  the  asp  glide  among  towering 
trees  and  flaming  flowers,  while  the  giraffe  reaches  a  height  which 
almost  makes  one  suspect  that  he  should  after  all  be  classed  as  a  vegetable. 

Near  the  sources  of  the  Nile,  around  the  shores  of  \'ictoria 
Nyanza  and  Albert  Nyanza — which  both  lie  under  the  equator — there  are 
not  only  several  kingdoms  of  natives,  but  animal  life  reaches  the  height 
of  its  development.  Hippopotami  and  crocodiles  frequent  their  banks 
and  large  herds  of  elephants  come  down  to  their  shores  to  drink. 

The  Ugunda  country  lies  on  the  northern  and  northwestern  borders 
of  \'ictoria  Nyanza  being  wooded  and  gently  sloping  toward  the  shores, 
or  low,  grassy  and   fertile,   and  drained   b\-  channels  lined  with   rushes. 


54 


PA  XL)  RAM  A    UF     NATIONS. 


From  this  region  the  Victoria  Nile  flows  in  a  northwesterly  direction 
toward  Albert  Nyanza,  the  country  bein^^r  quite  hilly  and  rough  in  char- 
acter. About  twenty  miles  from  the  second  lake,  the  river  suddenly 
contracts  to  about  one-fourth  its  former  size  and  shoots  through  a  gforofe 
and  over  a  precipice,  breaking  into  a  torrent  of  foam  and  presenting  a 
picture  of  great  beauty  and  majesty.  Having  spent  its  force  in  this 
grand  outburst  of  enthusiasm  the  Nile  continues  the  balance  of  its  jour- 
ney mildly  and  even  sluggishly, 

Albert  Nyanza,  named  in  honor  of  Prince  Albert,  as  the  other  body 
of  water  honors  the  Queen,  abounds  in  mammoth  fish  and  animals,  and 
and  the  contrast  between  its  white  waters  and  the  lofty,  blue  mountains 
which  rise  from  its  western  shores  is  most  delicate  and  picturesque. 
Much  of  the  eastern  shore  is  fringed  with  steep  cliffs,  but  toward  the 
north  where  the  white  Nile  makes  its  exit  it  becomes  level  and  marshy. 
The  Albert  Nyanza  is  also  surround  by  negro  states,  but  none  of  them 
have  become  as  civilized  as  the  Ugundi.  The  kingdom  of  Malagga  is 
found  established  among  the  western  mountains. 

The  Nyanzas  were  discovered  by  the  African  travelers,  Speke, 
Grant  and  Baker.  With  the  natives  Nyanza  means  a  large  body  of 
water,  but  it  is  generally  considered  as  a  proper  name  applied  to  the 
equatorial  lakes. 


ABYSSINIA. 

BYSSINIA  is  an  immense  table-land,  broken  up  into  plat- 
eaux, and  forming-  a  water-shed  for  the  waters  of  its  rivers 
and  lakes  which  flow  toward  the  Red  Sea  and  the  Nile. 
Toward  the  Red  Sea  the  descent  from  the  highlands  is  very 
abrupt  ;  toward  the  Nile  it  is  \er)-  gradual.  From  the  rich 
agricultural  plains  of  Abyssinia,  lying  a  mile  or  two  abo\-e 
the  level  of  the  sea,  the  tributaries  of  the  Nile  receive  the 
waters  of  a  vast  region,  which,  during  the  rainy  season, 
wash  into  their  channels  from  thousands  of  valleys  and 
gorges.  F'rom  one  series  of  plateaux  to  another  they  pour, 
the  Atbara  River  especially  (  "■  The  Terrible,"  its  name  implies  ) 
dashing  tumultuously  down  rocky  precipices  toward  the  sands  of  Nubia. 
F'rom  a  country  of  beautiful  lakes  and  springs,  and  flowing  through 
a  fertile  grain  region,  comes  the  Blue  Nile  itself,  carrying  in  its 
depths  the  precious  freight  for  deposit  in  Nubia  and  Egypt.  The 
climate  of  such  a  grand  region  of  rich  plateaux  and  valleys,  pure 
lakes  and  springs,  is  naturally  temperate  and  healthful.  (3nly  on  the 
eastern  coast  and  in  the  sandy  regions  bordering  on  Nubia  could  any 
excuse  be  offered  for  describing  the  Abyssinian  country  as  "  a  seething 
caldron."  Its  purifying  thunder-storms  pass  over  waxing  fields  of 
barley  and  oats,  on  the  heights,  and,  on  the  lower  plateaux,  its 
lightnings  reveal  the  plantations  of  wheat,  rice,  cotton  and  coffee, 
b'rom  its  dark  mountains,  covered  with  gloomy  forests  of  pine,  deep 
ravines  which  are  carpeted  with  long  grass  and  moss,  lead  down  to 
undulating  plains  on  which  are  tethered  noble  horses,  with  here  and 
there  cottages  peeping  from  groups  of  trees,  fields  of  grain  or  a  wild 
tangle  of  grape  vine.  The  golden-crested  crane,  the  scarlet-beaked 
heron  or  the  lordly  eagle  deck  out  the  natural  features  of  a  noble 
country.  In  the  midst  of  this  charming  variety  —  Switzerlaml,  Italy  and 
England,  all  concentrated  here  —  one  discordant  element  makes  of 
Abyssinia  "a  seething  caldron." 

Abyssinia  is  a  kingdom  in  name  and  boasts  a  royal  line  from  the 


56 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


Queen  of  Sheba  herself,  who  is  said  to  have  ruled  over  the  northern  part 
of  the  country  when  she  visited  King  Solomon.  Its  histor\-,  however, 
both  past  and  present,  is  little  more  than  a  succession  of  revolts  of  the 
independent  tribes  to  the  north,  and  the  fierce  southern  people  who  are 
under  the  sway  of  the  savage  Gallas,  the  "  Tartars  of  Africa."  The  ter- 
ritory of  Abyssinia  to  the  Galla  country  has  seldom  been  under  the  con- 
trol of  an  acknowledged  king  or  military  governor.  The  tribes  or  the 
people  of  the  tribes  who  have  joined  the  Coptic  Church  and  draw  their 

religion  and  their  superstitions 
from  it,  are  called  b\-  the 
natives  "  Abyssinias  ;"  and  all 
other  Ethiopians.  In  other 
words,  the  countr\-  inhabited 
b)-  those  who  have  to  some 
e.xtent  forgotten  their  tribal 
difterences,  is  called  Abyssinia. 
The  people  of  Abyssinia  have 
been  di\ided  into  three  distinct 
races.  The  aboriginal  Abys- 
sinians  inhabit  most  of  the 
central  portion  of  the  country, 
called  Amhara,  and  are  also 
foimd  in  tlie  northern  sections. 
They  are  of  middle  size,  with 
oval  faces,  lips  not  thicker  than 
those  of  Europeans,  |)ointed 
noses  and  straight  or  slightly 
curled  hair.  A  second  race, 
abounding  most  in  Tigre,  the 
northernmost  district  of  Abys- 
sinia, ha\'e  thick  lips,  noses 
blunt  and  somewhat  cur\-ed, 
thick  hair  verging  on  woolliness,  and  their  speech  betrax  s  man\-  marks 
of  the  ancient  Ethiopian  tongue.  The  third  are  the  (iallas,  "The  Tar- 
tars of  Africa,"  who  have  crowded  into  Abyssinia  from  the  South  ami 
spread  the  terror  of  their  might  over  the  coast  regions  of  the  continent 
to  a  point  l)e}'oncl  the  equator.  They  are  a  large-bodied  race,  round- 
faced,  short-nosed,  with  a  depression  between  the  nose  and  the  brow, 
with  deep-set  lively  eyes  and  thick  lips.  With  this  general  introduction 
we  must  ])roceeil  to  interview  the  tribes  in  the;  north  antl  discuss  some 
features  of  their  restless  life  ;   then  come  further  south  and   learn  of  a 


AN  ABYSSINIAN  WARKIOK. 


ABYSSINIA. 


57 


crude  and  )et  somewhat  Europeanized  power,  and  then  pass  to  the  South 
into  the  land  of  the  Gallas,  who,  with  many  of  the  characteristics  of  the 
African  still  remind  us  of  the  savage  warriors  of  Huro[)e,  upon  whose 
ferocity  the  hard)-  virtues  of  civilization  were  built. 

First  come  the  Bedouin  tribes  from  near  the  Nubian  plains,  and 
the  coast  of  the  Red  Sea.  Their  districts  abound  with  gazelles  and 
ostriches,  with  lions,  hjenas  and  jackals.  They  carry  on  a  small  trade 
in  hides  with  Egypt,  and  also  export  ([uantities  of  gum-arabic.  Their 
villages  are  sometimes  stationary,  but  usually  these  restless  ones  may  be 
seen  moving  about  in  search  of  the  best  pasturage,  their  camels  loaded 
with  all  their  house- 
hold ijoods,  includiuir 
their  huts.  These 
are  made  of  long 
canes  tied  together 
at  the  top.  When 
they  encamp  for  the 
night  they  bend  them 
in  the  shape  of  bee- 
hives and  cover  them 
with  mats.  Arrang- 
ing their  huts  in  a  ' 
circular  form,  the)- 
dispose  their  flocks 
and  herds  in  the  cen- 
ter and  then  proceed 
to  their  simple  diet 
of  milk  and  maize 
bread.  This  their  wives  have  already  prepared  and  they  are  soon 
grouped  arountl  in  \arious  lazy  attitudes,  their  enormous  frizzled  heads 
of  hair,  stuck  through  with  long  pieces  of  wood,  bobbing  in  a  ridiculous 
fashion  as  the)-  drink,  eat  and  chatter.  Their  head-dress  stamps  them  as 
quasi-Abyssinians.  The  neighbors  of  these  Bedouins  are  tribes  who 
live  with  their  cattle  among  the  hill  ranges  bordering  the  Red  Sea,  and 
are  literally  ground  between  two  millstones.  Mostly  converts  to  Coptic 
Christianity  the  Moslem  governor  frequently  requires  some  token  of 
their  submission  to  Turkey,  and  as  they  are  often  obliged  to  descend  into 
the  Abyssinian  \alleys  with  their  herds  and  flocks  the)-  are  forced  to  pa)- 
the  chief  of  ligre  something  for  the  accommodation.  Many  of  the 
tribes  in  this  country  -were  formerly  under  the  rule  of  Ab)ssinia  and  are 
the  purest  representatives  of  the  Ethiopian  race  to  be  found   for  a  long 


AN    AliVSSIXIAX     KING. 


58  I'AXUKA.MA    OF    .XATIOXS. 

distance.  Covering  the  surface  of  one  of  their  plains,  for  many  square 
miles,  is  found  one  of  the  most  curious  evidences  of  primitive  life  in  the 
world,  in  the  form  of  a  bewildering  jumble  of  granite  rocks.  .Some  of 
them  are  fashioned  into  the  shape  of  caves  ;  others  are  smooth  and  pol- 
ished on  all  sides,  as  if  worked  with  a  chisel,  and  make  quite  respectable 
houses.  In  some  of  the  broad  surfaces  are  niches  large  enough  for  seats  ; 
others  are  sufficiently  capacious  to  lie  in.  Ancient  inscriptions  are 
found  on  these  rocks  which  have  not  been  deciphered,  although  the  rocky 
huts  are  thought  to  indicate  the  existence  of  a  village  settled  by  some 
primitive  people  ;  perhaps  the  Troglodytes,  a  rude  shepherd  tribe  from 
Arabia  and  the  supposed  descendants  of  Cush,  the  son  of  Ham,  the  son 
of  Noah.  Here,  it  may  be,  lived  a  people  who  saw  the  advance  guard 
of  the  great  tide  of  emigration  which  passed  from  Asia  into  Africa  and 
became  the  progenitors  of  the  Ethiopian  race  and  the  Ethiopian  civiliza- 
tion. At  other  localities  there  are  the  marks  of  an  immense  fi.xed  popu- 
lation, such  as  no  doubt  existed  even  when  the  Queen  of  Sheba  ruled  on 
both  sides  of  the  Straits  of  Babel-mandeb. 

Among  other  queer  superstitions  which  have  taken  hold  of  these 
border  tribes  is  that  each  small  village  or  settlement  must  have  its  sacred 
cow,  on  which  depends  the  life  of  the  whole  herd  and  therefore  the  very 
existence  of  the  villagers.  The  cow  must  be  of  one  breed  and  her  milk 
drawn  into  vessels  of  earthenware,  instead  of  into  the  wickerwork  vases 
of  the  common  cows.  The  milk  must  be  drunk  from  these  same  vessels, 
as  it  would  be  sacrilege  to  pour  it  into  any  others.  Should  any  of  these 
regulations  be  omitted,  the  cows  of  the  whole  herd  will  become  dry  or 
die,  and  as  the  people  really  live  on  milk  it  will  be  seen  how  calamitous 
would  be  such  a  misfortune.  Living  as  they  do,  these  tribes  who  are 
called  Hababs,  are  well  formed  and  graceful,  an  unusual  quality  with  the 
women  of  Abyssinia.  Their  mourners  are  always  women,  and  when  a 
person  of  prominence  has  died  they  gather  daily  in  a  circle  out  of  doors, 
and  from  a  low  moan  work  themselves  up  into  such  a  frantic  exhibition 
of  grief  as  to  leap  into  the  air  and  throw  themselves  into  all  sorts  of  con- 
tortions. These  "  mourning  bees  "  they  continue  every  morning  for  at 
least  a  year  and  a  month.  If  war  or  famine  or  disease  should  carry  off 
many  people  of  prominence  it  will  readily  be  seen  how  busy  the  women 
would  be  kejjt. 

Tribes  further  to  the  west  of  the  Hababs  are  more  bold  and  war- 
like, making  excursions  often  into  the  country  of  the  Shangallas  and 
taking  even  those  hardy  savages  for  slaves.  This  custom  explains,  in 
part,  the  extreme  ferocity  which  the  Shangallas  show  toward  anything 
which  has  the  least  odor  of  Al)yssinia,  and   the   persistency  with  which 


ABV.SSIMA. 


59 


they  haunt  the  roads  leading  into  that  country  and  keep  travelers  in  a 
constant  state  of  trepidation. 

The  Shihos,  unhke  the  Shangallas,  seem  to  be  robbers  from  cool 
choice,  and  no  man  would  venture  into  their  country,  which  commands 
the  only  good  road  into  Abyssinia,  were  it  not  that  much  time  is 
saved  in  taking  that  thoroughfare  and  that  within  their  territory 
are  immense  plains  of  salt.  Abyssinian  workmen,  protected  by  a  large 
armed  force,  are  constantly  digging  out  salt,  with  stakes,  in  small 
oblong  pieces.  These  are  carried  away  by  men,  girls  or  donkeys  and 
form  the  currency  of  the  country,  except  in  Tigre  where  it  is  too  plen- 
tiful. By  the  time  the  piece  of  salt  money,  which  is  in  size  about 
8x2X1  1-2  inches,  has  reached  the  Galla  country  its  value  has  greatly 
enhanced  from  loss,  breakage,  abrasion  and  the  tollage  imposed.  Each 
lump  is  there  subdivided  into  sixteen  layers,  so  that  the  owner  may 
make  small  purchases.  This  article  is  there  so  highly  prized  t!iat  the 
children  of  the  prosperous  tie  little  lumps  to  their  girdles  which  they  suck 
from  time  to  time  as  choice  tid-bits.  The  last  tribe  deserving  mention 
among  those  who  now  occupy  territory  which  has  been  wrested  from 
Abyssinia  by  the  Turks,  are  the  Dankalis.  Their  country  is  a  level 
plain  over  which  roam  ostriches,  wild  asses,  gazelles  and  their  own  fat 
cattle  and  sheep.  They  are  favored  with  any  number  of  fine  wells,  but 
sometimes  are  not  able  to  approach  them  because  of  the  herds  of 
elephants  which  kneel  around  them  to  quench  their  thirst.  A  well  will 
often  be  thus  encompassed  for  two  or  three  days.  .Such  are  the  tribes 
inhabiting  the  border  country  of  Abyssinia,  who  are  in  reality  a  portion 
of  its  inhabitants. 

Striking  across  a  faintly-defined  boundary  line  into  the  country 
which  acknowledges  no  Turk  as  master,  we  enter  the  political  and  tribal 
district  of  Tigre.  Within  this  district  is  the  Mecca  of  Abyssinia,  the 
royal  city  of  the  Queen  of  Sheba  —  Axum,  by  name.  Hither  come  all 
the  kings  of  the  country,  who  have  of  late  years  been  few  indeeil,  to 
be  crowned  by  the  High  Priest  of  the  Abyssinian  Church,  as  the  suc- 
cessor of  Menelek,  the  son  of  Solomon.  The  "Register  of  Kinds''  is 
also  kept  here  by  the  priesthood  and  scribes.  It  records  the  expeditions 
against  rival  tribes,  the  uprisings  of  tribe  against  tribe  and  chief 
against  king,  and  the  extent  and  changes  of  empire,  which  once  included 
the  coast  of  Africa  from  Zanzibar  to  Nubia,  and  the  country  from  the 
shores  of  the  Red  Sea  to  Kordofan.  Axum  also  boasts  of  possessing 
the  principal  church  of  Abyssinia,  built  of  stone  and  in  the  form  of  an 
oblong.  This  is  said  to  conceal  the  true  ark  which  was  stolen  from  the 
Jews.     The  modern  town  is  built  about  the  church  and  a  riumber  of  pon- 


6o 


TANOKAMA    OF    XATIOXS. 


derous  ohclisks.  The  latter  rest  upon  large  square  blocks  of  stone, 
having  runnels  cut  into  them,  and  some  antiquarians  maintain  that  they 
were  originally  used  as  altars  on  which  the  atoning  victim  was  offered. 
The  church  enclosures  are  a  safe  refuge  for  all  criminal  and  political 
offenders.  A  country  permeated  with  such  legends  and  associations 
would  naturally  become  the  dwelling  place  of  many  of  the  Hebrew  race, 
aside  from  those  who  ha\e  been  natives  of  Abyssinia  since  "the  memory 
of  man  runneth  back."  The  Jews  have,  in  fact,  lieen  always  classified  as 
among  the  aborigines  of  the  country.  In  modern  times  they  have  upheld 
the  highest  civilization  of  Abyssinia,  which  has  centered  around  Gondar, 
its  capital,  being  noted  especially  as  skilled  artisans  and  mechanics.  All 
the  manufacturers  of  cotton  cloth  are  Moslems;  all  the  builders  and 
artisans  are  Jews. 

A  NATION  OF  WARRIORS. 

But  [irimarily  the  Abyssinians  are  a  nation  of  warriors,  or  a  collec- 
tion of  fighters,  overshadowed  by  priests  and  superstitions.  Their  kings 
must  show  a  descent  from  Solomon,  but  the  people  who  are  Coptic  con- 
verts flaunt  the  blue  neck  thread  (the  distinguishing  badge  of  the  Christ- 
ian )  in  the  face  of  the  Jew,  and  are  even  more  arrogant  to  the  indus- 
trious Moslem.  During  the  many  interregnums  when  there  was  no 
acknowledged  king  over  Abyssinia,  the  "  Ras,"  a  grand  military  chief, 
and  the  "Aboona"or  High  Priest  of  the  church,  w^ere  supreme.  The 
power  of  the  Ras  is  even  sometimes  greater  than  that  of  the  living  king, 
whom  he  has  often  made  and  unmade.  The  drum  is  his  great  insignia 
of  ot¥ice.  When  the  Ras  is  on  the  march  with  his  army  of  gunners 
spearmen  and  horsemen,  forty-four  mules  loaded  each  with  two  drums 
and  a  drummer,  precede  the  great  chieftain.  These  eighty-eight  drums 
comprise  the  "negarete,"  and  when  the  drummers  are  taken  by  the 
enemy  and  the  head  drummer  killed,  the  battle  is  counted  as  irredeem- 
ably .lost.  The  different  grades  of  office  are  also  determined  by  the 
number  of  drums  which  the  Ras  is  pleased  to  bestow.  -Should  a  chief- 
tain be  privileged  to  beat  forty-eight  drums,  he  is  held  to  be  next  in  rank 
to  the  Ras  himself.  All  proclamations  are  made  by  beating  the  drum. 
When  a  number  of  people  in  the  chief's  province  are  thus  collected,  the 
drummer  repeats  the  proclamation  and  it  then  passes  from  mouth  to 
mouth.  This  is  done  with  faithful  accuracy,  for  the  leading  chiefs  pos- 
sess the  power  of  life  and  death  in  their  districts.  Having  received  their 
territories  from  the  Ras,  they  follow  him  to  war  with  all  the  soldiers  they 
can  afford  to  maintain. 


A    NATION    (JK    WAKKIDKS. 


61 


^ 


l^^ 


t  «"  < 


Let  us  now  march  out  the  Ras  and  his  army  hi  hne  of  battle  First 
comes  his  procession  of  mules,  loaileil  with  the  eighty-eight  tlrums;  then 
the  Ras  in  trousers,  belted  war-shirt,  open  sleeves  of  handsome  silk,  and 
an  outer  skin  of  some  kind  bordered  with  red  morocco  and  ornamented 
with  silver.  Inclosing  his  right  fore-arm  is  a  silver-gilt  ornament,  and  on 
his  head  a  silver  coronet.  On  his  left  arm  he  bears  a  silver-gilt  shield. 
His  spears  are  highly  polished,  and  his  sword  is  a  European  blade,  with 
a  handle  of  rhinoceros  horn.  Mounted  on  a  spirited  horse,  this  brave 
figure  is  followed  by  his  gun- 
ners, a  body  of  some  two 
thousand  men,  chiefly  from 
the  Tigre  district.  They  use 
flint-locks  and  many  of  them 
carry  bamboo  rests  by  which 
to  insure  great  accuracy  of 
aim.  Their  dress  consists 
of  a  pair  of  trousers,  either  |fTS^, 
ending  at  the  knee  or  a  short  i-iJ*** 
distance  below  it,  fitting 
close;  a  belt  varying  in  length 
from  30  to  even  1 80  feet, 
wound  round  and  round  the 
body;  and  a  cloth  or  a  kind 
of  sheet.  The  hair  is  dressed 
in  a  variety  of  fashions, 
which  are  regulated  by  the 
deeds  of  valor  which  have 
been  performed.  His  picked 
spearmen  are  stalwart  war- 
riors. They  carry  round 
shields  of  buffalo  hide,  one 
or  two  spears  seven  feet  in 
length,  and  small  sheepskins 

over  their  shoulders.  Following  are  men  of  distinguished  rank  and  brav- 
ery, well  mounted,  and  the  chiefs  with  their  retainers.  Some  small 
pieces  of  artillery  may  bring  up  the  rear.  And  so  the  army  marches  on, 
with  its  soldiers  and  camp  followers,  their  bushy  heads  and  all  their 
weapons  generously  anointed  with  the  freshest  of  butter. 

Although  several  of  the  kings  and  Ras  have  made  attempts  to 
introduce  European  modes  of  warfare,  they  have  been  unsuccessful.  The 
signal  being  given  by  beat  of  drum  they  rush  pell-mell  upon  the  enemy, 


ABYSSINIAN  CROWN. 


62  rANOKA.MA    OK    NATIONS. 

hurling  the  spear  and  re-hurhng  the  spent  darts  of  the  foe.  The  sword 
is  seldom  brought  into  requisition,  except  to  carve  raw  flesh  at  table,  and. 
usuall)'  is  left  to  rust  in  the  scabbard  or  get  entangled  in  the  dress  or 
trappings  of  the  horse.  The  horsemen  with  their  lances  charge  fiercely 
into  the  ranks  of  the  enuni)-,  turn  sharpl\-  and  retreat  with  their  shields 
behind  them.  Tlie  gunners  with  their  weapons  upon  their  l)amboo  rests 
or  upon  the  knee  seem  the  most  demure  of  any  of  the  combatants,  but 
are  said  to  create  no  little  consternation,  even  handicapped  with  their 
unimproved  weapons  and  methods.  The  supernumeraries  of  an  Abys- 
sinian ami)-  far  e.xceed  the  fighting  force,  l^ew  of  the  .soldiers  enter 
on  a  campaign  without  their  wives,  and  all  who  have  beasts  of  any  kind 
have  one  or  two  lads  to  cut  grass  and  look  after  them.  Besides  these 
there  is  a  large  establishment  for  each  cliief. 

Killing  is  the  life  of  the  Abyssinian  citizen  and  soldier,  there  being 
regular  gradations  of  valor.  Each  elephant  slain  counts  for  forty  men. 
A  lion  is  reckoned  as  four  and  a  buffalo  as  Uw,  though  in  Tigre,  the 
elephant  is  despised  antl  the  lion  counts  for  ten.  Men  all  count  alike  ; 
but  if  a  dalla  is  killed  the  act  is  formally  celebrated  in  song,  for  he  is 
both  a  national  and  formidable  eneni)'.  .Strange  to  .say,  although  in 
some  districts,  the  slaying  of  an  elephant  or  a  buffalo  earns  the  warrior  a 
ballail,  the  killing  of  a  lion  never  does.  With  the  Gallas,  who  are  remark- 
able ]ior?;emen  and  lovers  ol  the  noble  animal,  the  death  of  a  horse  is 
equi\alcnt  to  that  of  a  man.  The  number  of  prisoners  taken  or  lances 
received  upon  the  shield  also  counts  in  fixing  the  status  of  bravery.  If 
the  warrior  can  reckon  up  a  sufficient  number  of  these  latter  good  marks, 
whene\er  he  enters  tlie  house  of  a  chief  on  feast  tlay  he  can  claim  as  his 
propert}'  the  tender  hmup  of  the  bullock.  The  tleath  of  ten  men,  or 
their  equivalent  in  beasts,  entitles  a  soldier  to  plait  his  hair  to  its  full 
dimensions.  The  piece  of  a  lion's  mane  or  the  lion's  tail  was  formerly  a 
sign  of  valor.  Such  are  the  rewards  bestowed  for  taking  human  and 
brute  life,  although  in  the  case  of  wild  beasts  the  custom  does  not  seem 
so  savage.  But  the  cleath  of  a  Galla  sometimes  is  followed  by  a  kind  of 
a  jubilee  and  festival,  taken  part  in  by  all  the  women  and  men  of  the 
neighborhood  wherein  the  hero  reside.s.  The  women  take  the  lead  and 
celebrate  the  event  in  song  and  merrymaking.  One  of  their  number 
keeps  up  the  song,  the  others,  drawn  up  in  a  circle  around  her,  taking  up 
the  chorus  which  is  accompanied  with  the  clapping  of  hands  and  the  dis- 
cordant notes  of  the  tom-tom.  The  bodies  of  the  singers  are  in  constant 
motion,  with  the  exception  of  tht-  head.  The  slayer  of  the  Galla  and  the 
chief  men  of  the  neighborhood  or  tribe  look  on,  being  expected  semi- 
periodically   to  present    the    fair  singt-rs  witli  a  bullock,   or  money,  or 


TllI.IR     I.WVS. 


63 


Other  valuable  consideration.  Antl  woe  be  to  him  who  does  not  show  a 
becoming'  spirit  of  generosit)'  on  this  fesli\-e  occasion  ;  for  he  i*^  unmerci- 
fully castigated  with  the  sharp  tongue  of  some  soloist  whose  bitter  sar- 
casm is  taken  up  in  an  extemijoraneous  chorus  by  her  companions. 
That  man  is  henceforth  branded  as  an  unworthy  member  of  the  tribe. 

THEIR   L.AWS. 


Although  the  Abyssinians  ha\-e  laws,  tliey  must  necessarily  be 
crude,  from  the  nature  of  the  j^eople  who  value  human  life  so  lightly. 
Torture,  however,  is  not  allowed.  As  they  have  no  regukr  prisons  the 
"chain"  is  brought  into  constant  use,  sometimes,  as  in  the  case  of 
European  mission 
aries  who  have  been 
arrested  for  attempt- 
ed innovations,  it 
beine  of  silver.  Both 
parties  to  a  lawsuit 
must  hnd  securities  f^\\-^,*' 
or  be 
gether. 


chained  to- 
M  e  n  ac- 
cused of  murder  arc 
chained  to  a  soldier  ^^' 
of  the  king's  guard,  | 
but  unless  there  is 
some  bold  distinc- 
tion of  dress,  such  is 
the  careless  disposi- 
tion of  the  average 
Abyssinian  that  it 
would  be  impossible  to  tell  which  was  the  accused  or  the  crimina 
and  which  the  keeper.  They  may  both  be  drinking  and  laughing 
together  as  if  they  were  the  best  friends  in  the  world,  whereas  one 
may  have  committed  a  grave  crime  against  the  other,  and  be  on  the  road 
to  flogging,  mutilation,  or  death.  As  they  drink  thus  merrily  together, 
or  walk,  chatting,  through  a  village  lane,  each  passer-by  will  say  "God 
loosen  you."  The  Abyssinians  will  kill  a  man  for  a  drink  of  "arrack\'" 
(dates  and  honey  fermented  in  water),  but  when  they  see  a  culprit  about 
to  be  punished  by  their  laws,  they  are  all  pity  and  tears.  It  may  be  they 
realize  their  injustice,  though  they  have  not  the  courage  to  protest 
against  them  since  their  code  is  a  child  of  the  Abyssinian  Church. 


ABYSSIN'IAX  HOUSEHOLD. 


64  l-AXORAMA    Ul'     NATIONS. 

Flogging  is  the  punishment  for  very  slight  offenses  and  is  inflicted 
with  a  short-handled  ox  whip.  It  is  no  great  disgrace  to  be  flogged  pub- 
licly, although  each  blow  may  strip  off  a  huge  piece  of  flesh.  Even 
chiefs  of  high  degree  thus  suffer  for  some  act  displeasing  to  the  Ras. 
Each  man  of  a  household  is  privileged  to  flog  his  servant  to  death,  if 
need  be,  to  enforce  discipline.  Owing  to  the  seething  condition  of  the 
country  the  servant  is  usually  armed,  and  therefore  a  dangerous  person 
to  get  out  of  bounds.  The  kind  of  mutilation  practiced  is  generally 
determined  by  the  chiefs  of  districts,  who  have  received  at  least  twelve 
drums  from  the  Ras.  The  offender,  who  is  usually  a  thief  or  a  rebel,  is 
denied  all  medical  assistance,  though  he  may  have  his  leg  or  his  arm  cut 
off,  his  e\es  or  tongue  taken  out,  or  his  ears  or  nose  sliced  off.  The 
head  drummer  of  each  chief  is  the  executive,  and  receives  the  clothes  of 
the  offender.  Homicide  is  punishable  with  death,  no  distinction  being 
made  between  "malice  aforethought"  and  hot-blooded  murder.  If  a 
man  has  been  heard  to  threaten  anpther  and  he  is  found  killed  after- 
wards, it  is  not  thought  necessary  to  prove  who  actually  committed  the 
murder,  but  the  threatener  is  delivered  bound  to  the  relatives  of  the 
slaughtered  man  for  execution.  They  may  accept  the  legal  blood-money 
(about  $120)  or  they  may  lead  him  out  to  an  open  space  near  their 
camp  or  town,  tie  him  to  the  stumji  of  a  tree  (naked  from  the  waist 
up),  beat  him  to  death  with  stones  or  clubs,  or  hack  him  to  pieces  with 
their  lances  or  swords,  —  but  the  code  does  not  "  legally"  allow  torture  ! 
Accidental  shootings  are  even  punished  in  the  same  manner.  In  this 
way  family  feuds  are  perpetuated  from  generation  to  generation,  and 
although  the  savage  practice  originated  from  the  fact  that  the  great 
chiefs  of  the  ountry  foimd  that  they  could  not  remain  in  power  if  they 
did  not  wasn  their  hands  of  all  responsibility  in  such  serious  matters, 
until  this  mode  of  punishment  is  entirely  abolished  the  country  can  never 
be  anything  else  than  a  great  ([uarrelsome  famil_\-  —  man  fighting  man, 
tribe  opposed  to  tribe,  and  all  killing  each  other  ami  the  wild  beast. 
There  are  said  to  be  other  punishments  inflicted  by  the  chiefs,  not  even 
recognized  bylaw,  such  as  flaying  alive,  splitting  down  with  an  axe,  bury- 
ing to  the  neck  alive  in  the  earth,  binding  the  \iclim  naked  to  an  ant 
hill  after  anointing  him  with  honey  or  butter,  or  sewing  him  up  in  a 
fresh  cowhide  and  hurling  him  over  a  precipice.  The  story  is  told  that 
once  there  was  a  certain  wise  man  attached  to  tlu>  fortunes  of  a  great 
chief,  and  as  his  master  was  besieged  in  a  mountain  fort  he  offered  with 
a  lens  which  he  carriei^l,  to  set  fire  to  the  enenn's  camp,  which  was  pitched 
upon  a  plain  some  distance  away.  Although  he  heartily  prayed  for  the 
success   of  his  enterprise,  he  did   not   take  into  account  the   ridiculous 


ABYSSINIAN    FARMERS.  6^ 


weakness  of  his  burning-glass  —  and  over  the  mountain  side  he  went, 
sewed  up  in  the  hide  of  a  cow. 

Small  differences  between  the  natives  are  usually  brought  before  the 
elders  of  the  tribe  for  settlement.  They  form  a  kind  of  jury  with 
the  nagadaras  of  the  village,  or  chief  of  the  tribe,  or  large  land  owner 
as  judge.  Seating  himself  on  the  ground,  attended  by  his  grey 
beards,  the  plaintiff,  defendant  and  witnesses  are  brought  into  court, 
always  with  shoulders  bared.  The  oath  administered  afid  often  repeated 
during  the  trial  is  in  this  form  :  "  May  the  King  (or  the  Ras,  as  the 
ruling  power  may  be)  die  if  I  speak  not  the  truth."  (On  the  contrary  the 
Arabs  always  swear  by  the  life  of  a  person.)  The  plaintiff  first  presents 
his  case,  all  parties  to  the  controversy  maintaining  a  decorous  silence. 
When  he  has  finished,  he  puts  a  period  to  his  remarks  by  seizing  the 
judge's  cotton  robe  and  making  a  large  knot  in  the  corner.  When  the 
defendant  has  concluded,  he  ties  a  like  knot  in  the  opposite  corner.  Dur- 
ing the  progress  of  the  case  this  tying  and  untying  goes  on,  it  seeming  to 
be  a  part  of  the  court  procedure  to  mark  the  progress  of  the  suit.  The 
cause  of  the  trouble  may  be  a  blow  or  a  petty  theft,  and  the  award  to  the 
injured  party  consists  of  money,  honey,  butter,  or  other  food.  These 
minor  judges  are  subject  to  call,  night  and  day. 

ABYSSINIAN  FARMERS. 

It  requires,  in  fact,  no  great  amount  of  perception  to  see  that  the 
Ras,  his  chiefs  and  sub-chiefs,  the  drummers  of  every  grade  and  the 
judges  are  the  hardest  worked  individuals  in  Abyssinia. 

In  Abyssinia,  as  in  many  other  countries,  the  basis  of  the  state  is 
the  land,  and  its  farmers  stand  the  brunt  of  taxation  levied  for  the  sup- 
port of  its  military  system.  They  furnish  a  tax  in  crops  or  money  to  the 
Ras,  and  oxen  to  plow  his  lands  or  those  of  the  king.  They  deliver  a 
portion  of  their  grain  to  the  governor  or  chief  of  their  district,  and  hold 
themselves  in  readiness  to  quarter  a  certain  number  of  soldiers  in  their 
houses.  The  governor  has  a  right  to  take  anything  for  his  personal 
subsistence.  His  daily  bill  of  fare  must,  truly,  have  a  broad  and  deli<Tht- 
ful  range — from  the  tea,  coffee  and  dates  of  the  East  to  the  substantial 
grains  and  luscious  fruits  of  the  West — and  he  has  a  hundred  pretexts 
for  requiring  a  hundred  "  extras  "  from  his  agricultural  subjects.  Rich 
and  influential  landed  proprietors  are  found  in  all  portions  of  the  country, 
but  often  they  choose  deep  and  rugged  valleys  in  order  to  escape  the 
abuses  of  the  soldiery  and  also,  that  from  the  heights  covering  the 
approaches  to  their  land,  their  armed  and  brave  peasants  may  drive  away 


66 


P/iNORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


the  insolvent  warriors  who  come  to  seize  their  crops  and  herds.     The 
consequence  is  that  they  are  held  in  wholesome  esteem  by  the  military 


ABYSSINIAN  SLAVE. 


department,  and  receive  the  shirt   of  silk   from   the    Ras  himself,  as  an 
acknowledgment  that  he  cannot  get  along  without  them.    They  therefore 


ABYSSINIAN    FARMERS.  67 

form  the  connecting  link  between  royalt)'  and  the  people.  In  seasons 
of  war,  because  of  their  wide-spread  influence  and  family  connections, 
they  can  forward  goods  and  messengers  tc  s  great  distance  when  a  soldier 
dare  not  quit  his  camp.  Besides  being  chosen  by  the  people  as  arbitra- 
tors and  judges  the  government  entrusts  them  with  the  collection  of  its 
revenue.  With  the  enterprising  merchants  who  brave  the  Gallaandthe 
Shangalla  to  bring  the  products  and  customs  of  higher  civilizations  into 
Abyssinia,  these  landed  lords  form  a  kind  of  redeeming  leaven  which, 
with  the  spread  of  better  principles,  may  raise  the  country  into  a  more 
perfect  state  of  union.  It  is  hard  to  say  which  class  of  Abyssinians, 
agriculturists  or  merchants,  lie  upon  the  most  uncomfortable  bed  of 
thorns  ;  for  in  six  of  the  towns  of  the  country,  judiciously  scattered  along 
the  chief  routes  of  travel,  the  government  has  stationed  an  ofificial  whose 
duty  it  is  to  get  all  he  can  out  of  the  commercial  gentlemen.  This  officer, 
called  "  the  chief  of  merchants,"  has  minor  posts,  and  if  he  and  his 
assistants  are  not  sufficiently  conciliated  by  money  and  presents,  they 
easily  trump  up  some  charge  of  smuggling  or  trespassing  upon  the 
pasturage  of  a  resident,  and  follow  it  up  with  a  wholesale  confiscation  of 
goods.  They  keep  in  their  pay  large  bodies  of  armed  men  to  enforce 
their  demands,  and  as  the  governor  or  chiefs  generally  receive  a  fixed 
compensation  as  "  hush  money,"  their  injustice  and  cruelty  are  seldom 
punished.  The  soldier  also  despises  the  merchant  for  his  generally 
peaceable  disposition  and  feels  fully  justified  in  quartering  himself  in 
his  house  whenever  he  pleases,  and  acting  in  the  most  riotous  and  insult- 
ing manner.  With  his  dangers  of  travel  and  his  harassed  home-life,  the 
merchant's  existence  cannot  be  devoid  of  variety  and  spice. 

While  the  husband  is  away  on  a  campaign,  a  mercantile  journey  or 
ploughing,  or  at  home  doing  nothing,  the  wife  is  busy  from  morning  to 
night,  spinning  the  cotton  for  her  dresses  and  those  of  her  family;  sifting 
the  corn,  grinding  it  by  hand  and  making  it  into  bread;  bringing 
water  from  the  brook  on  her  back,  instead  of  head  ;  preparing  onions  and 
peppers;  making  beer;  or  trudging  to  market  for  what  she  lacks  at  home. 
She  is  dressed  in  a  piece  of  cotton  cloth  thrown  loosely  over  the  shoul- 
ders, underneath  which  is  also  a  cotton  garment  bound  at  the  waist  with 
a  simple  strip.  The  upper  classes  wear  trousers  when  riding,  and  over 
their  undergarments  a  silk  mantle  is  thrown,  sometimes  richly  orna- 
mented with  silver-gilt  bosses  and  drops.  When  abroad  nothing  but 
the  eyes  are  seen.  They  wear  silver  chains  round  the  neck,  rings  on  the 
fingers,  and  oblong  silver  drops  round  the  ankles  that  rustle  when  they 
move.  The  hair  is  plaited  in  various  forms  by  all  classes,  though  on  the 
death  of  a  relative  the  head  is  shaved  and  fresh  butter  is  spread  over  the 


68 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


scalp  mixed  with  the  oil  of  various  spices.  The  fingers  and  toes,  al:io, 
of  the  Abyssinian  beauty  arc  dyed  a  rosy  tinge.  She  has  servants 
at  her  command,  who,  although  armed  and  ready  to  be  called  to  the 
service  of  her  husband,  are  content  to  perform  household  duties  when 
they  are  not  required  abroad.  One  makes  the  mead,  and  if  he  is  a  gun- 
ner, keeps  the  house  supplied  with  game.  Another  guards  the  corn 
against  the  thievish  forays  of  the  maid-servants  and  distributes  it  to  all 
the  domestics;  others  are  grass  cutters  or  wood  cutters.  Her  maid-serv- 
ants grind  the  corn,  clean  the  stable  and  cook,  and  perform  all  the 
other  household  labors  of  a  large  establishment.  The  relation  existing 
between  master  and  servant,  or  mistress  and  servant,  is  quite  familiar 
and  pleasant.  In  return  for  many  little  attentions  and  kindnesses,  the 
servant  is  willing  to  abide  by  the  law  which  places  his  person  entirely  in 
the  hands  of  his  master.  Tigre  is  the  only  part  of  the  country  where 
the  Abyssinian  pays  wages  to  his  servant,  though  he  may  be  sent  on 
journeys  of  four  or  five  hundred  miles.  On  long  journeys  two  are  gen- 
erally sent  together,  so  that  if  one  falls  on  the  way  before  wild  beasts, 
wild  men,  sickness  or  accident,  the  message  will  be  more  likely  to  reach 
its  destination. 

COPTIC  CURIOSITIES. 


The    Abyssinian    Church    is    a    most    astounding    combination    of 
Jewish  and  Christian  ceremonials  and  native  superstitions.      Its  priests 

are  less  intelligent  than  the 
Copts  of  Egypt  and  far  more 
powerful,  standing  in  author- 
ity next  to  the  military  chiefs. 
When  the  Ras  parcels  out 
his  territory,  after  he  has 
selected  his  own,  they  obtain 
the  choice  bits  throughout 
Abyssinia.  The  Abuna,  or 
head  of  the  church,  who  is 
appointed  by  the  Patriarch 
of  Alexandria,  holds  the 
finest  landed  property  in 
Northern  and  Southern 
Abyssinia,  along  the  tribu- 
taries of  the  Nile,  and  also  near  Gondar  where  is  his  principal  residence. 
His  person  is  so  sacred  that  he  is  generally  hidden  from  the  public,  and 


THE  VIRGIN. 


COPTIC    CURIOSITIES. 


69 


he  is  supposed  to  eat  nothing  but  a  nauseating  physic  called  "coso,"  or 
at  most,  parched  peas  or  grain.  During  reception  days,  when  he  blesses 
the  prostrate  multitude,  he  is  veiled.  From  the  most  distant  parts  of 
Ethiopia  the  people  come  to  him,  and  are  content  to  wait  for  weeks  in 
his  outer  court  if  at  length  he  will  grant  them  a  mysterious  audience. 
Next  to  him  in  rank  is  the  Superior  of  the  Convent  in  Shoa,  within  the 
walls  of  whose  residence  there  is  a  holy  well,  the  waters  of  which  (for  a 
consideration)  will  cure  blindness,  leprosy  and  all  diseases.  There  are 
several  "cities  of  refuge"  in  Abyssinia,  Axum,  the  most  noted,  having 
already  been  described.  These  cities  are  governed  by  officials  appointed 
by  the  Ras.  They  are  not  priests,  but  must  know  how  to  read 
and  write  and  understand  the  laws.  After 
them  come  the  regular  priests,  whose  du- 
ties consist  of  reading  the  prayers,  chant- 
ing, administering  the  sacraments  and  danc- 
ing during  religious  processions.  Their 
dancing  consists  of  a  peculiar  swaying  of 
the  body,  rather  than  a  free  use  of  the 
limbs.  All  church  services  are  conducted 
in  the  Ethiopian  tongue,  which  candidates 
for  the  priesthood  must  be  able  to  read. 
They  must  also  be  able  to  sing  and  grow 
a  beard.  They  pay  two  pieces  of  salt  .^,1 
money  for  the  priviletje  of  being  breathed  ^^ 
upon  by  the  Abuna,  and  having  the  sign  of  '^ 
the  cross  made  over  them.  The  churches 
in  the  interior  of  the  country  are  generally 
built  on  the  summit  of  hills  in  the  midst 
of  cypress  groves,  each  of  which  has  a 
sacred  ark  of  the  covenant  standing  behind 

a  curtain  in  the  '"holy  of  holies."  The  buildings  are  usually  after  the 
Jewish  models;  round,  with  conical  roofs.  Sometimes  the  tolling  of  a 
bell,  but  in  most  cases  the  beating  of  kettle  drums,  summons  the  faithful 
to  prayers,  which  are  read  in  a  language  that  few  of  them  can  under- 
stand. Most  of  the  worshipers,  indeed,  merely  kiss  the  floor  or  walls 
of  the  edifice,  so  that  in  Abyssinia  they  describe  a  good  Christian  thus  : 
"He  kisses  the  church."  .Some  utter  extemporaneous  prayers,  as  in 
the  case  of  one  overheard  by  a  traveler,  which  fell  devoutly  from  the 
lips  of  an  old  woman:  "Oh,  Lord,  give  me  plenty  to  eat  and  drink, 
good  clothes  and  a  comfortable  home,  or  else  kill  me  !"  Since  wine  is 
bcarce   in   the   countr\-,  the   sacramental   cup  is  filled  with   raisin  water. 


A  SACRED  ARK  . 


70 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


The  calendar  is  full  of  saints'  and  fast  days — two-thirds  of  the  year  are 
thus  devoted — and  at  such  times  the  faithful  Copt  will  neither  work  nor 
suffer  others  to.  In  addition  to  the  heroes  of  the  Bible  and  Apocryphal 
books  he  has  many  local  saints,  who  go  before  them  all.  One  called 
"Tecla  Haimanot"  holds  the  seat  of  honor  in  the  Abyssinian  mind. 
He  is  said  to  have  converted  Satan  and  induced  him  to  become  a  monk 
for  forty  days.  Then  the  fortitude  of  the  evil  one  gave  way  and  he  be- 
came the  devil  again.  The  same  remark- 
able saint,  wishing  to  ascend  the  perpendic- 
ular sides  of  a  mountain,  was  accommodated 
by  a  boa-constrictor  which  took  him  up  on  its 
back.  Within  the  priestly  pale  of  the  church 
may  also  be  mentioned  the  "aspirants,"  who 
during  the  period  of  their  preparation  wear 
the  skins  of  sheep  for  clothing  and  beg  their 
daily  bread.  Of  the  monks  of  Abyssinia 
some  reside  in  monasteries  or  act  as  con- 
fessors to  warrior  chiefs  ;  others  make  pil- 
grimages to  Jerusalem,  or  dwell  in  the  wil- 
derness feeding  on  roots. 

Coptic  churches,  many  of  them  deserted 
entirely,  or  in  charge  of  a  priest  or  deacon, 
are  found  scattered  throughout  the  country. 
Some  of  them  are  but  moss-grown  ruins  in 
the  midst  of  a  dense  jungle  or  hidden  in 
groves  of  cedar  and  olive  trees,  the  wor- 
shipers having  been  driven  away  by  some 
rival  tribe,  or  deserted  the  spot  on  some 
warlike  adventure.  Even  here  they  remain 
unmolested.  The  rude  Galla,  riding  along 
on  his  stanch  war-horse,  lowers  his  harsh 
voice  in  talking  with  his  companion  ;  for  he, 
also,  though  a  Mohammedan,  is  pervaded 
with  the  superstition  of  the  country,  which 
fears  the  vengeance  of  some  guardian  spirit  should  axe  or  fire  invade 
their  sacred  precincts. 

The  Abyssinians  cling  both  to  the  Saturday  of  the  Jew  and  the 
Sunday  of  the  Christian  as  holy  days,  and  from  Friday  evening  to  Mon- 
day morning  neither  water  can  be  drawn  nor  wood  hewn.  These  weekly 
holy  days,  with  the  continual  fast  days  which  they  observe,  make  their 
existence    little   over-burdened   with   work.      Referrintr   to  his    Hebrew 


WALL  ORNAMENTS. 


COPTIC    CURIOSITIES  71 

customs,  the  contradictions  in  tiie  nature  of  the  Abyssinian  are  many 
and  inexpHcable.  Hjs  Icint,^,  when  he  has  one,  must  be  a  descendant  of 
Solomon;  in  structure  his  churches  are  Jewish  Synagogues;  the  hare, 
the  goose  and  the  wild  boar  are  considered  by  him  unclean  ;  he  has  his 
ark  of  the  covenant  in  every  church;  the  Jew  has  erected  his  govern- 
ment buildings  at  CJontlar  and  at  Shoa  ;  has  built  his  monasteries  and 
convents,  his  churches  and  his  houses,  if  they  are  more  than  mean  huts ; 
the  Jew  has  made  his  ploughs,  has  forged  his  spears  and  has  cast  his 
cannon  ;  yet  the  Abyssinian  will  tell  you  that  this  useful  member  of 
society,  to  whose  superior  genius  and  industry  he  is  a  continual  witness, 
is  his  embodiment  of  a  most  hideous  conception  of  all  that  is  evil  and 
imcann)-.  The  Jews,  and  particularly  those  who  work  in  iron,  are  his 
"  Bouddas";  those  fiends  in  human  shape,  who  by  the  power  of  their 
sinister  eyes  enter  the  bodies  of  men,  women  and  children,  to  devour 
them  under  the  guise  of  various  diseases.  As  hyenas  they  travel  far 
from  their  own  country,  and  then,  assuming  human  forms,  they  com- 
mence their  deadly  work.  Their  king  resides  on  a  mountain,  and  to 
him  they  daily  bring  the  corpses  of  those  who  have  neglected  to  defend 
themselves  with  charms  and  amulets.  When  a  hyena  is  killed,  the  lance, 
sword  or  weapons  which  are  stained  with  his  blood  are  taken  to  the 
nearest  priest  to  be  blessed  and  sprinkled  with  holy  water,  in  case  he 
should  have  been  a  sorcerer.  It  has  been  asserted  by  trustworthy 
natives  that  the)'  have  killed  hyenas  with  earrings  in  their  ears,  they 
being  females  who  have  forgotten  to  take  them  out  when  they  assumed 
the  brute  form.  Among  the  charms  used  against  the  wiles  jf  the 
terrible  "Boudda"  are  the  tooth  and  skin  of  the  hyena;  writings  from 
the  Bible  arranged  by  learned  scribes  in  m)stic  circles  and  crosses ; 
roots  antl  plants  and  the  leg  bones  of  hawks.  The  exposure  of  the 
naked  body  when  many  eyes  are  directed  against  it,  or  of  the  open 
mouth  when  eating,  is  considered  particularly  dangerous  ;  for  it  is 
impossible  to  tell  what  malignant  orbs  may  not  be  present  and  doing 
their  heinous  work.  The  person  into  whom  the  "  Boudda"  has  entered 
is  taken  with  a  species  of  tit.  followed  by  a  hideous  hyena  laugh  and  a 
running-about  on  all  fours.  A  "  Boudda"  doctor  having  been  called,  he 
is  seized  and  questioned  as  to  the  person  who  has  possessed  him. 
Sometimes  he  eives  the  name  and  location  of  the  "Boudda"  and  dis- 
closes  the  charm  that  will  expel  the  evil  one  ;  occasionally  in  his  frenzy 
he  dies.  These  Jewish  sorcerers  are  also  said  to  change  the  shape  of 
the  objects  of  their  incantations,  and  the  natives  of  Adowa,  to  this  day 
tell  of  a  family  whose  mother  once  upon  a  time  turned  up  missing. 
In  vain  they  searched  after  her.     An  old  Jew  upon  an  ass  often  rode 


72 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


past  their  house  and  his  animal  would  as  often  stretch  his  long  head  and 
eais  toward  it  and  bray  with  all  the  strength  of  his  good  lungs.  A 
light  flashed  in  upon  a  son's  mind.  The  Jew  was  seized,  confessed  and 
commenced  to  change  the  woman  into  her  former  self.  The  transform- 
ation had  been  completed  with  the  exception  of  a  portion  of  one  leg 
and  the  hoof,  when  the  son,  unable  longer  to  contain  his  anger,  killed 
the  Jew  with  his  spear,  and  so  to  her  grave  did  the  poor  woman  carry 
with  her  this  de<jradinof  mark  of  the  "  Boudda." 

With  such  superstitions  and  excrescences  as  these  are  the  Abyssinian 
mind  and  the  Abyssinian  religion  dragged  into  the  mud.  In  many 
instances  the  priests  cater  to  such  beliefs  in  order  to  realize  a  financial 
harvest  from  the  ignorance  and  fears  of  the  people. 


THE  TARTARS  OF  AFRICA. 


OW  and  then  the  huge,  bold  Galla  has  dashed  across  our 
mental  vision,  riding  his  little,  wiry,  nimMe-footed  steed. 
His  tall  and  broad  figure,  frizzed  hair  and  small  eyes,  will 
become  more  familiar  to  us  as  we  follow  him  to  war  against 
the  Abyssinian.  His  color  ranges  from  a  light  to  a  dark 
brown.  He  is  an  Ethiopian,  said  to  have  been  descended  from 
an  Abyssinian  princess  who  married  her  slave.  For  three 
centuries  or  more  he  has  been  making  dashes  into  Abyssinia 
and  has  at  length  tethered  his  noble  horses  in  some  of  its 
southern  provinces.  His  chief  has  become  Negus  of  his 
enemy's  country,  and  certainly  one  woman  of  his  tribe  has  married  a 
native  Abyssinian  king,  thereby  causing  a  great  civil  disturbance.  The 
Galla's  faults  are  many,  but  he  does  not  hide  them.  He  believes  in  war 
and  pursues  his  calling  with  such  a  vengeance  that  he  is  dreaded,  as  the 
Tartar  of  Africa,  from  the  Red  Sea  to  Zanzibar  and  far  into  the  interior 
of  the  continent.  As  a  Mohammedan  he  may  journey  toward  Mecca, 
or  he  may  make  a  pagan  pilgrimage  to  the  sacred  trees  on  the  banks  of 
the  Hawash,  in  Shoa — but  whatever  he  does  he  is  always  a  warrior,  and 
his  home  is  on  the  horse's  back.  His  people  are  said  to  number  ten 
million,  and  with  all  their  blood-thirsty  ways  have  the  making  of  a  nation 
in  them,  only  awaiting  the  proper  influences  to  bring  order  out  of  chaos. 
On  the  coast  they  are  mostly  nomads,  whose  caravans  meet  those  of 
the  Abyssinians  far  in  the  heart  of  Africa.  Those  who  have  possessed 
themselves  of  portions  of  Abyssinia  and  settled  in  the  adjacent  provinces, 
are  warrior  agriculturists. 

ON   THE  WAR-PATH. 


Said  a  scarred  chief  of  the  Gallas  :  "  Fighting  is  breakfast  and 
supper  to  us.  What  was  a  horse  made  for  but  to  fight  on,  and  a  man, 
but  to  die  when  his  time  comes?" — and  you  would  not  have  thought 
his  talk  bombastic  if  you  could  have  seen  him  and  his  followers  plunging 
down  a  steep  hill  full  of  holes  and  stones,  their  unshod  steeds  often 

73 


74  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

obliged  to  throw  themselves  on  their  hams  and  "  slide,"  and  then  over 
the  honey-combed  and  tufted  hillocks,  brandishing  their  lances  and 
shouting  their  war-cries  at  the  bedizened  Ras  with  his  huge  drums, 
his  picked  spearmen  and  his  chosen  gunners.  Innumerable  rills  have 
worn  the  hill-side  into  a  series  of  channels  as  smooth  as  ice,  and  the 
ground  beyond  is  covered  with  tufts  of  grass  one  or  two  feet  high.  But 
down  the  hill. the  Walla  horsemen  plunge,  their  steeds  leaping  from 
mound  to  mound  as  lightly  and  surely  as  cats.  Besides  the  simple 
lances  each  warrior  has  a  number  of  short  pointed  stakes,  which  when 
he  eets  within  ranee  of  the  Abyssinian  horsemen  he  throws  with  ereat 
jDrecision.  His  object  is  to  wound  or  kill  the  horse,  which  he  considers 
a  more  important  element  in  the  fight  than  the  rider.  The  Galla  horsemen 
urge  their  steeds  into  the  very  ranks  of  the  Abyssinians,  discharge  their 
lances,  spin  around  like  tops  and  are  off  like  the  wind,  hanging  over 
their  horses  with  their  shields  behind  them.  If  not  pressed  too  closely 
some  of  them  will  be  seen  now  and  then,  dashing  away  to  a  little  distance 
and  stripping  their  hide-bound  saddles  from  their  war-horses,  allowing 
the  steaming  animals  to  roll  in  the  grass  or  drink  at  a  convenient  spring. 
When  refreshed  the  Galla  mounts  his  horse  and  shouting  his  war-cry, 
which  is  often  the  name  of  his  steed,  dashes  into  the  fight.  The  Gallas, 
especially  those  who  have  had  generations  of  warfare  in  the  border 
countries,  are  unwearied  in  the  saddle.  Their  horses  though  fiery,  are 
extremely  docile,  and  will  generally  follow  their  master,  if  he  dismounts, 
or  remain  quiet  till  he  returns  to  them.  They  would  thus  describe  their 
most  valued  animal :  "  He  is  a  bay  with  four  white  legs,  white  forehead 
and  nose,  nine  spans  high,  of  a  fiery  spirit,  in  speed  swift  as  a  vulture; 
he  will  turn  in  his  own  length  with  a  thread ;  his  tail  is  thin,  his  mane  a 
cubit  long;  in  turning  he  does  not  change  the  position  of  his  neck  and 
tail ;  raising  his  legs  in  his  gallop,  he  does  not  seem  to  touch  the  ground  ; 
he  never  tires,  his  marks  are  lucky  and  his  feet  are  iron."  The  lucky 
marks  referred  to  are  patches  of  curling  hair  on  the  forehead  or  on  each 
side  of  the  neck.  Although  in  a  level  country  the  nine  spans  would 
not  be  considered  a  point  of  recommendation,  in  a  hilly  country  such  as 
the  Gallas  inhabit  and  in  which  they  fight,  their  small,  sure-footed 
animals  are  preferable  to  larger  ones. 

GALLA  HORSES. 

There  probably  is  no  better  judge  of  a  horse  in  the  world  than  a 
Galla.  So  much  of  an  expert  is  he,  in  fact,  that  although  he  supplies 
the  o-reater  portion  of  Abyssinia  it  is  seldom  that  he  lets  a  horse  go  out 


GALLA    HORSES.  75 

of  his  countr\-  which  has  not  some  defect.  He  will  sell  what  he  calls  a 
good  horse  for  nine  or  twelve  dollars  and  an  inferior  one  for  three  or 
seven,  his  :~  :  '     -    '  ocated  in  several  towns  of  Southern  .Abyssinia. 

Leaving  t..,    .  -_::-e.  and  the  unequal  but  savage  contest  between 

even  the  crudest  of  fire-arms  and  the  Galla  spear,  you  cannot  realize 
his  disposition  when  you  first  come  into  his  fertile  countr\-.  It  is  one 
of  unc  plains  and  green  meadows,  thousands  of  horses  content- 
edly r....... ig  the  crisp  grass,  or  with  intelligent  eyes  and  arched 

necks  looking  over  wide  fields  of  barley  as  if  to  inquire  the  cause  of 
your  intrusion.  Here  and  there  GaUa  men  are  splitting  logs  for  fire- 
wood, while  beside  them,  perhaps,  is  a  manly  looking  fellow.  •  ly 
conversing  while  leaning  on  his  spear.  From  thousands  of  c._".^s  of 
trees  the  bee-shaped  huts  stand  forth,  in  marked  contrast  to  the  squalor 
of  Egvpt,  Nubia  and  Ab\-ssinia.  Each  has  its  neat  grass  plot  before 
the  door  and  if  the  owner  has  a  cultivated  field  it  is  well  kept  and  dis- 
tinctly marked.  The  huts  are  covered  with  straw  and  have  a  second 
wall  within.  Once  "  at  home  "  an  opportunity-  will  be  afforded  to  di^ 
cover  what  it  is  like.  You  are  now  supposed  to  be  inside  the  house  of 
one  of  our  host's  wives,  —  for  every  man  marries  as  many  as  he  can 
afford  to  support,  giving  to  each  a  certain  number  of  strings  of  beads, 
cows,  and  a  separate  house.  Each  wife  in  turn,  in  her  own  house, 
prepares  her  husband's  breakfast,  supper,  mead  and  butter.  She  brings 
water  for  washing  his  feet,  and  if  the  cr\'  of  war  arises  she  saddles  his 
horse  for  him  while  he  arms  himself  with  spear  and  shield  or  puts  on 
his  belt  and  knife.  Entering  one  of  these  houses  the  wife  is  seen 
attired  in  a  hand-woven  cotton  skirt,  ornamented  with  pieces  of  blue 
cloth,  and  by  way  of  petticoat  a  hide,  dressed  and  softened  with  butter 
and  ornamented  with  beads.  Her  daughter,  if  unmarried,  wears  only 
the  skin.  The  wife's  husband  is  well-to-do,  which  is  inferred  with  cer- 
tainty from  the  fact  that  she  wears  many  rows  of  beads  around  her 
waist,  which  is  a  sure  index  of  his  worldly  condition.  She  also  wears 
massive  ivor\'  rings  on  her  arms  and  ankles.  The  hair  is  arrancred  in 
ringlets  wound  round  little  straws  and  falling  equally  from  the  center, 
except  over  the  eyes  where  they  reach  the  brows.  An  ivory-  comb, 
inlaid  with  black  wood,  is  thrust  in  amonsj  the  ringlets.  The  husband's 
dress  consists  of  a  kilt  made  of  the  cotton  cloth,  which  comes  to  his 
knees.  .A.  long  belt  of  the  same  material  is  wound  round  his  waist; 
which  supports  his  double-edged  knife.  Over  his  shoulders  is  thrown 
a  large,  strong  mantle.  When  the  war-cr\-  sounds  he  throws  this  aside 
and  mounts  his  horse,  either  bare  from  the  waist  upwards  or  with  the 
skin  of  a  panther  or  leopard  thrown  over  his  shoulders.     If  the  man  is 


76  PANORAMA    UF    NATIONS. 

a  noted  chief  we  may  find  that  his  liut  has  been  fortified — that  is,  a 
hiijh  stone  wall,  from  which  project  stout,  sharpened  beams  of  wood 
surrounds  it.  This  would  be  built  as  a  defense  against  the  assaults  of 
a  rival  chief  and  his  horsemen.  But  such  outward  exhibitions  of  the 
warlike  character  of  the  people  are  rare.  The  husband  himself,  how- 
ever, by  his  prowess  in  battle  may  have  earned  the  privilege  of  wearing 
upon  his  forearm  great  rings  of  brass,  or  if  he  has  slain  an  elephant 
two  or  three  huge  rings  of  ivory  upon  his  upper  arm.  If  a  man  of 
wealth  he  has  usually  round  his  neck  the  fat  of  a  goat,  sheep  or  ox. 
As  will  be  inferred  from  the  foregoing  description  of  his  wife's  dress, 
this  is  the  nature  of  the  ornament  worn  by  the  Galla  whom  we  have 
found  at  home.  He  is  rich  in  cattle  and  horses,  but  in  his  late  fight 
with  the  Abyssinians  he  has  proven  that  he  is  a  wariior  equal  to  the 
bravest ;  his  hair  which  is  frizzled  in  various  lengths  is  streaming  with 
butter,  for  he  has  slain  one  of  the  Ras'  chosen  gunners  or  spearmen. 
A  portion  of  the  wood  which  his  servants  have  cut  outside  is  burning 
with  a  warm  glow  on  his  rude  hearth,  but  the  fact  d(  es  not  add  any  to 
his  personal  beauty,  surrounded  and  permeated,  as  it  is,  with  the  fat  of 
beasts.  But  he  has  laid  aside  his  long  and  broad-bladed  lance,  his 
convex  shield  of  buffalo  hide  and  his  cruel  knife,  and  he  and  his  wife 
and  daughter  sit  around  a  table  upon  which  is  a  wooden  dish  contain- 
ing bread,  curds  and  peppers.  A  kind  of  thick  beer  which  is  diluted 
according  to  the  taste  of  the  imbiber,  usually  accompanies  this  dish. 
Bread,  onions,  peppers,  butter,  milk,  beer,  mead  and  mutton  seem  to 
be  the  chief  components  of  the  Galla's  food,  whether  he  be  rich  or  poor. 
Following  the  custom  of  the  Abyssinians,  if  the  family  be  one  of  any 
prominence  and  is  likely  to  have  enemies,  previous  to  serving  each 
dish,  the  servant  is  required  to  partake  of  it,  as  a  proof  that  he  had  no 
intention  of  poisoning  any  member. 

OMENS. 

The  omens  of  the  Gallas  are  almost  entirely  confined  to  the  exam- 
ination of  the  stomach  of  slaughtered  oxen  and  sheep.  They  stretch 
out  the  layer  of  fat  or  membrane,  and  examine  carefully  the  numerous 
lines  that  intersect  it,  as  the  Trojans  and  the  Greeks  did  before  them. 
They  see  before  them,  as  if  on  a  map,  the  result  of  the  fight :  They  will 
slay  ten  men  or  twenty;  or  if  the  unlucky  membrane,  or  "mora,"  is 
fountl  they  will  not  \'enture  forth  at  all.  On  the  da\-  of  battle  before 
mounting  their  horses  they  frequently  slay  several  oxen  and  offer  them 
as  a  sacrifice;  or  they  drink  the  warm  blood  of  sheep  and  goats  to  give 


OMENS.  ■]■] 

greater  strength  to  their  iron  arms.  One  of  the  noted  chiefs  is  said  to 
have  been  in  the  habit  of  placing  a  small  kid  before  him  in  the  saddle, 
and  to  sacrifice  it  while  urging  his  steed  on  the  enemy,  never  drawing 
bridle  till  the  same  lance  was  steeping  in  the  blood  of  a  foe.  Urged 
on  by  the  belief  that  they  are  the  favored  of  the  gods,  or  by  the  disre- 
gard for  life  which  is  part  of  the  Moslem's  faith,  combined  with  the 
conscious  power  of  their  huge  frames  antl  their  wonderful  skill  as  horse- 
men, it  is  not  strange  that  they  deliberately  reject  the  firearms  of  the 
less  hardy  Abyssinian  and  often  drive  his  armies  back  in  confusion.  A 
favorite  food  of  the  Galla,  when  he  goes  upon  a  warlike  expedition  of 
any  length,  is  made  by  taking  the  lean  portions  of  a  cow  and  pounding 
them  in  a  large  mortar  with  an  equal  quantity  of  honey  and  of  roasted 
barley  flour.  This  is  all  made  into  a  paste,  and  softened  with  a  little 
water,  makes  a  simple  and  nutritious  meal.  As  a  rule,  the  Abyssinian 
Galla  prefers  to  make  short  expeditions  into  an  enemy's  country, 
returning  to  his  home  after  each  fight.  Often  he  bears  back  with  him 
the  most  hideous  trophies,  such  as  the  entrails  of  his  foe  tied  around 
his  waist  or  entwined  in  his  greasy  hair. 

Brought  up  from  their  childhood  to  be  familiar  with  blood  and 
broken  limbs,  the  Gallas  have  developed  much  surgical  talent, 
although  their  operations  are  often  accompanied  with  seeming  cruelty, 
A  soldier  fell  from  his  horse  and  broke  his  forearm  and  a  Galla  surgeon 
was  called.  He  bound  the  arm  tightly  from  the  elbow  to  the  shoulder 
with  a  narrow  strap.  Then  taking  a  heavy  piece  of  iron  he  proceeded 
cooly  to  pound  the  fractured  part  as  a  cook  does  the  beefsteak.  After 
all  the  bones  in  the  forearm  had  been  thoroughly  broken  he  wound 
around  it  the  leaves  of  a  medical  plant  and  held  all  in  place  by  a  frame- 
work made  of  split  bamboo.  Then  he  placed  his  patient,  who,  up  to 
this  point,  had  been  unconscious,  on  a  slender  diet.  After  a  time  he 
feasted  him  on  the  good  of  the  land,  and  the  bones  knitted  together 
with  entire  success.  For  many  years  it  is  stated  that  the  Gallas  have 
been  in  the  habit  of  opening  the  stomachs  of  those  who  are  too  fat  and 
removing  the  superfluous  layers.  In  trepanning,  pieces  of  gourd  are 
used  in  place  of  silver,  and  some  of  their  warriors'  heads  resemble  noth- 
ing so  much  as  these  plants. 

Most  of  the  tribes  in  the  Galla  country  are  governed  by  chiefs, 
some  of  them  hereditary  and  some  chosen  on  account  of  their  bravery. 
There  are  several  singular  republics,  or  democracies,  however,  and  the 
theory  has  been  advanced  that,  at  one  time,  they  were  all  of  this  nature. 
Among  these  communities  no  such  word  as  "command"  is  recognized, 
and  every  man  is  absolute  lord  not  only  of  his  own  land,  but  of  the 


78  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

public  road  which  passes  before  his  hut.  This  peculiarity  is  not  always 
agreeable  to  the  traveler,  as  when  passing  through  their  territories  he  is 
liable  at  any  moment  to  see  a  wild  Galla  horseman  dashing  toward  him 
and  demanding  tribute  in  money  or  goods  for  the  privilege  of  contin- 
uing his  journey  over  the  republican's  land  or  along  its  borders.  But 
if  he  is  acquainted  with  the  ways  of  the  country  the  traveler  may  put 
himself  under  the  protection  of  some  inlluential  Galla  who  answers  for 
him  in  every  difficulty  which  may  arise.  In  these  communities  even  the 
well-to-do  farmer,  who  has  everything  he  may  desire,  ploughs  his  own 
ground,  reaps  his  own  corn,  guards  his  own  cattle  at  pasture  and  splits 
his  own  firewood.  His  servant,  if  he  has  one,  sits  with  him  and  his  wife 
at  table,  drinks  his  share  of  beer  and  mead,  and  is  in  all  ways  treated 
as  an  equal.  Slaves  are  so  only  in  name,  having  usually  a  house  and 
land  of  their  own  which  descends  to  their  children.  Matters  of  public 
interest,  such  as  difficulties  with  other  tribes,  are  discussed  by  the  elders 
in  the  open  air.  They  stand  in  a  circle,  leaning  upon  their  spears,  but 
no  young  man  is  allowed  to  be  heard  in  these  public  meetings.  The 
laws  fix  the  price  of  a  wound  inflicted  with  the  point  of  the  lance  at 
forty  head  of  cattle;  that  inflicted  with  the  double-edged  knife  is 
deemed  of  no  account  unless  it  produces  death.  In  all  cases  not  pro- 
vided by  law  the  decision  rests  with  the  gathering  of  elders.  They  are 
both  judges  and  executors  and  when  all  agree  as  to  the  punishment  they 
combine  to  inflict  it,  even  to  the  burning  of  the  house  and  destroying 
the  whole  property  of  the  offender.  The  lawsuits  on  account  of  land 
are  few,  and  generally  such  disputes  are  settled  before  they  reach  the 
elders.  The  great  institutions  are  their  markets,  one  of  which  is  held 
daily  in  each  district  of  the  republic.  The  women  from  other  tribes 
attend  these  markets,  passing  unmolested  from  one  to  the  other  though 
they  might  be  at  war  with  one  another. 

One  of  the  most  noted  of  these  popular  forms  of  government  is 
Goodroo,  the  first  Galla  province  reached  after  crossing  the  Nile  from 
Abyssinia.  It  is  estimated  to  average  over  100,000  people,  and  its  jDosi- 
tion  as  a  frontier  province  makes  the  territory  bordering  on  Abyssinia  a 
great  battle  field.  Its  sheep  and  cattle  are  justly  celebrated  and  it 
possesses  springs  flowing  from  a  mineral  earth  strongly  impregnated  with 
salt  to  which  they  are  periodically  driven  to  drink.  The  owners,  also, 
are  in  the  habit  of  driving  thc'ir  cattle  to  pasture  on  the  frontier  lands 
which  are  necessarily  uncultivated.  Here  is  the  scene  of  many  fierce 
encounters  between  them  and  neighboring  tribes.  This  republic,  being 
hemmed  in  by  foes  on  all  sides  who  look  with  jealous  eyes  on  its  pros- 
perity, has  need  to  be  a  nation  of  brave  warriors.     Imagine  a  hundred 


NORTHERN    GALLAS.  79 

Of  more  of  the  horsemen  of  Goodroo  thus  leading  their  cattle  to  pas- 
ture. They  have  scores  of  unsettled  feuds  on  their  hands  and  several 
tribes  have  combined  to  take  them  and  their  herds  unawares.  Suddenly 
the  quiet  of  a  l:)eautiful  day  is  broken  by  a  distant  rumble  which  may  be 
thunder,  but  a  moment  later  over  a  rising  slope  of  land  two  or  three 
thousand  wild  warriors  come  rushing  like  a  hurricane.  They  come  on, 
in  apparent  confusion,  with  the  bridles  on  their  horses'  necks,  their  long 
tresses  and  panther  skins  streaming  behind  them,  lance  points  and  arm- 
lets glittering  in  the  sun,  rending  the  air  with  wild  shouts  and  screams. 
Though  at  first  appalled  by  the  inequality  of  numbers  the  Goodroo 
chiefs  and  men  of  wealth  rush  forward  to  meet  their  assailants,  while 
the  footmen  clanging  their  spears  against  their  shields  frighten  the 
cattle  to  the  rear.  It  is  such  dangers  as  these  that  the  warriors  of 
Goodroo  have  to  meet  and  overcome. 

NORTHERN  GALLAS. 

The  most  northern  tribe  of  the  Gallas,  separated  from  the  Red 
Sea  by  a  narrow  strip  of  country,  also  live  under  some  such  crude 
republican  form  of  government  as  the  Goodroos.  In  this  country  cattle 
are  bred  with  such  immense  horns  that,  made  into  drinking  vessels, 
they  will  contain  four  or  five  gallons  of  liquid.  The  men  are  brave 
and  numerous,  but  have  the  blood-thirsty  traits  which  disfigure 
the  Gallas  as  a  people.  Their  province  is  low  and  hot,  and  though  they 
breed  no  horses  they  import  them  in  sufficient  numbers  to  keep  up  the 
reputation  of  the  Gallas  as  a  great  nation  of  horsemen. 

The  Somaulies  occupy  the  eastern  peninsula  of  Africa  which 
extends  into  the  Indian  Ocean,  and  extend  their  commercial  operations 
over  Arabia  and  far  into  Africa.  They  are  a  pastoral  and  trading 
people  and  hold  the  proud  honor  of  being  the  only  one  which  can  live  in 
peace  with  the  Gallas.  They  are  remarkable  for  beauty  of  feature  and 
ease  of  address,  though  they  have  a  hideous  habit  of  frizzing  the  hair 
to  resemble  the  fleece  of  a  sheep  and  staining  it  yellow  with  ocher. 
Great  fairs  are  held  in  their  province,  caravans  bringing  to  them  gum- 
arabic,  myrrh  and  incense,  and  African  princes  sendinsf  them  eold, 
ivory,  melted  butter,  slaves,  camels,  horses,  mules  and  asses.  What  of 
these  valuables  they  cannot  dispose  of  at  their  fairs  they  carry  abroad  in 
their  own  vessels.  The  Somauli  land  includes  the  once  famous  kin^- 
dom  of  Adel,  the  unrelenting  and  destructive  Moslem  foe  of  Christian 
Abyssinia.  They  also  divide  much  of  the  coast  region  with  the  Gal- 
las. 


8o  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS, 

The  Somaulies  include  a  number  of  tribes,  being"  a  mixture  of  the 
Gallas  and  Arabs.  The  western  tribes,  or  those  near  the  Galla  country, 
are  more  Hke  their  warhke  neighbors  than  those  inhabiting  the  districts 
lying  along  the  Gulf  of  Aden  and  the  Arabian  Sea.  Their  principal 
port  and  mart,  where  a  fair  is  held  for  several  months  of  the  year,  is 
Berbera,  on  the  Gulf  of  Aden.  Not  only  do  their  merchants  send  the 
products  of  Eastern  Africa  across  to  Aden,  Mocha  and  other  points  on 
the  Arabian  coast  in  their  own  vessels,  jealously  excluding  foreign  craft, 
but  they  have  established  houses  in  Arabia,  and  aim,  if  possible,  to  keep 
the  carrying  trade  and  the  importing  entirely  under  their  own  control. 
In  fact,  their  jealousy  of  the  Arabs  amounts  almost  to  hatred. 

Although  more  polished,  as  a  rule,  than  the  Gallas,  the  Somaulies 
are  intensely  superstitious,  and  live  generally  in  mat-houses.  Slavery 
exists  among  them,  the  mountainous  regions  of  the  interior  being 
inhabited  by  one  tribe  which  is  nearly  white,  the  women  being  highly 
prized  by  the  Somaulies.  The  men  are  seldom  taken,  preferring  to  fall 
in  the  fiiiht. 

The  most  important  division  of  the  Somauli  country  is  Ajan, 
which  extends  from  Cape  Guardafui  to  Zanzib^  It  was  known  to  the 
ancients,  Rhaptum,  the  capital,  being  the  southern  limit  of  the  Greek 
explorations.  The  southern  coast  and  interior  are  sandy  and  barren, 
there  being  a  mountainous  tract,  and  an  elevated  table-land  in  the  north. 


THE  EAST  AFRICANS. 


ANZIBAR,  or  Zanguebar,  is  at  most  but  an  arbitrary  distinc- 
tion which  lias  been  made  by  the  Portuguese  to  distinguish 
the  tribes  Hving  along  the  coast  from  the  river  Zuba  to  Cape 
Delgado,  where  their  own  acknowledged  possessions  com- 
mence under  the  name  of  Mozambique.  At  one  time  these 
tribes,  called  by  the  natives  "  Sawhylee  "  (coast  people)  were 
under  the  nominal  control  of  Oman,  a  province  in  South- 
eastern Arabia,  being  governed  more  directly  by  the  seyid  or 
sultan  whose  seat  of  government  is  on  the  island  of  Zanzibar. 
The  sultan  is  now  quite  independent  of  Oman,  and  the 
"coast  people"  are  so  independent  of  him  that  his  authority  is 
scarcely  recognized  beyond  the  towns  on  the  island  garrisoned  by  his 
troops.  In  the  palmy  days  of  the  slave  trade  these  coast  tribes  were 
of  great  assistance  to  the  Portuguese  in  the  "  running  off "  of  slaves,  but 
later  since  the  decided  attempts  made  by  England  and  other  countries 
to  suppress  the  abomination,  the  negroes  of  the  interior  boldly 
assault  them  and  drive  many  of  them  from  their  towns.  The  Gallas, 
also,  have  been  a  scourge  to  them,  their  ferocity  increasing  as  their 
tribes  stretch  south.  Those  who  have  remained  are  more  civilized, 
necessarily,  than  most  of  the  tribes  of  the  interior  of  Eastern  Africa 
who  have  not  had  the  benefit  of  their  slight  contact  with  Asiatic  and 
European  civilization.  Some  of  these  interior  tribes  do  not  bury  their 
dead.  Others  still  have  hideous  games  in  which  men  are  sacrificed. 
Most 'of  these  savage  tribes,  however,  as  well  as  those  more  advanced 
are  still  suspicious  of  strangers,  for  notwithstanding  agreements  and 
treaties,  slave  hunters,  under  a  variety  of  disguises,  are  not  uncommon. 
No  communication  with  a  stranger  or  with  an  adjoining  tribe  is  allowed 
without  express  permission  from  a"baraza,  "or  assembly  of  chiefs. 
The  punishment  of  braving  such  a  regulation  is  often  death.  Tracts 
of  land  are  purposely  laid  waste  and  desolated  upon  the  frontiers  of 
many  tribal  territories,  where  armed  scouts,  generally  old  elephant 
hunters,  are  able  to  report  the  approach  of  strangers  at  the  earliest 
possible  moment.     And  much  cause  have  the  most  savage  of  them  for 

Sl  (' 


82  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

such  fears,  since  a  slave-dealer's  raid  is  the  synonym  for  desolation  and 
death,  and  burned  and  ruined  settlements  mark  its  track. 

Many  of  the  coast  people  and  those  who  live  quite  a  distance  west 
have  not  only  adopted  some  of  the  characteristics  of  the  Arabian  dress, 
but  the  habits  of  that  people.  They  are  quite  intelligent  and  brave, 
and  make  good  guides.  Their  huts  are  quadrangular,  thatched  with 
cocoanut  leaves  and  generally  surrounded  by  small  vegetable  gardens. 
The  women  wear  brass  ornaments,  armlets  and  anklets,  and  a  blue 
calico  strip  wound  round  the  body  under  the  armpits  and  flowing  to 
the  knees.  Their  arms  are  spears,  a  heavy  pruning  knife  and  flint 
muskets.  They  manufacture  earthen  cooking  pots  and  cook  in  them 
over  a  fire  built  within  three  laree  stones.  Millet  and  Indian  corn  are 
the  staple  food,  and  fish  abound  in  every  stream  and  pool  One  of 
their  fishing  customs  is  to  make  a  huge  roll  of  straw,  mud  and  sticks, 
with  which  they  force  the  fish  into  shallow  water  and  barricade  them 
there ;  then  everybody  proceeds  to  the  sport  of  catching  his  game 
more  securely  by  spearing  them  and  beating  them  with  sticks. 

Along  the  river  banks  of  Zanzibar  and  Mozambique  for  many  miles 
inland  are  to  be  found  thickly  populated  villages.  Unless  molested  the 
people  are  industrious  and  peaceful,  cultivating  large  fields  of  tobacco, 
the  produce  being  exported  to  the  coast  districts.  Getting  as  far  west 
as  Lake  Nyassa,  for  instance,  the  tribes  are  more  savage.  They  tattoo 
their  faces,  wear  skin  aprons,  but  seem  to  have  been  taught  the  value 
of  flint  guns.  Their  larger  towns  are  laid  out  rudely  in  streets  and 
each  hut  is  surrounded  by  a  fenced-in  garden.  This  region  seems  to  be 
a  favorite  gathering  place  of  the  great  crocodiles,  hippopotami  and 
elephants  of  Africa,  and  between  them  and  the  keeping  of  a  sharp 
lookout  for  strangers  and  warlike  tribes,  the  people  around  the  lake  are 
generally  in  a  state  of  commotion.  Here  is  the  scene  of  many  of  the 
labors  of  the  lamented  Livingstone. 

Even  among  some  of  the  tribes  who  go  entirely  naked  are  found 
evidences  of  skill  in  various  ways.  The  members  of  one  of  these  "go- 
nakeds"  paint  the  body  and  face  with  a  white  clay  or  chalk;  but 
although  they  indulge  in  this  childish  fashion  they  have  the  sense  to 
fashion  from  a  bluish  clay  certain  oval  lumps  about  the  size  of  ostrich 
eggs  which  they  bake  in  the  sun,  and  fit  neatly  into  a  framework  of 
wood  or  bamboo,  thus  forming  a  wall  for  their  huts.  These  are  either 
round  or  square,  with  peaked  roofs  and  built  and  thatched  with  great 
skill.  Their  spears,  which  have  long,  sharp  barbs,  are  made  of  very 
white  native  iron  and  the  shafts  are  often  inlaid  with  a  delicate  tracery 
of  brass  and  copper  wire.  Their  chief  wears  an  enormous  feather 
head-dress. 


ZANZIBAR. 


83 


As  a  rule  large  villages  are  uncommon,  but  hamlets  appear  on  all 
sides,  surrounded  by  farms.  The  chiefs  appear  to  have  really  little 
control  of  the  people  who  live  in  the  Lake  Nyassa  region,  and  who  are 
among  the  most  advanced  of  Eastern  Africans  away  from  the  coast. 
Many  of  their  farms  lie  in  the  valleys  or  among  the  mountains,  and  their 
possessors  appear  to  breathe  the  air  of  independence,  dirty,  naked  and 
lazy  though  most  of  them  are.  But  notwithstanding  all  thfeir  faults 
they  are  certainly  advanced,  speaking  from  an  African  standpoint. 
They,  however,  hold  to  the  universal  idea  that  it  is  best  to  throw  every 
obstacle  in  the  way  of  travelers,  and  perhaps  the  most  important 
function  of  the  chieftainship  is  to  call  the  warriors  together  for  the 
purpose  of  doing  a  good  deal  of  grunting,  and  finally,  after  a  sufficiently 
vexatious  delay,  passing  the  traveler  along  to  the  next  chief.  Still  a 
warrior  will  occasionally  "make"  himself  felt,  and  actually  consolidate 
a  number  of  tribes  governed  only  nominally  by  weaker  chiefs.  Villages 
are  then  burned  by  the  invader  or  the  besieged,  and  upon  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  war  one  of  the  conqueror's  favorite  wives  may  be  sent  to 
him  as  the  most  agreeable  courier  to  tell  him  of  the  general  rejoicing. 
She  is  escorted  by  leading  men  of  the  tribe  and  drummed  into  camp 
with  great  ceremony.  The  band  have  drums  shaped  like  a  claret-glass, 
with  a  foot  to  rest  upon  the  ground.  They  are  held  with  one  hand  and 
played  in  a  most  vigorous  manner  with  a  thin  hard  stick,  terminating  in 
a  knob.  This  drumming  continues  all  day,  and  really  the  time  is  good 
and  a  variety  of  tunes  can  be  recognized.  The  great  chief  himself 
sometimes  condescends  to  lead  the  band.  After  a  sufficient  season  of 
rejoicing  has  passed,  the  army  marches  for  his  capital.  This  may  be  a 
large  collection  of  huts,  and  surrounded  by  a  stockade  which  has  scores 
of  gates  through  which  thousands  of  cattle  are  driven  every  morning  to 
pasture.  West  of  Nyassa  Lake  are  the  Cazembe,  a  nation  of  jet-black, 
robust  negroes  with  a  good  beard  and  red  eyes. 

ZANZIBAR. 

Since  the  decline  of  Portugal  as  a  commercial  nation  the  trade  of 
East  Africa  has  been  concentrating  in  Arabian  hands,  with  the  island 
of  Zanzibar  as  the  base  of  operations.  Here  formerly  was  the  open 
market  and  distributing  point  for  slaves.  In  a  sandy  square  surrounded 
by  ruined  houses  and  high  back  walls,  long  parallel  rows  of  haggard 
men,  women  and  children,  with  the  vacant  African  stare,  or  groups  of 
dark  eyed  beauties  from  the  mountains,  decked  in  bright-colored 
garments,  were  exposed  for  sale  like  sheep  or  horses.     Their  mouths 


84  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

were  opened  and  teeth  examined  for  si^^ns  of  disease,  their  limbs 
handled,  their  hands  and  nails  looked  over.  These  sales  were  once  of 
daily  occurrence,  and  yet  there  was  no  diminution  of  the  slave  supply ; 
for  the  forests  and  plains,  the  villages  and  hamlets  and  farm  huts  were 
under  the  sharp  eyes  of  Arabs,  Gallas  and  Portuguese,  looking  for  par- 
ticularly valuable  specimens  with  which  to  meet  the  demands  of  greed 
and  lust. 

THE  ABORIGINES. 

Across  the  island  from  the  town,  with  everything  that  is  foreign 
and  miscellaneous,  live  the  remnant  of  the  original  inhabitants.  They 
speak  a  dialect  of  their  own  and  live  by  farming  and  fishing.  On  an 
elevated  ridge,  below  which  runs  a  river,  stands  their  ancient  palace,  a 
square  and  massive  building.  Passing  through  a  ruined  gateway  of  the 
once  fortified  wall  surrounding  the  mansion,-  one  is  oblio-ed  to  climb 
over  masses  of  rubbish  before  he  can  reach  the  foot  of  the  staircase 
leading  to  a  large  covered  verandah  opening  upon  the  inner  court. 
From  the  verandah  he  may  look  across  a  chasm, caused  by  the  falling 
in  of  the  floor  of  the  great  reception  room,  at  a  row  of  enormous 
mirrors  against  the  far  wall.  If  the  kindly-mannered  old  gentleman  is 
still  living,  the  last  male  survivor  of  the  native  royal  family,  he  will 
receive  his  visitor  and  take  him  to  the  only  habitable  room  of  the 
palace,  with  its  silken  mattresses  and  pillows. 

Evidences  are  seen  of  the  visits  of  the  Portuguese,  who  made  vain 
attempts  to  dislodge  the  luling  family;  these  evidences  remain  in  the 
shape  of  an  immense  number  of  wild  pigs,  descendants  of  the  old 
imported  stock,  which  overrun  the  low  jungle  country  and  do  much 
damage  to  the  crops.  The  village  of  the  aborigines  is  approached 
through  a  large  grave  yard.  It  faces  a  large  and  well-protected  bay, 
whence  an  estuary  extends  for  a  considerable  distance  inland  and  almost 
divides  Zanzibar  into  two  islands.  Independence  here  is  general. 
There  are  no  slaves  among  this  people,  but  they  all  seem  to  live  upon  a 
friendly  equality,  under  the  guidance  of  an  exceedingly  old  sheik,  whose 
insignia  of  office  is  a  long  peeled  willow  wand.  Both  he  and  the  last  of 
the  royal  family  declare  that  the  Arabs  shall  yet  be  dispossessed  of  the 
land,  but  their  little  community  and  their  large  grave  yard  do  not 
warrant  the  supposition  that  theirs  shall  be  the  expelling  hand. 

The  sultan's  residence,  even,  is  not  a  very  imposing  structure.  It 
stands  at  the  inland  extremity  of  the  harbor.  From  it  a  line  of  stone 
houses  should  form  an  imposing  crescent,  but  only  two  of  the  houses 
are  habitable  and  the  others  have  stopped  short  at  the  first  story.     A 


THE  ABORIGINES.  85 

low  thatched  barn  does  dut)-  for  the  custom  house,  and  the  boldly 
designed  streets  are  choked  up  with  ranis;  grasses  and  brushwood.  The 
houses,  for  the  most  part,  are  not  well  preserved,  though  the  bazaars 
are  well  filled  with  merchandise. 

In  numbers  the  Rufiji  are  the  most  numerous  of  the  natives  of 
Zanzibar.  Tliey  are  intensely  black.  The  men  wear  iron  armlets,  the 
women  aprons  of  dressed  hide.  The  latter  also  ornament  themselves 
with  fetich  necklaces,  to  which  are  attached  pieces  of  horn,  bone  and 
shells.  The  guns  used  are  often  adorned  with  brass-headed  nails  driven 
into  the  stocks,  while  the  spears  and  bows  and  arrows  are  neatly  finished 
off  with  brass  wire.  Near  every  village  bark  beehives  are  fixed  on 
cross-branches  about  six  feet  from  the  ffround.  The  villag^es  themselves 
are  built  with  one  long  central  street,  and  the  wattled  huts  are  construct- 
ed with  a  circular  verandah-porch  over  the  door-ways. 

But  enough  of  Zanzibar.  It  is  a  country  where  there  is  little  which 
is  unique  in  the  native  population,  whose  condition  may  be  described  as 
an  incessant  contest  of  greed,  cruelty  and  cunning,  with  laziness,  brutal- 
ity and  ignorance.  Slaves  are  not  now  hunted  through  the  woods  by 
bold  Englishmen,  with  their  native  allies  and  slave  boats  blowing  up  all 
along  the  coast,  but  the  business  has  almost  been  legislated  and  driven 
from  the  island,  being  surreptitiously  conducted  on  the  continent.  We 
have  thus  coasted  along  the  territory  of  Eastern  Africa,  which  was  known 
to  the  ancients  under  the  names  of  Azania,  Zingis,  and  the  "Spice-Bear- 
ing Region."  "  The  Portuguese,  after  discovering  the  passage  round 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  occupied  all  the  most  advantageous  maritime 
stations  upon  this  coast,  from  which  they  studiously  excluded  every  other 
people.  Their  first  conquest  was  Mozambique  ;  the  next,  Mombaza ; 
but  after  this  they  gradually  relaxed  in  their  efforts  to  subjugate  the 
country,  although  at  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century,  they  w^ere  in 
possession  of  numerous  settlements  along  the  shore.  Becoming 
involved,  however,  in  hostilities  with  the  Arabs  they  lost  their  posses- 
sions, one  after  another,  till  after  the  close  of  the  century  they  were 
stripped  of  nearly  all  their  territories  in  Eastern  Africa.  The  Arabs 
had  long  before  planted  the  Mohammedan  religion  along  the  coast ; 
they  now  aimed  at  securing  its  trade,  and  in  fact  obtained  a  footing  heie 
and  there.  But  it  is  at  Zanzibar  Island  and  its  neiohborhood  alone  that 
they  have  succeeded  in  forming  a  permanent  establishment." 

Much  of  the  trade  is  also  being  obtained  by  Hindus,  who  some- 
times invest  their  own  capital,  and  sometimes  act  for  English  and 
American  houses.  Their  headquarters  are  usually  in  the  coast  towns,  and 
through  the  tireless  Arab   travelers  they  are  enabled  to  collect  ivory 


86  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

from  the  coasts  of  Western  Africa,  and  in  exchange  distribute  weapons, 
trinkets  and  clothing  to  the  natives.  The  Hindu  traders  usually  act  as 
custom  house  officials,  buying  certain  districts  of  the  Island  of  Zanzibar 
and  collecting  the  revenue  due  the  Sultan. 

As  has  been  stated,  enough  has  been  said  regarding  the  natives  of 
Zanzibar;  but  after  recording  a  few  facts  about  the  country  itself,  we 
propose  to  follow  a  great  river  into  the  interior  of  Africa  and  discover 
some  of  the  most  singular  tribes  of  the  continent.  Southern  Zanzibar  is 
watered  by  several  rivers,  and  is  included  among  those  mysterious 
regions  to  which  the  early  Hebrew  kings  sent  their  ships  and  brought  to 
Israel  the  riches,  fragrance  and  lusciousness  of  Eastern  lands.  Both 
gold  and  silver  mines,  covered  with  the  tropical  growths  of  centuries 
have  been  discovered  in  Zanzibar,  and  the  river  districts  not  only  grow 
the  fruits  of  the  South,  but  the  grains  and  spices,  the  great  forests  fur- 
nishing timber,  India  rubber  and  copal  in  inexhaustible  quantities. 
Every  animal  common  to  the  continent  finds  a  home  in  this  region,  and 
even  sheep,  goats  and  fowls  add  to  the  bewildering  variety.  The 
country  has  been  little  explored  beyond  the  sources  of  the  rivers,  but 
what  is  known  of  it  excuses  the  reports  brought  back  to  Portugal  by  the 
early  navigators,  which  were  long  considered  fiction.  It  is  somewhat 
singular,  however,  that  in  these  stories  told  about  the  tribes  of  Africa 
little  stress  was  laid  upon  anything  but  the  savage  phase  of  life  and  the 
riches  of  the  land. 


MOZAMBIQUE, 


N  early  times  the  Portuguese  occupied  the  most  favorable  mari- 
time stations  along  the  coast,  but  the  Arabs  have  supplanted 
them  by  force  of  arms  and  commercial  craft.  Mohammedan- 
^fe^;*.*r  i^"''  '^  therefore  rapidly  spreading  among  the  East  African 
-}*  tribes,  notwithstanding  the  efforts  of  Christian  missionaries. 
The  average  African,  however,  is  more  prone  to  believe  in  evil 
spirits  and  the  Medicine  man  or  Rain-maker  than  in  anything 
else,  and  the  native  tribes  of  Mozambique  are  no  exception  to 
the  rule.  The  country  formerly  supplied  most  of  the  East, 
Egypt  and  the  West  Indies  with  slaves.  Later  it  had  a  strong 
rival  in  Zanzibar,  and  now  since  the  slave  trade  is  being  gradually  extin- 
guished even  in  the  country  of  the  Portuguese,  Mozambique  is  declining 
in  prosperity,  and  its  commerce  is  almost  confined  to  supplying  the  Arabs 
with  ivory  in  return  for  fabrics  and  produce  from  India.  For  the  want  of 
an  energetic  government,  this  rich  country,  which  was  one  of  the  Eldo- 
rados  of  the  middle  ages,  the  supposed  Ophir  of  the  Scriptures,  and  all 
that  is  naturally  splendid ^ — this  rich  child  of  nature  is  given  over  to  the 
same  class  of  obscure  tribes,  which  inhabit  the  regions  to  the  north. 
The  tale  goes  that  centuries  ago,  before  even  the  Portuguese  had  set  foot 
upon  these  shores,  the  country  was  governed  by  the  great  tribe  of  Mono- 
motapans.  The  people  were  warlike  and  enterprising,  their  black  cattle, 
ivory  and  gold  being  celebrated  the  world  over.  Hundreds  of  minor 
tribes  were  subject  to  their  sway,  the  kingdom  being  divided  into  seven 
provinces.  When  the  Portuguese  beat  around  Cape  Horn  and  com- 
menced to  plant  their  standards  and  their  colonies  along  the  African 
coast  they  still  found 

A  POWERFUL  AND  RICH  EMPIRE, 

but  not  strong  enough  to  resist  their  ambitious  aims.  They  overran 
the  land  and  the  native  empire  fell  into  fragments,  which  now  exists  in 
these  insignificant  tribes ;  and  the  seven  grand  provinces  of  Mono- 
motapa  are  still  retained,  in  shadow  by  the  districts  or  captaincies  into 
which  Mozambique  is  divided  by  its  Portuguese  officials. 

87 


88 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


The  native  chiefs  are  the  rulers  of  such  tribes  as  remain.  Zumbo, 
on  the  Zambesi  river,  was  their  ancient  capital  and  at  the  beginning  of 
the  present  century  was  still  the  seat  of  the  most  powerful  of  these 
tribes.  Along  the  banks  of  the  river,  especially  at  its  headwaters  and 
far  to  the  west,  are  found  towns  and  peoples  showing  a  far  higher  grade 
of  civilization  than  in  most  portions  of  the  continent  so  distant  from  the 
coast;  it  seems  probable  that  this  line  of  travel  would  take  us  into  the 
best  that  remains  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Monomotapa.  Their  affairs 
are  transacted  by  an  assembly  of  chiefs,  presided  over  by  a  king  or  the 
most  powerful  of  their  number.  Some  of  them  live  in  large  towns,  of 
regularly  built  wooden  houses  plastered  with  mud  —  which,  by  the  way, 
are  often  erected  by  the  women,  who  likewise  till  the  ground.  The  men 
tend  the  cattle,  manufacture  pottery,  prepare  skins,  smelt  iron  and  cop- 
per, and  go  to  war.  But  although 
^^^^^ft^^^^^^^Sffisli^^.  some  of  these  tribes  evince  an  under- 
standing of  the  fundamental  princi- 
ples of  government,  and  some  ideas 
I  of  justice  and  the  conveniences  of  life, 
ff  they  are  flooded  with  superstition 
and  cling  to  the  most  terrible  of  cus- 
toms. If  their  country  is  parched 
by  continued  drought,  the  elders  of 
the  tribe  or  the  council  of  the  tribes 
assemble  and  call  for  the  rain  maker, 
who  ma)'  be  hundreds  of  miles  away, 
trying  to  relieve  some  other  stricken 
community.  If  he  fails  he  has  a 
plausible  reason  for  his  failure.  If 
he  succeeds,  he  is  held  more  than  ever  in  fearful  awe.  A  story  is  told 
of  one  who  arrived  upon  the  scene  of  action  just  as  the  storm-cloud 
rolled  up  from  the  distance.  Performing  a  few  magic  ceremonies  and 
mumbling  to  himself,  he  threw  himself  on  his  back  and  had  scarcely 
time  to  point  his  toes  at  the  clouds  before  they  emptied  themselves  of 
their  welcome  charge. 

Though  the  superstitions  and  religious  beliefs  and  customs  vary, 
even  of  those  tribes  who  speak  the  same  dialect,  a  majority  of  the  tribes 
along  the  Zambesi  and  its  tributaries  bury  their  dead  in  a  sitting  posture. 
This  is  especially  the  case  with  the  Bechuanas,  whose  language  is  spoken 
almost  from  the  Atlantic  Ocean  to  Mozambique,  and  whose  peculiarities 
are  at  present  mostly  under  observation.  When  they  perceive  that  the 
moment  of  dissolution  is  near  at  hand,  they  throw  a  skin  or  net  over  the 


GRAVE  OF  A  DAMARA. 


A    POWERFUL    AXD    RICH    EMPIRE,  89 

sick  man's  body,  which  being  drawn  up  into  the  proper  posture,  is  held 
there  until  "rigor  mortis"  sets  in.  The  inside  of  the  burial  pit  is  care- 
fully rubbed  with  a  certain  root  which  is  supposed  to  have  an  embalming 
effect,  a  small  bush  is  placed  directly  over  the  cranium  for  a  tomb-stone, 
and  provisions  are  placed  near  the  grave.  The  Darmas,  who  have 
villages  to  the  north  of  the  river,  are  particular  devotees  of  this  custom, 
as  are  also  the  Damaras,  a  branch  tribe,  who  live  far  to  the  southwest. 
One  reason  for  this  singular  burial  custom  is  said  to  be  that  although 
they  believe  in  a  future  state,  they  have  no  respect  for  the  body,  and  wish 
to  bury  it  in  the  least  possible  space.  They  therefore  bore  a  hole  with 
a  large  auger  about  ten  feet  deep,  and  into  this  pit  the  body  is  placed. 
These  people,  although  they  treat  the  body  so  harshly,  offer  up  prayers 
to  their  deceased  parents,  and  have  a  deity  whom  they  call  Umerura. 
Besides,  each  tribe  or  family  has  its  guardian  angel,  which  is  the  prin- 
cipal object  of  worship.  They  believe  that  man  is  of  vegetable  origin, 
and  that  the  races  of  men  spring  from  various  kinds  of  trees.  In  many 
of  their  villages,  therefore,  they  have,trees  into  whose  trunks  are  fast- 
ened various  representations  of  human  heads,  and  to  which  they  pay  a 
kind  of  worship.  The  Darmas  live  principally  upon  milk  and  vege- 
tables. They  naturally  have  a  superstitious  feeling  about  eating  the  flesh 
of  animals,  since  they  believe  that  the  ghosts  of  the  departed  always 
bear  the  likeness  of  some  animal.  There  are  many  peculiarities  of  their 
superstitious  beliefs,  which  seem  to  stamp  them  as  offshoots  from  the 
systems  of  the  East;  the  theory  of  transmigration  of  the  soul  in  par- 
ticular. Although  the  Darmas  are  a  fine  race  of  men,  many  of  them 
over  six  feet  in  height,  they  are  remarkably  short  lived.  Their  climate 
is  unhealthful,  since  their  country  is  thickly  sprinkled  with  extensive 
lagoons,  and  a  malignant  type  of  bilious  fever  creates  great  havoc 
among  them.  The  people  of  both  sexes  go  scantily  clothed,  and  the 
men  wear  no  ornaments  whatever,  thinking  them  only  fit  for  the  women. 
The  Darmas  have  no  intoxicating  drinks ;  but  taking  the  hollow  horn  of 
an  antelope,  in  the  smaller  end  of  which  is  inserted  a  clay  cup  for  their 
hemp-seed  or  tobacco,  they  light  its  contents  and  inhaling  vast  quantities 
of  the  smoke,  they  swallow  the  fumes  ;  this  produces  a  stupefaction  which 
answers  all  the  purposes  of  intoxication.  In  common  with  most  of  the 
Bechuana  tribes  the  Darmas  have  a  great  regard  for  the  cow,  which 
feeling  they  perhaps  inherit  from  their  distinguished  ancestors  of  the 
coast,  and  they  have  a  superstitious  notion  that  to  rinse  the  earthen  pans 
in  which  they  keep  their  milk  will  prevent  that  lowly  quadruped  from 
furnishing  her  usual  supply. 


go  PANORAMA    OK    NATIONS. 

MAXLY  SPORT. 

About  the  only  kind  of  so-called  "manly  sport"  in  which  the  Darmas 
engage  is  hunting  the  hippopotamus  which  commits  such  ravages  upon 
their  gardens  and  plantations ;  and  this  is  the  way  they  pursue  their 
national  enemy.  First  they  construct  a  raft  of  reeds  upon  which  five  or 
six  of  the  hunters  float  down  the  stream  with  their  iron  harpoohs,  cords 
and  other  implements.  The  iron  head  of  the  harpoon  is  fastened 
securely  to  one  end  of  a  pole  about  ten  feet  in  length,  and  a  cord  made 
of  leather  thongs,  to  the  other.  To  the  cord  is  also  affixed  a  buoy. 
The  raft  having  reached  the  settlement  of  the  hippopotamus,  the  hunters 
anchor  and  look  the  ground  over.  As  soon  as  the  snout  of  their  victim 
appears  above  the  water  the  harpooner  lets  fly  his  weapon  to  the  point 
which  he  knows  will  reach  the  bulky  side  of  the  river-horse.  When  the 
harpoon  has  struck  home  the  party  seize  the  line  and  paddle  for  the 
shore,  in  case  the  commotion  caused  by  the  throes  of  the  hippopotamus 
does  not  threaten  to  capsize  the  craft.  Should  there  be  that  danger  the 
buoy  attached  to  the  harpoon  line  keeps  the  whereabouts  of  the  brute 
within  knowledge.  If  the  hunters  keep  out  of  the  way  of  his  yawning 
jaws  they  eventually  see  one  more  of  their  enemies  go  the  way  of  all 
flesh  ;  but  should  the  hippopotamus  anticipate  their  intentions  of  slipping 
the  line  around  a  tree  and  hauling  him  to  shore,  and  "get  there" 
first,  the  harpoon  still  sticking  in  his  tough  side  and  driving  him  more 
and  more  frantic,  his  cavernous  jaws  with  their  cruel  teeth  and  tusks 
may  snap  a  Darma  in  two  or  hideously  maim  him.  If  he  comes  upon 
the  hunters  in  the  water  their  danger  is  still  more  imminent. 

The  nation  to  the  east  of  the  Darmas  is  patriarchal  in  its  form  of 
government  like  most  of  the  native  tribes.  The  hut  of  each  head  of  a 
family  is  the  center  of  a  circle  composed  of  the  houses  of  his  sons, 
daughters  and  sons-in-law.  Each  circle  of  huts  is  called  a  "cootla,"  and 
over  all  the  king  rules.  There  are  "little  lords"  or  counsellors  to  the 
king,  before  whom  minor  disputes  are  brought,  with  the  privilege  of 
appealing  to  the  prime  ruler.  When  the  case  comes  before  the  king 
each  of  the  lords  expresses  his  opinion.  The  king  then  sums  up  the 
case  and  generally  goes  with  the  majority.  This  "nation's"  king,  or 
head  chief,  is  called  "Emperor"  by  the  Portuguese,  who  pay  him 
tribute  in  consideration  of  the  protection  which  he  gives  to  their  com- 
merce. He  has  a  body-guard  of  five  Portuguese  soldiers,  who  pace 
around  his  hut  or  before  its  entrance  with  majestic  steps.  The  king  is 
attired  in  an  apron  which  falls  to  his  knees,  and  his  subjects  are  gay 
dressers  and  great  lovers  of  fire-arms.     They  do  not  seem  particularly 


A    CIVILIZED    TRIBE. 


91 


warlike,  but  love  the  guns  for  their  own  sakes  and  will  sometimes  pay 
$150  to  $200  in  gold-dust  for  an  ordinary  rifle  not  worth  a  tenth  of 
that  sum.  Iron  and  copper  mines  are  plentiful  in  their  territory  and 
gold  is  also  produced.  They  keep  the  location  of  the  latter  deposit, 
however,  a  profound  secret,  though  they  may  exchange  it,  ounce  for 
ounce,  for  coffee  or  sugar.  The  Beloondas  are  polygamists,  but  every 
wife  has  a  hut  to  herself  of  which  she  is  such  complete  mistress  that  her 
husband,  though  he  be  the  king  himself,  cannot  enter  when  she  is  absent. 

A  CIVILIZED  TRIBE. 

To  the  west  of  the  Darmas  live  a  singular  people,  whose  intelligent 
love  of  cattle  and  the  high  estimate  they  place  upon  them,  as  well  as  the 
wisdom  of  many  of  their  institutions,  cannot  but  recall  to  mind  that  the 
ancient  Monomotapans  valued  their  cattle  more  than  they  did  their 
gold,  and  that  they  were  also  wise.  The  cattle  are  of  an  enormous 
breed,  and  they  take  pains  that  it  shall  remain  pure.  The  complexion 
of  the  Kaloios  is  a  shade  lighter  than  even  that  of  the  Hottentots,  and 
their  hair  is  long,  black  and  straight.  They  are  tall  and  their  forms  are 
symmetrical  and  commanding,  their  features  being  of  an  almost  Euro- 
pean cast.  Their  land  is  fertile  and  produces  all  kinds  of  grain,  tobacco, 
watermelons  and  vegetables.  Being  a  pastoral  people,  and  yet  living 
in  a  land  of  wild  beasts,  they  are  not  gathered  into  towns  and  villages, 
but  homesteads,  surrounded  by  high  palisades,  dot  the  entire  surface  of 
the  country.  Their  principal  article  of  diet  is  a  sort  of  "  hasty  pudding," 
made  by  boiling  meal  in  water.  This  they  eat  with  milk.  Articles  of 
crockery  ware,  iron  and  copper  are  manufactured  by  them  in  quite  a 
skillful  manner,  and  they  have  likewise  a  variety  of  home-made  musical 
instruments.  Polygamy  is  generally  practiced,  the  king  having  some- 
times more  than  a  hundred  wives,  but  the  nation  seems  to  be  directed 
by  a  kind  hand  and  many  of  its  regulations  (not  to  give  them  the  name 
of  laws)  are  worthy  of  imitation.  The  glories  of  war  they  hold  in  great 
contempt,  and  they  have  never  been  known  to  make  any  encroachments 
upon  the  territory  of  their  neighbors.  No  precautions  are  taken  to 
prevent  thefts  and  robberies.  The  secure  condition  of  the  country  seems 
to  launch  one,  at  a  bound,  from  the  Africa  of  to-day  into  the  golden  age 
of  old  Sparta  when  Lycurgus  made  her  laws.  When  a  Kaloio  wishes 
to  dispose  of  an  article,  large  or  small,  he  attaches  it  to  a  sprig  of  palm 
tree  and  leaves  it  in  a  space  enclosed  by  palisades.  When  one  goes  to 
this  market-house  or  bazaar  to  make  a  purchase  he  selects  the  article  he 
wants  and  puts  in  its  place  what  he  considers  a  fair  equivalent.     Their 


92 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


money  is  a  pebble,  ground  to  an  octagonal  shape,  about  one-eighth  of 
an  inch  in  thickness.  It  varies  in  size  according  to  its  value.  The 
money  is  "coined"  under  the  king's  authority,  and  he  never  allows  more 
of  it  to  circulate  than  is  absolutely  necessary  to  make  exchanges.  Coun- 
terfeitinor  is  an  unknown  crime. 

Between  the  countries  of  the  Kaloios  and  the  Darmas  is  the  Ba- 
rotze  nation,  or  Makololo.  Unlike  the  Darmas,  who  have  no  commu- 
nications with  the  coast  settlements,  they  are  a  trading  people  of  some 
pretension,  and,  as  if  to  shame  their  simple  neighbors,  both  men  and 
•Avomen  seem  determined  to  load  their  bodies  with  all  the  gaudy  orna- 
ments they  can  carry.     In  appearance  they  stand  between  the  Moor 


THE  ZAMBESIS. 

and  the  negro,  and  probably  belong  to  the  diversified  Ethiopian  stock. 
The  men  dress  in  Turkish  trousers  and  roundabout  jackets,  made  of  a 
calico  which  is  ornamented  with  the  prints  of  large,  brilliant-hued  tlow- 
ers.  The  women  wear  petticoats  made  of  the  same  material,  and  both 
are  loaded  down  with  ornaments  of  beads  and  copper,  arranged  on 
necks,  arms  and  ankles.  The  canoes  of  the  Barotze  nation  swarm  the 
Zambesi  river,  and  their  gaudy  merchants  are  bold  and  enterprising. 
These  people  present  the  strange  spectacle  of  a  nation  of  savages  giving 
woman  a  little  more  than  equal  rights  with  man.  A  majority  of  the 
chiefs  are  of  the  female  sex,  and  the  nation  has  been  often  governed  by 
a  queen.  Men  and  women,  being  reared  in  the  same  manner  from 
infancy,  engage  in  the  same  occupations  and  are  exposed  to  the  same 
hardships. 


A    CIVILIZED    TRICE.  gj 

Their  immediate  neighbors,  before  the  Darmas  country  is  reached, 
are  a  tribe  or  nation  with  a  very  long  name  who  also  trade  up  and  down 
the  river,  and  are  given  to  finery  and  bright-colored  calicoes,  bombazines 
and  alpacas.  They  are  far  less  intelligent,  however,  than  the  Makololos, 
or  the  Barotze  nation.  They  worship  lions,  elephants  and  serpents,  and 
consider  it  impious  to  resist  them  ;  so  that  a  lion  or  an  elephant  or  a 
huge  boa  may  bear  away  one  of  their  number  or  kill  him  before  their 
eyes,  and  they  will  witness  the  sight  with  a  joyful  clapping  of  hands, 
believing  that  their  friend  has  been  thus  selected  for  some  sort  of  a  para- 
dise. The  national  dances  of  this  people  are  always  celebrated  by  the 
light  of  the  full  moon,  and  a  lion  has  been  known  to  stalk  in  among  the 
warriors  and  head  men  of  the  tribe  and  bear  away  his  victim  in  his  jaws. 
Should  they  molest  the  monster  in  anyway  they  fear  that  they  will  bring 
down  a  curse  upon  the  nation  from  the  mighty  spirit  which  dwells  within 
the  body  of  the  majestic  beast. 

Was  there  ever  so  bewildering  a  combination  of  ignorance  and 
wisdom,  virtue  and  vice,  religion  and  superstition  as  we  find  among  the 
tribes  and  nations  of  Africa,  and  especially  those  who  have  even  a  slight 
communication  with  the  outer  world  of  recognized  civilization  !  Such 
tribes  and  nations  as  these  along  the  Zambesi  River  live  in  the 
debatable  land  of  those  philosophers  whose  lives  are  spent  in  efforts 
to  ascertain  whether  savage  life  is  really  infancy  or  approach- 
ing senility;  whether,  upon  the  whole,  looking  the  world  over, 
there  are  not  as  many  solemn  examples  of  retrogression,  as  inspiring 
instances  of  progression.  The  world  decides  that  the  world  does  move, 
but  there  is  no  more  enticing  field  in  the  universe  to  the  ethnologist 
than  Southern  Africa,  where  the  brightest  fragments  of  savagery  lie 
away  from  contact  with  European  nationalities ;  and  yet  the  world  does 
move,  although  the  tribes  of  Southern  Africa,  beyond  the  Zambesis, 
who  have  had  the  Portuguese,  the  Dutch  and  the  Encflish  as  masters 
and  teachers,  show  a  lamentable  aptness  in  gathering  to  themselves  the 
worst  vices  of  the  immigrants.  The  statement  regarding  the  progress  of 
the  world  will  have  to  be  repeated,  even  when  the  spectacle  is  presented 
of  civilized  nations  teaching  their  worst  vices  to  these  children^the 
redeeming  features  of  the  picture  will  be  painted  as  the  panorama  moves 
on  to  Australia. 

Southern  Mozambique  is  between  the  Zambesi  River  and  the 
Transvaal,  or  Dutch  Republic — established  by  the  Dutch  farmers  to 
escape  the  clutches  of  the  English.  This  country,  known  as  Sofala,  is 
a  region  as  large  as  New  Jersey,  forming  one  of  the  divisions  of  Mozam- 
bique.    The  town  by  that  name  was  formerly  the  capital  of  a  native 


94 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


kingdom,  and  when  the  Portuguese  established  their  earliest  settle- 
ments on  the  coast  in  the  sixteenth  century,  it  was  a  place  of  considera- 
ble trade.  At  one  time  large  quantities  of  gold  dust  were  sent  from 
Sofala,  which  was  the  particular  section  of  the  world  decided  by  some 
scholars  to  be  the  Ophir  from  which  Solomon's  fleets  returned  laden  with 
the  precious  metal.  The  town  has  now  a  fort,  a  church,  a  few  mud  and 
straw  huts,  and  a  beautiful  sandbar  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  the  exports 
from  the  country  being  mainly  ivory,  amber  and  beeswax.  A  few  slaves 
are  also  included  in  the  exports.  The  coast  regions  of  Sofala  are 
swampy  and  unhealthful,  but  the  country  stretches  back  toward  the 
west  until  it  merges  into  the  Motapa  Mountains.  As  in  Northern 
Mozambique,  the  natives  are  governed  by  their  own  chiefs,  and  acknowl- 
edge the  authority  of  the  Portuguese  only  as  it  is  to  their  commercial 
advantage  so  to  do.  But  in  Southern  Africa  there  are  more  positive 
elements  to  be  considered,  and  we  find  whole  races  subject  to  Euro- 
peans, and  entire  tribes  in  captivity  to  stronger  tribes.  We  find  also 
native  warriors  who  have  been  taught  to  fight  with  modern  weapons, 
and  who  have  never  been  subdued,  but  merely  confined  to  a  smaller  ter- 
ritory, the  immigrants  having  seized  and  held  choice  and  sharply-defined 
districts  themselves. 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  CAFFRES. 


THE  ZULU  CAFFRES. 

|T  is  not  within  our  province  to  speak  of  quarrels  between 
the  British  and  Dutch  for  the  country  below  the  Orano-e 
river,  or  of  the  fierce  conflicts  which  they  have  both  wao-ed 
with  the  Caffres  and  Bushmen  and  smaller  native  tribes;  or 
of  the  savage  warriors  of  Zululand,  who  are  Caffres  them- 
selves, but  upon  the  bloody  path  a  most  implacable  and  dan- 
gerous breed.  It  is  sufficient  to  remember  that  the  Caffre  is, 
virtually,  a  man  without  a  country.  When  we  consider  that 
not  many  years  ago  Caffraria,  or  Caffreland,  extended  from 
Mozambique  six  hundred  miles  along  the  eastern  coast 
and  two  or  three  hundred  miles  inland,  and  now  that  it  is  less 
than  one-tenth  of  that  area,  although  its  tribes  are  found  a  thousand 
miles  away  —  then  it  will  be  acknowledged  that  he  is  indeed  "a  man 
without  a  country."  Variously  modified  by  climate,  habits  and  mixture 
with  native  tribes,  the  Caffre  appears  in  Central  Africa,  from  the  Orange 
river  to  the  Nile,  still  warlike,  a  lover  and  often  a  worshiper  of  the  cow, 
a  tiller  of  the  soil ;  a  born  commander  among  the  lower  type  of  negroes. 
The  Caffre  seems  of  the  same  order  as  the  Abyssinian  or  the  Galla; 
the  governing  race  which  founded  a  kingdom  in  the  modern  land  of 
Mozambique;  the  basis  of  the  Bechuanas,  whose  habits  have  been 
described  as  they  exist  in  the  Zambesi  River  country — in  short,  an 
Ethiopian  \vhom  circumstances  have  driven  into  the  southern  extremity 
of  his  native  land.  The  complexion  of  the  Southern  Caffres  is  brown 
or  copper  colored,  but  as  they  approach  the  equator  it  becomes  dark 
and  at  times  a  deep  black.  Their  noses  and  foreheads  are  almost  Euro- 
pean in  type.  The  Caffre  of  Southern  Africa  is  powerfully  and  sym- 
metrically built,  the  men  standing  from  five  feet  ten  to  six  feet  three 
inches.  Their  speed  is  surprising,  a  blooded  horse  only  being  a  match 
for  them.  In  both  male  and  female  the  hair  is  short  and  crisped,  but 
not  as  woolly  as  that  of  the  negro.      Married  men  wear  an  apron  com- 

95 


96 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


posed  of  the  tails  of  native  animals,  while  if  they  have  any  standing  in 
the  community  their  heads  must  be  shaved  and  tightly  bound  with  rings 
of  hard  clay.  If  they  are  ministers  of  the  chief,  or  chiefs,  they  wear 
three  or  four.  When  the  boy  has  bloomed  into  manhood  the  official 
barber  takes  his  head  between  his  knees  and  scrapes  off  the  hair  with  a 
piece  of  glass.  It  is  not  a  pleasant  operation,  but  must  be  undergone 
previous  to  being  "ringed"  into  distinction.  Another  mark,  not  only 
of  honor  but  of  superlative  refinement,  is  to  carry  a  snuff-box  in  the  ear. 


UTENSILS  OF  THE  CAFFRES. 


A  hole  is  made  large  enough  to  admit  the  box,  and  it  is  a  very  social 
sight  to  see  a  company  of  Caffres  squat  upon  the  ground,  take  out  their 
boxes  and  horns,  and  energetically  push  the  snuff  into  their  noses  with 
fancy  wooden  spoons.  Their  bodies  are  only  partially  covered  with 
clothing,  but  they  often  present  a  beautiful  appearance  since  they  are 
rubbed  with  the  grease  of  the  castor  oil  plant,  "^nd,  with  their  well- 
rounded  and  muscular  limbs,  seem  transformed  into  artistic  "studies  in 
bronze."  This  is  particularly  true  of  the  Zulu  warriors,  or  the  Zulu 
youth  in  dancing  costume ;  for  when  not  in  action  they  apparently  real- 


DANCING    AND    COURTING.  07 

ize  their  physical  beauties  and  pose  in  attitudes  which  would  ravish  a 
painter's  eye. 

DANCING  AND  COURTING 

But  once  in  the  dance,  neither  youth  nor  warrior  is  long  inactive. 
The  participants  come  from  the  kraals  of  this  cattle-raising  people  for 
miles  around,  especially  if  the  dance  is  to  be  given  by  some  great  chief. 
The  heads  of  the  men  and  boys  are  decorated  with  ostrich  feathers,  and 
if  they  desire  to  appear  particularly  gay  small  birds  are  attached  to  their 
necks  by  cords  or  chains.  Many  of  them  also  carry  their  assagais,  or 
long  spears,  which  they  wave  about  or  clang  together  to  the  evident 
terror  of  the  chained  songsters,  but  to  the  admiration  of  the  plump  and 
curd-fed  girls,  who  clap  their  hands  in  admiration  and  encouragement. 
Their  dances  sometimes  continue  for  ten  or  twelve  hours,  he'uv  inaucru- 
rated  by  the  slaughter  of  a  bullock  which  is  cut  up  and  eaten  while  the 
flesh  still  quivers  with  life.  It  is  not  uncommon  for  as  many  as  two 
thousand  Caffres  to  indulge  in  such  festivities.  The  bird  ornaments 
are  retained  by  the  boys  of  marriageable  age,  even  when  they  are  not 
on  dress  parade;  they  walk  around  as  proud  as  peacocks,  pulling  the 
strings  to  which  the  birds  are  attached  to  make  them  flutter  and  attract 
the  attention  of  susceptible  maidens.  Girls,  however,  whose  personal 
charms  are  worth  to  their  parents  as  many  as  ten  or  twenty  cows,  are 
kept  closely  watched  and  usually  go  abroad  in  pairs,  with  their  arms 
around  each  other  in  true  school-girl  fashion.  When  the  young  man 
has  fallen  in  love  himself,  as  often  comes  to  pass  with  those  who  start 
out  to  ensnare  others,  he  goes  to  his  barber  for  personal  improvement. 
The  operator  holds  the  head  of  the  youth  between  his  knees,  as  was 
done  some  time  ago  when  that  same  head  was  shaved  and  encircled 
with  a  ring  of  clay;  the  youth's  hair  is  long  enough  to  be  worked  into 
a  complicated  mat  with  a  porcupine  quill.  When  the  effect  has  been 
made  sufficiently  fierce  the  young  man  goes  oiT  to  woo.  If  hardy  and 
pleasing  and  rich  in  cattle  he  is  almost  sure  to  succeed,  although  an 
enumeration  of  the  virtues  of  a  Caffre  makes  no  bad  showing. 

But  the  courting  days  are  over  and  the  young  man  has  somewhat 
modified  his  head-dress;  the  girl  has  been  taken  from  her  light  house- 
hold duties,  and  her  curds  and  whey,  and  is  being  brought  toward  the 
kraal  of  the  future  bridegroom.  Accompanied  by  parents  and  friends 
she  is  seen  to  approach,  and  the  young  man  sends  to  meet  them  a  herd 
of  twenty  cows,  driven  by  his  servants;  for  he  is  rich  and  desirable. 
This  is  the  gift  to  the  father  of  the  bride,  who,  stationed  in  the  rear  of 

his  company,  sedately  receives  the  gift,  his  daughter  squatting  upon  the 

7 


98  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

ground  as  the  herd  approach,  and  earnestly  considering  their  propor- 
tions and  numbers ;  as  upon  these  things  really  depends  the  estimation 
In  which  she  is  held  by  her  future  husband.  She  is  apparently  satisfied, 
for  she  advances  with  some  dignity  to  the  entrance  of  the  kraal,  where 
she  falls  upon  her  knees  to  receive  from  the  young  man  a  necklace  of 
beads  which  he  places  around  her  neck  with  his  own  gentle  hands.  A 
band  of  white  beads,  emblems  of  innocence,  is  also  clasped  around  her 
waist.  She  is  then  led  into  his  hut,  where  she  remains  alone  until  sun- 
down, to  finally  decide  whether  she  will  take  him  "  for  better  or  for 
worse."  If  she  is  still  favorably  inclined  her  lover  leads  her  from  the 
hut,  in  front  of  a  body  of  his  relatives  and  friends,  who  strike  up  some 
song  of  congratulation  or  welcome  to  the  bride.  Then  follows  the 
dance,  which  is  substantially  the  same  whether  prompted  by  the  fierce- 
ness of  war  or  the  sociability  of  domestic  life. 

MARRIED    LIFE. 

If  the  bride,  whom  we  have  been  marrying,  had  been  preceded  by 
several  sisters  in  matrimony,  one  of  them  would  have  welcomed  her  to 
the  home  of  their  future  lord,  and  after  the  dance  was  concluded  she 
would  occupy  the  newly  built  hut  (erected  by  her  brothers)  which  was 
one  of  the  circle  surrounding  the  house  of  the  husband.  Should  she  be 
of  a  quarrelsome  disposition  she  will  be  tied  to  a  stake  and  receive  a 
dozen  lashes  at  the  hands  of  his  next  brother.  This  humiliation  she  will 
undergo  alone,  for  the  husband  has  ordered  his  wives  from  the  kraal 
and  left  himself.  He  unbinds  her  on  his  return,  when  she  invariably 
falls  upon  her  knees  and  promises  to  do  better  thereafter.  If  she  persists 
in  her  fault  she  maybe  returned  to  her  parents.  Should  she  choose  the 
better  way  she  retires  to  her  bee-hive  hut,  which  has  neither  window  nor 
chimney,  and  reflects.  She  closes  the  door,  or  hurdle,  to  keep  out  any 
poisonous  snakes  which  may  be  about,  and  lies  down  upon  a  mat  of  grass 
with  a  log  of  wood  for  a  pillow.  When  a  man  has  many  wives  he  elects 
one  as  his  "great  wife  " — she  is  apt  to  be  his  youngest  and  latest  —  and 
her  eldest  son  is  the  heir.  Then  he  selects  his  "  right-hand  wife,"  whose 
son  inherits  some  of  the  property  of  the  mother.  If  the  husband  be  rich, 
he  may  provide  for  the  other  children,  but  it  is  not  obligatory.  If  he 
dies  without  makincj  a  choice  either  of  irreat  wife  or  rieht-hand  wife,  his 
brother  does  it  for  him.  Occasions  may  arise  when  the  husband  feels 
called  upon  to  beat  his  wife  himself.  If  he  knocks  out  an  eye  or  a  tooth, 
or  kills  her,  he  Is  fined  by  his  chief.  The  same  regulation  holds  good 
between  parents  and  children  who  live  at  home.    It  is  somewhat  surprls- 


MARRIED    LIFE. 


99 


iny  that  murder  is  regarded  In  the  same  light  by  the  Caffre  as  by  the 
Abyssinian  and  by  nearly  all  partially  civilized  people.  They  seem 
unable  to  comprehend  the  difference  between  meditated  and  unpre- 
meditated murder,  but  fix  the  punishment  upon  a  consideration  purely 
of  the  injury  accomplished,  the  latter  being  decided  by  the  rank  of  the 
family  whose  member  is  killed.  Theft  is  punished  in  the  same  way.  So 
that  if  a  chief  is  robbed,  general  confiscation  follows,  although  should  he 
lay  hands  upon  the  finest  cow  in  his  dominion  he  cannot  be  prosecuted. 
His  children  are  privileged  to  steal,  also,  and  if  any  one  is  bold  enough 


BUILDING  THE  BRIDE'S  HUT. 


to  whip  a  royal  youngster  for  not  keeping  within  bounds,  he  is  liable  to 
lose  every  cow  in  his  kraal.  Some  years  ago  there  was  a  tribe  governed 
by  a  chief  with  so  many  thievish  children  that  not  a  garden  or  a  goat  in 
the  settlement  was  safe.  A  general  appeal  was  made  to  the  high 
chief,  who  decided  that  the  privilege  should  in  the  future  be  confined  to 
his  own  immediate  family.  There  is  no  fine  for  trespass  since  the  Caffre 
is  a  land  communist  ;  but  if  he  drives  cattle  from  the  tract  in  his  im- 
mediate vicinity  which  he  has  been  allowed  to  improve,  and  injures  them 
in  the  driving,  he  is  fined.     Any  man  may  occupy  unimproved  land,  and 


lOO  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

no  one  but  the  chief  can  disturb  him  ;  but  should  he  leave  his  land,  and 
another  occupy  it,  he  can  recover  it  if  he  desires. 

Returning  to  the  undesirable  wife.  There  is  no  system  of  divorce, 
but  if  a  man  repudiates  his  wife  and  can  show  that  he  does  so  on  good 
grounds,  he  gets  back  his  cattle  from  her  father.  Should  a  man  die 
without  children  by  a  wife,  the  cattle  given  for  her  may  be  recovered  by 
his  heirs.  Should  only  one  child  have  been  born  and  the  woman  be  still 
young,  a  part  of  the  cattle  can  be  recovered.  In  a  word,  it  will  be  inferred 
from  this  dissertation  on  cattle  and  wives,  that  a  wife  can  be  bought, 
but  never  sold  by  her  husband.  She  may  pass  along  to  the  next  brother 
as  so  much  property,  but  is  never  sold  except  by  her  parents  before 
she  is  married. 

GOOD  TRAITS. 

Now,  what  are  some  of  the  good  qualities  of  the  Caffre?  He  is 
inclined  to  be  honest.  He  is  cleanly,  and  punishes  his  pickaninnies  if 
they  do  not  go  into  the  water  four  times  a  day  instead  of  whipping  them 
if  they  do.  He  is  hospitable  and  peaceable  if  he  does  not  think  himself 
imposed  upon.  His  people  live  to  a  great  age,  and  old  age  is  respected. 
Old  men  and  women  are  generally  accompanied  by  two  boys  who  lead 
them  about,  give  them  their  daily  baths  and  supply  their  other  wants. 
He  is  cheerful  and  takes  "hard  rubs"  as  they  come.  The  loss  of  a  cow 
crushes  him  for  a  day;  but  he  is  sunshine  the  next  —  he  never  broods. 
He  will  nurse  you  with  the  faithfulness  of  a  mother,  but,  if  you  wince 
under  his  treatment,  his  sympathy  and  his  wonderful  powers  of  mimicry 
get  the  better  of  him  and  he  puts  himself  in  your  place  at  once — - 
expression,  posture  and  everything.  He  is  a  good  neighbor,  and  will 
sit  around  the  sick  man's  hut  for  hours  comforting  him  every  way  in  his 
power;  or  he  will  start  up  and  without  a  word  start  on  a  journey  of  a 
hundred  miles  or  more.  He  may  do  that  or  send  a  special  messenger 
who,  for  a  shilling,  will  go  half  that  distance  on  a  run,  holding  the  doc- 
tor's letter  in  the  slit  end  of  a  stick,  well  over  his  head.  Unless  he  stops 
along  the  road  to  take  a  spoon  of  snuff,  nothing  short  of  wild  beasts  or 
death  can  slacken  his  pace  until  he  has  delivered  his  message. 

The  physician  is  an  awful  personage,  for  although  as  naked  as 
the  average  Caffre,  he  has  suspended  from  the  back  of  his  neck  a  small 
skull ;  and  claws  of  eagles,  and  feet  of  lions  are  hung  about  his  person  to 
act  as  charms.  Upon  the  point  of  his  assagai  is  fastened  a  small  bunch 
of  herbs.  He  also  sings  away  disease.  If  the  doctor  is  not  sent  for 
and  the  patient  dies,  the  relatives  of  the  deceased  are  fined  by  the  chief. 
When  death  has  occurred  the  family  become  unclean  and  unable  to  mix 


GOOD    TRAITS.  lOI 

in  society  for  a  certain  period.  It  was  a  former  custom  to  cast  away  the 
dead  body  to  be  devoured  by  wild  beasts,  unless  the  deceased  happened 
to  be  a  chief,  when  he  was  given  a  decent  burial ;  but  now  rich  and 
poor  are  placed  under  the  ground,  a  hole  being  dug  near  the  hut.  With 
the  body  of  the  chiefs  are  buried  his  arms  and  ornaments.  If  he  was  an 
"Umkumkami,"  (head  chief)  watchers  attended  by  a  number  of  cattle 
are  posted  by  his  grave  for  at  least  a  year.  Watchers  and  cattle  thereby 
become  sacred ;  the  watchers  have  certain  privileges  accorded  them  and 
the  cattle  can  never  be  slaughtered;  nor  can  their  progeny,  until  the 
sacred  kine  have  breathed  their  last.  The  sub-chiefs,  in  the  mean- 
time, have  shaved  their  heads,  abstained  resolutely  from  milk,  and  per- 
formed other  feats  indicative  of  their  profound  grief.  Furthermore  the 
grave  of  the  dead  chieftain  is  considered  a  sanctuary  for  every  villain  in 
the  land.  Be  his  crime  ever  so  heinous,  let  him  once  be  able  to  cast 
himself  upoTi  it,  and  he  is  safe  from  all  pursuers. 

The  kindness  which  the  Caffre  shows  toward  his  friend  when  he  is 
sick  or  in  distress  is,  however,  a  more  effective  medicine  than  all  the 
charms  of  the  physician.  A  European  who  lived  for  many  months  among 
them,  and  thoroughly  learned  their  language  and  their  ways,  tells  the 
following,  as  illustrating  this  trait  of  sympathy  and  its  concomitant, 
helpfulness  :  "  A  poor  fellow  had  lost  all  his  cows  with  lung  sickness,  and 
three  of  his  wives  died  at  the  same  time,  I  believe,  from  eating  the 
diseased  meat  of  the  animals.  Unluckily  he  had  not  planted  many 
mealies,  so  that  he  was  in  a  true  state  of  bankruptcy.  But  in  this  wild 
and  happy  condition  there  being  no  assignees,  a  meeting  of  the' heads  of 
the  kraals  was  called,  and  after  talking  the  matter  over  for  some  time, 
they  all  became  silent  and  thoughtful,  evidently  considering  what  had  bet- 
ter be  done.  Suddenly  a  man  sprang  up  and  claimed,  'I  feel  so  many  cows 
and  calves  for  you.'  Then  another  got  up  and  said  how  many  he  felt ;  a 
third  had  a  like  sensation,  and  then  a  fourth,  and  so  on  through  the 
august  assembly,  until  the  man  was  again  possessed  of  a  very  respectable 
herd  of  cattle." 

Notwithstanding  all  these  good  qualities,  the  Caffre,  in  a  matter  of 
business,  will  cheat  like  a  professional  sharper.  WHien  one  is  in  his 
house  as  a  guest  he  can  not  treat  him  with  enough  kindness  and  hospi- 
tality,— but  with  the  Caffre,  as  with  his  civilized  and  unfortunate  brother, 
"business  is  business;"  and  that  is  all  there  is  to  it.  There  never  was  a 
man  who  was  so  tender  and  yet  so  cruel.  This  is  particularly  shown  in 
his  hunting  customs.  Even  when  he  can,  he  seldom  kills  an  animal 
outright,  but  seems  to  delight  in  torture  and  a  slow  death.  For  instance, 
the  hippopotamus  is  in  the  habit  of  getting  into  gardens  and  causing 


1"HE 


I02  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

much  damage.  It  is  one  of  the  Caffres'  modes  of  revenge  to  lasso  their 
enemy  and  when  securely  fastened  to  thrust  the  bough  of  a  tret;  into  his 
mouth.  Thus  propped  open  the  mighty  cavern  furnishes  a  fair  mark  for 
their  assagais,  with  their  curved  iron  blades.  They  kill  the  beast  by 
slow  degrees,  but  before  the  tortured  brute  is  really  cold  they  cut  him 
up  and  feast  ravenously  upon  his  warm  llesh.  Whether  hunting  the 
wild  pig  which  they  consider  (with  fish)  unclean  ;  or  the  powerful  buffalo 
who  disdains  the  lion  himself,  or  the  hideous  hyena,  or  the  king  of 
beasts  whose  blood  they  lap  up  in  the  belief  that  they  will  inherit  his 
boldness,  the  Caffre  is  always  accompanied  by  his  dog,  who  is  of  a  swift, 
fierce  and  stubborn  breed. 

SUPERSTITIONS. 

The  superstitions  rife  in  Caffraria,  or  rather  among  the  Southern 
Caffres,  are  many  but  quite  harmless.  A  snake  represents  the  devil 
and,  strange  to  say,  (in  a  country  where  snakes  are  almost  as  plentiful  as 
jungle  grass)  a  snake  was  seen  to  enter  the  hut  of  a  person  who  died  a 
year  thereafter!  Or  a  fowl  passed  in  front  of  the  hut.  No  Caffre 
therefore,  on  pain  of  death,  will  allow  a  harmless  hen  to  be  driven  in 
front  of  his  hut;  she  must  go  round  by  the  back  way!  Not  one  could  be 
induced  to  eat  a  hen's  egg,  or  sell  it  for  less  than  fourpence  ;  if  he  did,  he 
would  surely  meet  with  some  crushing  misfortune.  A  coolie  is  an  abom- 
ination to  a  Caffre.  Some  evil  influence  is  thought  to  reside  in  his  very 
breath ;  so  that  if  a  Caffre  meets  one  on  the  road  he  not  only  will  pass 
him  on  the  other  side,  but  will  throw  over  his  mouth  whatever  skin  or 
covering  he  may  have  upon  his  person.  The  true  native  whose  natural 
superstition  has  not  been  weakened  by  an  accidental  contact  with  rational 
ideas,  is  firmly  convinced  that  death  never  comes  except  by  accident  or 
through  the  instrumentality  of  witches  now  and  then.  The  Caffres 
pitch  upon  one  of  their  number  as  a  wizard,  or  "  King  of  Snakes,"  and 
flee  from  him  as  from  a  pestilence.  If  they  are  obliged  to  approach  him 
they  fear  to  look  him  in  the  eye,  lest  they  or  their  cattle  should  be 
stricken.  This  same  evil-eyed  gentleman  often  wills  it  that  his  trembling 
victim  should  kill  a  fat  cow  and  make  over  to  him  her  very  best  parts. 
After  a  time,  however,  if  it  is  found  that  he  is  one  of  a  family  of  wizards 
who  are  engaged  in  their  wicked  practices,  a  concerted  assault  is  made 
upon  them  and  all  are  destroyed.  Opposed  to  the  wizard  is  the 
"  prophet"  of  the  kraal,  who,  when  the  witch's  time  has  come,  is  placed 
in  the  center  of  the  company  and  immediately  commences  to  "smell" 
for  the  evil  one.     The  wizard  is  smelt  out,  denounced,  seized  and  sub- 


SUPERSTITIONS.  IO3 

jected  to  some  horrible  form  of  torture  \vliich  the  Caffre  knows  so  well 
how  to  inflict.  The  family  and  friends  of  the  wizard  (for  he  sometimes 
has  both)  must  assist  in  the  hideous  work  or  be  suspected  themselves 
and  perhaps  subjected  to  the  same  tortures.  It  often  happens  that  this  pro- 
cess of  "  smelling  out "  the  wizard  covers  the  deepest  of  evil  designs.  A 
chief  may  wish  to  rid  himself  of  a  political  enemy,  or  a  prominent  mem- 
ber of  his  tribe  has  a  neighbor  who  has  cast  covetous  eyes  upon  his  cat- 
tle. In  either  case  the  priest  or  prophet  is  called  in,  and  after  many 
contortions  on  his  part,  and  much  smelling  around  the  circle,  and  great 
howling  and  beating  of  drums  by  the  conspirators,  the  unfortunate  one 
is  named.  If  he  persists  that  he  is  innocent  he  may  be  tortured  to  death 
as  a  stubborn  sort  of  a  "  royal  snake."  Admitting  that  he  is  "possessed  " 
in  some  way,  his  cattle  are  appropriated  by  the  chief  and  he  is  beaten 
and  purified  of  the  Evil  One.  If  he  is  merely  considered  to  be  a  torment- 
ing wizard  he  usually  escapes  with  his  life  ;  if  he  is  the  enemy  of  one  in 
power  he  is  apt  to  die  of  his  injuries. 

The  rain-maker  is  also  a  great  personage  among  the  Caffres  of  South- 
ern Africa.  In  obedience  to  the  summons  of  a  chief  he  arrives  and  at  once 
gives  orders  for  the  slaughtering  of  an  ox,  whose  bones  are  burned.  If 
rain  does  not  come  after  about  the  third  day,  the  "  maker"  commences 
to  look  wise  and  serious,  and  the  chief  very  fierce.  After  deep  reflec- 
tion the  rain-maker  discovers  that  the  beast  was  manifestly  of  an  unac- 
ceptable color  and  a  second  one  is  sacrificed.  Another  anxious  waiting 
of  two  or  three  days,  with  the  pasture  lands  burning  up  and  the  patient 
cattle  standing  about  disconsolately,  and  the  tribe  commences  to  get  in- 
credulous, but  being  told  that  some  "witchcraft"  is  the  matter  with 
the  second  ox,  they  straightway  proceed  to  smell  it  out.  Should  the 
drought  still  continue,  the  chief  is  more  likely  than  not  to  order  the 
impostor  drowned. 

Kaffir  or  Caffre  is  an  Arabic  word  signifying  "  unbeliever"  and  was 
applied  to  these  people  by  the  Mohammedans.  Although  among  the 
tribe  of  Griquas,  Christianity  has  made  some  progress,  they  have,  as  a 
whole,  no  prescribed  forms  of  religion.  They  have,  however,  a  general 
belief  in  a  Supreme  Being.  Their  government  consists  of  a  national 
council  which  is  composed  of  a  head  chief  ("The  Umkumkani,") 
subordinate  chiefs,  and  petty  chiefs  who  merely  have  jurisdiction  over  a 
kraal  or  hamlet.  Their  laws  are  unwritten  but  are  undoubtedly  stowed 
away  in  the  heads  of  the  chief  men  of  the  kraal,  who,  when  a  case  is 
brought  before  them,  sit  solemnly  in  a  circle  and  place  the  culprit  in  the 
center.  The  defendant  pleads  his  own  case,  uninterrupted,  and  may 
either  clear  himself,  be  sentenced  to  death  or  be  mulcted  heavily  in  a  fine 
of  cows. 


I04 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


Of  the  unwritten  laws  which  hold  fast  among  the  Cafifres  is  one 
which  is  unique  even  in  the  annals  of  polygamy.  In  the  division  of  a 
man's  property  after  death  the  wives  of  the  deceased  go  to  his  next 
brother,  which  may  explain  the  custom  of  allowing  said  next  brother  to 
discipline  an   unrul)-  wife  during  the  lifetime   of  her  husband.      It  will 

thus  be  seen  that  the 
death  of  a  brother  may  be 
the  fortune  of  the  next  in 
succession,  for  every  wife 
who  falls  to  him  represents 
so  many  cows  even  up  to 
the  number  of  one  hun- 
dred ! 

ZULU  WARFARE. 

But  where  the  Zulu 
or  the  Zulu  Caffre,  as  he 
is  often  called,  goes  upon 
the  war-path  he  leaves  far 
behind  all  ideas  of  human- 
ity, and  blood  and  re- 
venue are  straicrht  before 
him.  Painting  his  body 
with  a  fiery  red  clay  and 
armine  himself  with  his 
terrible  assagai  and  shield 
,=  of  ox  hide,  he  issues  forth 
to  carry  terror  into  the 
camps  of  native  tribes  ;  or 
with  a  rifle,  which  he  may 
have  learned  to  use  as 
skillfully  as  a  veteran 
sharp-shooter,  arouse  the 
admiration  of  the  Dutch 
Boer  and  the  British 
soldier.  Even  in  their  former  conflicts  with  European  troops,  before 
the\-  had  the  advantage  of  fire-arms,  they  seldom  showed  that  conster- 
nation which  usually  seizes  upon  the  savage  when  he  firsts  faces  powder, 
shot  and  shell,  with  their  roar  and  mysterious  force.  On  the  contrary, 
although  the  reckless  warriors  could  perceive  the  havoc  they  created,  as 
the   cannon   ball    i-ebounded    from   the   rocks   behind   which   they   were 


A  NATIVE  WARRIOR. 


ZULU    WARFARE. 


105 


conducting  a  stubborn  defense  they  chased  them  over  the  field  and 
captured  them,  if  \vh(jle,  \\  itii  llie  intention  of  using  them  to  grind  their 
grain.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  shells  exploded,  they  would  pick  up 
the  pieces  and  with  shouts  of  derision,  pretend  to  throw  them  in  the 
faces  of  their  foes.     When  the  fire  actualh-  l^ecame  so  hot  as  to  threaten 


NOTABLE  CHIEF  AND  WARRIOR. 


annihilation,  however,  the  wonderful  speed  of  the  Caffre  was  brought 
out  to  perfection.  Night  attacks  the  CafTre  is  not  proof  against.  Dur- 
ing the  heat  of  the  day  he  is  as  lithe  and  venomous  as  a  snake,  but 
when  night  comes  he  loses  much  of  his  energy,  and  all  his  superstitions 
are  alive  in  the  darkness.  His  two  pieces  of  stick  joined  together  with 
a  strip  of  leather  and  blessed  by  a  witch  doctor  seem  then  to  avail  him 
little    and  under  cover  of  the  darkness  many  of  his  stanchest  warriors 


io6 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


have  been  cut  to  pieces  and  his  brave  chiefs  brought  into  subjection. 
When  his  spirit  is  once  broken  his  virtues  seem  to  fade  away. 
When  he  reahzes  that  he  is  defeated  he  will  abandon  wife,  children  and 
home.  Should  his  wife  be  driven  from  her  hut  she  will  leave  her  baby 
to  die  by  the  roadside  upon  the  first  opportunity.  A  Caffre  child  will 
ask  you  to  give  him  the  beads  first,  before  he  conducts  you  to  the  hut  in 
which  you  are  going  to  shoot  his  own  father. 

The  incessant  warfare  which  has  been  waafed  arainst  the  Zulu  Caff  res 
has  had  the  effect  of  driving  their  most  independent  tribes  far  north. 
Those  who  remain  have  retired  across  the  St.  John's  river  into  the  dis- 
trict called  Kaffraria  Proper,  or  have  been  settled  by  the  British  govern- 
ment along  the  frontiers  of  the  Cape   Colony. 

The  Fingoes  are  a  money-making  people,  made  up  of  various  Zulu 
tribes,  who  occupy  the  frontier  of  the  Cape  Colony.  They  were  for  a 
time  held  as  slaves  by  their  more  warlike  neighbors,  but  rescued  by  the 
British,  to  whom  they  are  closely  attached.  They  are  a  saving, 
careful  race,  and  much  better  financiers  than  the  Caffres  of  the  Natal 
region,  who  are  in  the  habit  of  burying  the  money  they  receive  from 
Europeans.  The  result  is  that  sometimes  until  they  can  be  induced  to 
disgorge,  the  shops  of  the  colony  are  obliged  to  close  because  there  is 
no  medium  of  exchange.  The  Fingoes,  on  the  contrary,  are  so  success- 
ful as  financiers  that  they  are  called  the  Jews  of  the  CafTre  race. 


THE  SOUTHERN  BECHUANAS. 


iFiE  country  proper  of  this  great  tribe  includes  the  central 
and  northern  portions  of  Southern  Africa — in  fact,  all  the  ter- 
ritory not  occupied  by  the  Caffres,  Hottentots  and  European 
colonists.  Branches  of  the  nation  also  spread  over  Central 
Africa.  They  treat  as  slaves  the  tribes  even  of  their  own 
nation  who  have  not  been  able  to  stand  against  superior 
prowess  or  have  not  paid  tribute  to  a  powerful  native  chief. 
These  native  vassals  are  known  as  Bakalahari,  and  when  they 
show  an  intelligence  or  bravery  above  that  of  slavery  they  are 
called  to  enjoy  the  privileges  of  citizenship  with  the  members 
of  the  ruling  tribe.  The  Bakalahari  are  well  treated  by  their  masters, 
who  put  them  to  the  task  of  tending  their  flocks  and  herds,  seeming  to 
remember  that  their  slaves  are  the  same  as  they,  only  weaker  brothers 
or  children.  When  the  owner  of  the  stock  makes  his  appearance  at  the 
post,  he  speaks  of  the  cattle  as  if  they  belonged  to  the  Bakalahari  ;  and 
when  it  is  his  intention  to  slaughter  one,  even  asks  permission  of  his 
well-pleased  slave.  When  he  goes  hunting  the  master  retains  the  ivory 
and  ostrich  feathers,  the  furs  and  skins,  giving  the  meat  to  his  vassal. 
When  he  visits  the  little  settlement  it  is  usually  with  a  present  of 
some  tobacco  or  wild  hemp  for  smoking,  or  a  clasp-knife  or  a  few  beads, 
staying  with  them  to  hunt,  or  to  oversee  their  work  in  a  friendly 
way.  It  is  sometimes  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  the  master  can  be 
induced  to  leave  his  slaves  and  cattle  in  order  to  please  his  chief  and 
assist  him  in  carrying  on  his  wars. 

But  although  the  Bechuanas  are  no  cravens  in  war,  they  are  diplo- 
matic by  nature,  and  their  chiefs  indulge  in  many  pretty  little  forms  in 
treating  with  each  other,  or  one  of  another  tribe.  Each  chief  has  usually 
three  or  four  confidential  officials,  or  special  ambassadors,  to  whom  he 
entrusts  all  his  most  delicate  missions.  Before  starting  on  any  journey 
the  party  is  assembled  to  hear  the  message  of  their  chief.  The  head 
ambassador,  or  Minister  Plenipotentiary,  then  repeats  it.  Should  he 
hesitate  one  of  his  assistants  prompts  him,   if  possible.     They  now  start 

107 


io8 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


on  a  journey  of  a  week  or  more,  going  over  the  message  once  or  twice 
at  their  evening  fire,  and  especially  reviving  it  in  their  minds  the  night 
before  their  arrival  at  their  destination.  Upon  being  received  by  the 
chief,  the  leader  of  the  ambassadors  commences  to  recite  his  story,  and 
when  he  comes  to  important  parts  of  it,  he  pauses  and  turning  to  his 
attendants  demands:     "Am   I    lying?     Does    not    our    chief    say    so?" 

"You  speak  the  true 
words  of  our  master" 
is  the  reply  of  his 
c  o  m  p  a  n  i  o  n  s,  who 
thereby  become  his 
witnesses,  and  also  as- 
sist him  to  carry  back 
the  true  reply  of  the 
chi(_-f  whom  they  are 
interviewing  or  peti- 
tioning. The  largest 
of  the  Bechuana 
towns  is  Shoshong ; 
and,  indeed  it  is  one 
of  the  largest  towns 
in  Southern  .Africa, 
being  midway  be- 
tween the  Kalahari 
Desert  and  the  Trans- 
vaal Republic.  There 
is  a  courtyard  in  the 
town,  fronting  which 
is  a  semi-circular  row 
of  houses  occupied 
b)-  the  twelve  wives 
of  the  chief.  T  h  e 
headmen  have  from 
three  to  six  wives, 
according  to  their  social  standing,  while  the  common  freemen  of  the 
town  have  seldom  two.  When  the  chief  takes  a  wife  home  he  agrees 
to  furnish  her  a  certain  number  of  servants  and  cattle.  In  return  she 
raises,  every  year,  a  certain  quantity  of  corn  for  him. 

When  the  chief  dies  wailings  and  lamentations  resound  in  every  hut 
of  the  town,  and  especially  those  which  front  the  court-yard. 

"  Oh  where  shall  we  find  him?  who  shall  now  provide  for  us?     Who 


AGRICULTURE  UNDER  DIFFICULTIES. 


THE    BUSHMEN. 


109 


will  take  his  place  in  the  council,  or  the  chase,  or  the  field  of  battle? 
Where  shall  we  find  him?"  And  then  follows  the  wild  chorus  expressive 
of  great  anguish — "Yo-yo-yo!" — the  mourners  falling  on  their  faces, 
tearing  their  hair  and  beating  their  breasts.  The  most  sincere  of  these 
mourners  are  often  the  Bakalahari  who  have  had  occasion  to  kindly 
remember  some  pitying  attention  not  only  from  his  head  men  but  from 
the  chief  himself, 

THE   BUSHMEN. 

But  there  Is  one  class  of  slaves  w  ho  have  no  occasion  to  mourn  with 


A  GROUP  OF  BUSHMEN. 


those   who    mourn ;    for  the    Bechuanas,   from  poor  townsmen  to   rich 
headsmen  and  chief,  have  never  shown  any  afTection    for   the  degraded 


no 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


Bushmen.  "  Bushmen  are  great  rascals,"  or  "  Bushmen  are  perfect 
snakes,"  are  remarks  which  are  commonly  made  by  the  governing  class. 
If  a  man  becomes  whatever  you  call  him,  the  abuse  which  is  continually 
heaped  upon  this  disgraceful  species  even  of  the  Hottentot  has  made 
him  what  he  is — so  trrovelling  and  mean,  that  his  whole  race  is  threat- 
ened  with  extinction.  When  they  are  not  the  slaves  of  other  tribes,  or 
are  too  uncivilized  to  act  as  guides,  they  are  found  living  on  both  banks 
of  the  Orange  river  or  in  mountainous  regions,   subsisting  upon  roots. 


Vt^Jtft.-tfJ* 


CAVES  OF  THE  BUSHMEN. 

raw  flesh,  the  larvae  of  ants  and  locusts,  mice,  vermin  and  snakes.  They 
have  then  no  fixed  residence  and  build  no  dwellings,  being  simply  aim- 
less, miserable  roamers.  They  usually  wear  a  sheepskin  for  clothing, 
and  arm  themselves  with  knives,  small  bows  and  poisoned  arrows.  With 
their  broad  foreheads,  high  cheek-bones,  oblique  eyes  and  dirty  olive- 
colored  complexion  they  resemble  the  Hottentots.  But  they  are  smaller 
and  have  a  crafty  look,  unlike  the  stolid  expression  of  the  Hottentots. 
Both  languages  have  the  same  guttural,  clicking  sound,  but  neither  can 
understand  the  other.  Wherever  the  Bushman  is,  he  seems  to  be  a 
creature  of  circumstances — a  slave  to  nature  or  to  man.      He  shows  at 


THE    BUSHMEN.  I  I  I 

his  best  as  a  guide,  who  has  been  trusted  by  his  fellows  to  some  extent. 
He  knows  every  tree  and  herb  in  the  country,  and  what  to  use  them 
for,  and  if  you,  are  sick  and  cannot  obtain  the  most  improved  medicines, 
trust  him  to  bring  you  out  of  your  distress. 

Nothing  can  exceed  his  skill  as  a  hunter  and  an  observer  of  the 
habits  of  wild  animals  ;  he  seems  to  understand  the  twitter  of  every  bird 
or  every  rustle  made  by  an  approaching  beast.  In  common  with  the 
Hottentot,  he  is  noted  more  for  his  endurance  than  for  great  bodily 
strength,  and  the  dogged  way  in  which  he  lives  for  years  through  the 
really  cold  winter  seasons  of  South  Africa  with  only  a  small  skin  mantle  to 
throw  around  his  shoulders,  is  only  another  proof  of  how  the  most  miser- 
able will  stubbornly  cling  to  the  most  miserable  kind  of  life.  Imagine  a 
company  of  them  lying  around  a  log  fire,  asleep  in  the  mountainous 
regions  of  the  Orange  River  country  ;  or  they  may  be  sitting  upright 
nodding  over  its  welcome  flames,  with  their  skins  drawn  around  their 
necks.  Suddenly,  as  if  by  arrangement,  they  stretch,  yawn  and  grunt 
in  concert,  and  walk  sleepily  to  a  pile  of  logs  near  by  from  which  they 
replenish  the  fire.  When  the  savages  are  fairly  on  their  feet,  you  see 
that  their  bodies  are  scorched  and  scarred,  caused  by  literally  baking 
themselves  at  night  to  keep  up  their  vital  heat.  They  have  had  their 
backs  to-  the  flames,  the  first  part  of  the  night,  and  after  they  have 
thrown  on  fresh  logs  they  methodically  resume  their  places,  but  with 
their  faces  to  the  fire.  By  the  time  that  side  of  their  bodies  is  fairly 
"  done,"  light  commences  to  break,  and*they  bestir  themselves  to  look 
for  breakfast.  Their  restless,  hungry  eyes  scan  heaven  and  earth.  Sud- 
denly one  of  their  number  starts  to  his  feet  and  seizes  his  spear.  He 
points  off  in  the  distance  and  grunts  out  a  few  discordant  words  to  his 
comrades,  and  they  all  start  in  the  direction  indicated.  After  they  have 
gone  perhaps  a  quarter  of  a  mile  you  would  be  able  to  discern  the  cause 
of  this  commotion  in  the  shape  of  two  or  three  huge  vultures  sweeping 
over  a  certain  spot.  Arriving  at  their  destination  they  find  a  large  lion 
busy  over  the  body  of  an  antelope  or  zebra,  with  hyenas,  younger  lions 
and  birds  of  prey  waiting  at  a  distance,  and  biding  their  time.  This  the 
Bushmen  do  not  mean  to  do  ;  so  they  commence  to  shout  at  the  top  of 
their  voices,  rattle  their  spears,  shake  their  mantles,  break  off  the 
branches  of  trees,  and  make  such  a  commotion  generally,  that  after  lift- 
ing his  bloody  jaws  for  a  moment,  the  king  of  beasts  makes  off  with  his 
associates,  under  the  impression  that  the  whole  forest  is  about  to  sweep 
down  upon  him.  Everything  which  is  left  is  now  borne  away  to  the 
encampment,  even   if  they  find  only  bits  of   bone  and  hide  and  hoof. 


112 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


There  is  marrow  in  the  bones,  and  gkiten  in  the  hoof  and  hide  ;  and  this 
is  better  food  than  a  Bushman  gets  every  day. 

The  next  best  "treat"  to  getting  a  repast  of  flesh  or  rich  bones  is 
to  meet  a  Boer  and  be  able  to  kill  him.  The  Hottentot  and  the  Boer 
are  quite  likely  to  stand  in  the  relation  of  servant  and  master,  but  the 
Bushman  has  never  forgotten  that  the  Dutch  first  took  possession  of  his 


A  CIVILIZED  BUSHMAN. 


country  of  Cape  Colony  and  drove  him  away  ;  and  although  he  may 
become  the  slave  of  a  Bechuana  he  has  sworn  an  interminable  war 
against  the  Boer.  His  hatred  is  returned  in  kind,  and  to  show  to  a 
lymphatic  Boer  his  aboriginal  enemy  is  like  shaking  a  red  rag  at  a 
usually  peaceable  cow.  With  actual  haste  he  lays  aside  his  pipe  of 
tobacco  and  leaves,  undrains  his  glass  of  brandy,  while  his  buxom  wife 
lets  her  cup  of  coffee  get  cold,  and  his  daughters  open  their  mild  eyes 


THE    BUSHMEN.  II3 

with  interest ;  for  he  is  about  to  take  down  his  gun  and  show  that  he  has 
not  forgotten  how  to  use  it.  He  is  passionately  fond  of  his  mutton, 
soaked  in  the  fat  of  his  long-tailed  sheep,  but  the  death  of  a  Bushman 
goes  before  everything  else.  He  will  even  break  into  his  rules  of  hos- 
pitality and  leave  the  stranger,  who  has  shaken  hands  with  him  and  kissed 
his  motherly  wife  to  amuse  himself  as  best  he  can,  while  he  and  his 
grown  up  sons  go  "a-gunning"  for  the  Bushman. 

Now  let  us  narrate  the  story  of  the  Bushman's  life  as  a  slave  to  the 
Caffres,  or  the  Bechuanas,  though  he  is  much  better  off  with  them  than 
when  he  shifts  for  himself  in  the  desert  and  the  mountains.  He  is  the 
hunter  of  South  Africa,  even  as  a  slave.  He  knows  the  meaning  of 
every  sound  in  the  air,  every  turned  leaf  or  disturbed  twig,  and  yet  is 
always  consulting  his  charms.  When  his  master  comes  to  hunt  with  him, 
he  first  goes  through  his  hut,  and  the  "  bee-hives  "  in  which  his  brother- 
slaves  swarm  with  their  families.  He  has  no  kind  words  for  them,  but 
is  only  looking  to  see  that  they  have  secreted  no  skins.  If  he  has  ven- 
tured to  make  a  mantle  for  himself  or  wife,  without  consulting-  his 
master,  he  is  sadly  taken  to  task  —  perhaps  flogged.  In  former  years 
some  of  the  tribes  even  authorized  a  master  to  kill  his  Bushman  slave 
for  withholding  the  proceeds  of  the  chase,  obtained  during  his  absence, 
and  selling  them  to  European  hunters  or  natives.  But  such  severity 
only  seemed  to  rouse  the  Bushmen  to  greater  deceitfulness,  and  the 
Bechuana  chiefs  finally  were  obliged  to  enter  the  field  as  common  com- 
petitors in  trade.  So  that  the  slaves  now  get  a  more  generous  allowance 
of  skins  in  cold  weather,  and,  occasionally  some  tobacco,  while  their 
wives  and  children  are  presented  with  beads  and  trinkets.  In  return, 
the  Bushmen  are  expected  to  turn  over  all  the  skins,  ivory  and  ostrich 
feathers  which  they  obtain  in  the  chase.  But  European  enterprise,  even 
with  this  growing  leniency,  is  the  cause  of  much  trouble;  for  the  variety 
and  attractiveness  of  the  goods,  which  it  sends  into  the  country  for  pur- 
poses of  barter  with  the  natives,  snatch  away  from  the  Bechuanas  many 
articles  of  value  on  which  they  formerly  had  a  monopoly.  They, 
therefore,  throw  every  impediment  in  the  way  of  traders,  to  make  their 
passage  through  the  country  as  slow  as  possible,  and  give  them  time  to 
gather  up  the  spoils  in  advance. 

When  the  master  decides  to  go  upon  a  hunting  excursion  with  his 
Bushmen,  he  enters  into  the  sport  with  all  the  zest  of  his  slaves.  The 
Bushman,  in  addition  to  his  native  spear,  bow  and  arrow,  is  often  en- 
trusted with  a  gun,  which  he  has  learned  to  handle  with  remarkable  pre- 
cision; for  with  all  his  hardships  his  eye  is  true  and  his  nerves  are  steady. 

They  then  sally  forth  with  their  dogs,  the  master  decked  out  with  feath- 
8 


s 
p) 

tn 

> 

M 

5 
3 

2 

n 
PI 


EUROPEAN BECHUANAN    CIVILIZATIUX.  II5 

•"rs  and  beads  ;  the  Buslimen  wearing  plain  skins,  and  around  their  necks 
cr  in  their  bushy  hair  bits  of  wood  or  bone,  to  be  used  as  medicines  or 
charms  in  case  of  sickness  or  danger.  Besides  marks  on  their  faces,  some 
of  them  have  the  cartilage  of  their  nose  pierced,  a  survival  of 
a  tribal  custom  not  yet  dropped  in  their  present  condition  of  bondage. 
The  leader  of  the  party,  who  is  invariably  a  I3ushman,  having  con- 
sulted the  bits  of  bone  or  ivory  which  are  strung  around  his  neck, 
announces  confidently  the  direction  in  which  their  game  will  be  found, 
and  they  go  briskly  forward,  with  their  dogs  ahead.  If  j'ou  ask  him 
about  his  ivory  charms,  he  will  call  them  "  things  of  my  god,"  and  will 
add,  "  they  tell  me  new^s."  He  does  not  attempt  to  explain,  but  evidently 
believes  in  some  power  outside  of  himself. 

In  times  of  peace  it  is  evident  that  these  vassals  of  the  Bechuanas 
are  far  more  comfortable  than  if  left  to  themselves  ;  for  they  seem  to  have 
no  idea  of  combining  into  kraals  and  settlements  for  protection  or  con- 
venience, although  they  are  thus  grouped  by  their  masters.  It  is  the 
custom  that  a  slave  can  appeal  to  the  chief  of  a  tribe  if  he  considers  him- 
self ill-used  by  his  master;  but  the  certainty  of  obtaining  justice  depends 
upon  the  fact  of  whether  said  master  is  a  friend  or  a  foe  to  said  chief. 
Every  Bechuana  cannot  have  his  Bushman.  Slaves  are  the  property  of 
the  headmen  of  the  tribe.  These  great  men  often  get  to  quarreling 
among  themselves,  and  the  anxiety  of  the  slaves  may  be  imagined  when 
it  is  known  that  if  the  quarrel  comes  to  bloodshed,  they  may  be  driven 
hither  and  thither,  and  even  butchered  as  so  many  cattle  who  are  of 
value  to  a  hated  rival.  In  times  of  civil  strife  the  Bakalahari,  or  native 
slaves,  are  liable  to  suffer  the  same  atrocities.  When  one  Bechuana 
tribe  attacks  another  the  Bushmen  and  Bakalahari  are  placed  in  the 
same  category  with  cattle  and  sheep  —  they  are  to  be  "  lifted,"  or  killed 
as  opportunity  offers.  During  such  troublous  times,  therefore,  the  slaves 
flee  into  the  desert,  the  forest  or  the  mountains,  and  hide  themselves 
until  the  commotion  is  past. 

EUROPEAN  — BECHUANAN  CIVILIZATION. 

Hedged  around  by  the  territory  of  the  Orange  Free  State  is  a  com- 
munity or  tribe  of  Bechuanas,  whose  position  is  unique  in  the  history  of 
African  progress.  They  possess  a  territory  about  thirty-five  miles 
square  which  supports  15,000  natives.  They  live  under  their  own  laws 
and  are  governed  by  their  own  chief,  and  as  they  have  been  allies  of  the 
Dutch  in  times  past,  they  live  quietly  and  unmolested,  growing  maize 
and  corn  and  tending  their  cattle  and  sheep  like  other  Caffres.     The 


ii6 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


land  is  held  by  the  chief,  who  apportions  it  as  he  pleases,  but  withdraws 
what  has  been  given  only  for  serious  cause.  A  European  has  now  and 
then  ventured  into  the  fertile  territory  and  received  a  share  of  the  land 
from  the  chief,  whose  sole  aim  seems  to  be  to  advance  the  prosperity  of 
his  people.  The  principal  town  of  the  nation,  which  contains  about 
6,000  people,  is  laid  out  in  regular  streets,  and  within  the  same  province 
are  smaller  villages  with  their  shops  and  a  general  appearance  of  life  and 
hope.  What  few  Europeans  are  living  in  the  place  have  their  houses 
low  on  the  plain,  while  the  huts  of  the  natives  are  constructed  on  a  hill. 
The  king  resides  in  a  spacious  hut  and  has  his  chairs,  bed  and  settles, 
and  dresses  and  walks  like  a  European.      He  has  his  watch  and  chain,  a 

round  flat-topped  hat  and  cord 
trousers,  is  quiet  and  courteous 
and  "progressive"  in  the  best 
sense  of  the  word.  A  court-yard 
runs  around  the  huts  occupied  by 
the  royal  family  and  his  min- 
isters, which  is  inclosed  by  a  cir- 
cular fence  of  bamboo  canes, 
stuck  into  the  ground  perpen- 
dicularly and  bound  together. 
The  way  into  the  court-yard  is 
open,  but  the  circle  is  brought 
around  so  as  to  overlap  the  en- 
trance and  prevent  the  passer-by 
from  looking  in.  The  king  ad- 
ministers  justice  sitting  outside 
in  his  court  with  his  counselors  around  him;  and  their  word  is  law. 
Their  laws  are  somewhat  similar  to  those  of  the  CafYres.  Death 
is  the  penalty  for  rebellion  against  the  government.  All  other  crimes 
are  punishable  by  fines  of  cows,  heavy  or  light  according  to  their  mag- 
nitude. 

SOUTH  AFRICAN  ABORIGINES. 

The  Hottentots,  which  include  the  Bushmen,  are  supposed  to  be 
the  descendants  of  the  tribes  which  first  settled  in  Southeastern  Africa,  and 
with  the  influx  of  the  more  energetic  Caffres  were  driven  into  the  south- 
ern portion  of  the  continent.  They  now  dwell  for  the  most  part  in  and 
about  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  In  moral  and  intellectual  caliber  they 
have  been  found  far  superior  to  the  Bushman  and  fully  on  a  par  with  the 
Caffre.     They  are  courageous,  when  occasion  warrants,  but  are  by  nature 


A  EUROPEAN'IZED  CAFFRE, 


SOUTH    AFRICAN    AHURlGIiNES. 


I  I  ' 


mild  and  tractable,  being  generally  employed  by  the  Dutch  Boers  as 
herdsmen  and  laborers.  Their  eyes  and  complexion,  and  the  shape  of 
the  head  and  face,  as  well  as  the  structure  of  the  hair  have  been  the 
means  of  separating  them  from  the  other  African  races,  notwithstanding 
they  are  small  in  numbers  and  decreasing.  Ethnologists  have  even  gone 
so  far  as  to  place  them  among  the  Mongolians,  and  the\-  do  bear  a  strik- 
ing- resemblance  to  the  Northern  Asiatics  and  the  Esquimaux.  When 
the  Dutch  first  commenced  to  colonize  around  the  cape  they  found  the 
Hottentots  occupying  all  the  country  now  included  in  the  Cape  Colony; 
they  were  living  under  rather  democratic  forms  of  government,  although 
governed  by  chiefs,  and  marched  proudly  to  battle  to  the  sound  of  the 
pipe  and  the  flageolet. 
Now  they  have  lost  all 
national  ambition  and  ■ 
have  allowed  t  h  e  m- 
selves  to  be  scattered 
and  absorbed  by  t  h  e 
superior  races.  Their 
downfall  was  principally 
occasioned  by  their  in- 
ordinate love  for  rum, 
for  which  the)'  would 
eagerly  part  with  their 
flocks  and  herds.  Then 
they  became  slaves  to 
the  Dutch  —  those  who 
were  not  driven  into  the 
desert  and  waste  places, 
like  the  Bushmen.  The 
purest  remnants  of  the 
native  tribes  are  found 
in  Namaqua  land,  a  sandy,  mountainous  tract  of  country,  in  the  north- 
western part  of  the  Cape  Colony. 

North  of  this  is  Damara  land,  in  which  a  few  miserable  aborigines 
drag  out  a  savage  existence  among  its  hills  and  gorges  and  sandy  plains. 
This  is  a  narrow  belt  of  drought-stricken  land  which  they  also  share  with 
the  Damaras,  a  warlike  tribe  of  the  Bechuanas  who  formerly  extended 
their  depredations  as  far  as  N'gami  lake  and  the  Zambesi  river.  These 
dreary  regions  of  fire,  rocks  and  famine  have  only  one  attraction  for  civ- 
ilized people;  they  are  known  to  be  rich  in  copper — some  travelers 
assert  with  confidence  that  when  developed  they  will  be  among  the  most 


A    NAMAOUA. 


ii8 


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m 

w 


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G 

H 
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P 


!iiiiiii«i[iiiii(iii«iiimw|ffl*f|«i) 


i|i!|iii'iii,;ii;j,i.;i:iiiiijii|:,UilJ!ii]li,iJli)lIiaijaiUll/. 


TRIBES    OF    SOUTHWESTERN    AFRICA.  II9 

productive  of  any  in  the  world.  The  Griquas,  who  Hve  along  the  Orange 
river  further  to  the  east,  are  half-breeds,  a  mongrel  tribe  of  Hottentots 
and  Boers.  The  partially  civilized  Hottentots  as  they  are  found  around 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  scattered  all  over  the  colony  are  docile  and 
willing  to  be  taught,  and  it  is  asserted  that  no  uncultivated  people  have 
received  the  instructions  of  the  Moravian  missionaries  more  readily  than 
they.  They  own  both  oxen  and  sheep  and,  with  the  Bushmen,  are 
addicted  to  the  chase.  Their  only  manufacture  is  a  kind  of  earthen- 
ware. Their  taste  for  music  is  satisfied  with  a  rude,  three-stringed  guitar 
and  a  bark  flute.  Closer  contact  with  Europeans  has  dispelled  many  of 
the  superstitions  which  still  thrive  in  the  darkness  of  the  Bushman's 
mind  or  in  that  of  the  wild  Hottentot.  On  the  other  hand  the  "Cape" 
Hottentot  has  imbibed  several  which  he  would  not  have  done  had  he 
never  brushed  up  against  the  life  of  the  nineteenth  century.  If  there  is 
one  thing  more  than  another  which  makes  him  shiver  it  is  to  have  his 
photograph  taken,  for  he  honestly  thinks  that  the  process  in  some  way 
draws  his  vitality  from  him  and  will  shorten  his  life. 

The  young  Hottentot  is  remarkably  symmetrical.  The  girls  in  par- 
ticular are  models  of  proportion,  with  delicate  hands  and  feet.  But  an 
attractive  face  among  either  sex  is  almost  unknown,  and  as  the  boys  and 
girls  become  men  and  women  every  part  of  the  body  seems  determined 
to  outdo  the  other  in  ugliness.  And  their  language  is  in  keeping,  being 
compared  to  the  discordant  clucking  of  a  hen  after  she  has  laid  an  egg. 
It  has  been  sutrorested  that  hereon  hint^es  the  oritjin  of  the  word 
Hottentot;  that  it  was  given  to  these  people  to  convey  an  idea  of  the 
peculiar  clicking  or  clucking  of  their  words — Hot-en-tot  or  Hot-and-tot. 
They  call  themselves  Ouai-quae,  Gkhui-gkhui.  When  discovered  by  the 
Dutch  nearly  300  years  ago  they  were  known  according  to  their  dialects 
as  Koi-koin,  Tkuhgrub,  Ouenan  and  Ouaquas.  It  seems  impossible  to 
find  an  explanation  of  the  name  in  their  own  language.  In  years  to 
come  some  light  upon  the  mystery  may  be  thrown  from  an  obelisk 
unearthed  from  Egyptian  sand;  for  philologists  have  found  some  things 
in  common  between  the  two  tongues,  and  it  may  be  that  the  Hottentot 
is  only  a  degraded  Pharaoh  after  all.     Who  can  tell  ? 

TRIBES  OF  SOUTHWESTERN  AFRICA. 

The  Griquas  are  a  tribe  who  much  resemble  the  Hottentots.  Their 
country  which  lies  along  the  Orange  river  is  fertile  and  yet  affords  fine 
pasturage  ;  so  that  they  are  both  agriculturists  and  raise  large  flocks  of 
sheep  and  goats.     As  has  been  observed,  many  of  them  have  embraced 


I20 


rAXORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


the  Christian  faith.  They  are  so  enthusiastic  in  their  devotion  that 
they  attend  church  upon  every  possible  occasion.  Some  cynic  has  made 
the  suggestion  that  they  do  so,  principally  with  the  idea  of  showing  off 
their  fine  clothes.  However  this  may  be,  they  appear  in  a  variety  of 
costumes.     Some   of  the  gentlemen  wear  roundabouts,  frock  coats  or 


DAMARA  WARRIOR  AND  MAIDEN. 


regimentals  obtained  from  British  merchants  or  peddlers.  They  may 
have  vests  and  pantaloons,  or  they  may  be  minus  the  accompanying  gar- 
ments. Again  they  mav  don  cotton  shirts  or  turbans,  and  rest  satisfied. 
The  women  appear  in  the  most  grotesque  head-dresses,  bodices  which 
fit  close  to  the  waist  and  colored  petticoats  which  reach  to  the  ankles. 
As  a  rule  they  have  been  firm  allies  of  Great  Britain   and  have  assisted 


TRIBES    OF    SOUTHWESTERN    AFRICA.  121 

them  in  their  warfare  with  the  Boers.  They  seem  particularly  attached 
to  the  Mother  Country  —  for  what  they  can  "get  out  of  her;"  and  the 
appearance  of  an  Englishman  on  the  banks  of  the  Orange  river  is  the 
signal  for  a  concerted  attack  upon  him  in  the  shape  of  petitions  for  the 
very  clothes  upon  his  back,  and  especially  his  shirt.  The  Griquas  are 
not  warriors,  however,  by  disposition,  and  if  possible  keep  at  a  safe  dis- 
tance from  the  energetic  Dutch  fighters.  As  a  rule  the  parties  are 
separated  sufficiently  so  that  the  herds  of  antelopes  or  zebras  grazing  on 
the  broad  plain  between  them  receive  the  brunt  of  the  conflict.  The 
Griquas  are  principally  noted  for  possessing  (under  the  control  of  Great 
Britain)  the  finest  diamond  fields  of  Africa,  that  is,  they  work  in  them 
and  are  paid  wages. 

Unless  it  be  quarreling  with  the  Damaras,  or  fighting  among  them- 
selves, the  chief  occupation  of  the  Namaquas  appears  to  be  hunting  the 
ostrich.  They  usually  go  after  their  prey  when  the  sun  is  at  its  hottest, 
and  the  plan  pursued  is  to  first  tire  out  the  fleet  birds  by  a  skillful  com- 
bination of  their  hunting  party.  The  chase  is  generally  conducted  on 
horseback.  A  troop  of  ostriches  having  been  espied,  a  number  of 
hunters  encircle  them  at  a  great  distance,  and  then  cautiously  draw 
toward  them,  merely  showing  themselves  sufficiently  or  making  enough 
noise  to  start  them  in  motion.  As  the  circle  grows  smaller  and  the 
Namaquas  see  that  they  have  their  quarry  secure,  they  shout  loudly  and 
urge  their  horses  upon  them,  keeping  them  moving  from  one  hunter  to 
another,  until  finally  the  ostriches  commence  to  wave  their  wings  heavier 
and  heavier,  and  perhaps  come  to  a  stand-still,  falling  to  the  ground 
completely  exhausted.  At  all  events,  few  of  them  escape.  Another 
mode  is  to  drive  them  over  a  plain  and  toward  a  narrow  defile  where  a 
party  is  stationed,  there  being  also  relays  along  the  way  who  take  up 
the  chase  when  the  horses  of  one  division  have  become  exhausted.  By 
this  latter  method  the  number  of  birds  captured  is  often  so  large  that 
the  hunters  have  more  food  than  they  can  eat  and  allow  some  of  the 
ostriches  to' escape,  after  they  have  plucked  their  wing  and  tail  feathers. 
If  the  Hottentots  discover  a  collection  of  nests  containintr  the  ostriches* 
huge  eggs,  those  who  make  the  discovery  quickly  divest  themselves  of 
their  nether  garments,  should  they  be  so  fortunate  as  to  be  wearing 
them,  and  tying  up  the  lower  ends,  pack  the  trophies  securely  within, 
throwing  the  load  over  their  shoulders  or  across  their  horses'  back. 

Beyond  the  Damaras,  are  the  Ovampos  or  Otjiherero.  They  are 
given  rather  a  "  good  character,"  seemin"-  to  be  a  connectine  link 
between  the  best  qualities  of  the  Zulu  Caffre  and  those  of  the  Congo 
Caffre  to   the    north,    although    the    stout,    athletic,   warlike   and  dirty 


122 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


Damaras  come  in  between  them.  The  Ovampos  are  tall  and  well- 
formed,  and  although  generally  intelligent,  and  willing  to  come  "in  con- 
tact with  Europeans,  their  thirty  years'  intercourse  has  not  disabused 
them  of  the  idea  that  they  look  best  with  the  least  possible  amount  of 
clothing.  They  buy  guns  and  ammunition,  but  no  cloth.  The  native 
arms  are  the  bow  and  arrow,  a  dagger-shaped  knife,  and  a  short  club 
with  a  knob  on  the  end.  With  this  latter  weapon  they  can  kill  a  bird 
on  the  wing,  or  a  man  on   horseback.      The   men   have  few  ornaments, 


WOODEN  UTENSILS  OF  THE  OVAMPOS. 
1— Bowl.    2— Kettle.     3— Shdvel.     4— Pipe-howl.     5  and  6 -Double  Cup  for  Polring  Beer. 

but  the  women  are  loaded  down  with  various  colored  beads  and  shells 
of  ostrich  eggs.  The  heavy  rings  around  the  ankles,  which  many  tribes 
still  consider  fashionable,  have  been  discarded  by  the  Ovampo  women, 
and  are  now  fastened  to  the  limbs  of  servants  and  slaves  who  are  sus- 
pected of  wanting  to  run  away.  Another  practice  also  has  been 
discarded  by  the  Ovampos  —  the  men  do  not  allow  the  women  to  do  all 
the  field  work.  When  not  engaged  in  cultivating  the  soil  or  tending 
their  cattle,  they  often  make  journeys  of  several  hundred  miles  to 
exchange  the  iron  and  copper  rings,  the  hoes  and  the  spear-heads  which 
they  make  themselves,  for  the  crude  ore,  and  for  articles  of  food  which 


SCATTERED    CENTRAL    AFRICAN    TRIBES.  1 23 

they  do  not  raise.  Both  men  and  women  are  Hght-hcartcd,  and  dcHght 
in  music  and  dancing.  When  the  labors  of  the  day  are  over,  they 
gather  out-of-doors  and  go  through  with  many  queer  movements  to  the 
sound  of  the  tom-tom  and  a  sort  of  guitar.  As  a  rule  the  men  take  the 
most  active  part  in  the  dance,  jumping  and  kicking  about  like  colts, 
while  the  women  stand  in  a  ring,  singing  and  clapping  their  hands,  and 
keeping  time  with  their  feet.  It  is  singular  how  plump  and  healthy  they 
all  appear,  since  they  will  hardly  touch  a  piece  of  meat  if  it  is  not 
putrid,  and  they  do  not  hesitate  to  devour  it  if  the  animal  is  known  to 
have  died  of  disease.  As  the  land  of  the  Ovampos  is  given  over  prin- 
cipally to  agriculture,  it  has  no  villages.  An  exception  might  perhaps 
be  made  in  the  case  of  the  chief's  werft,  or  kraal,  which  is  surrounded, by 
a  palisade  half  a  mile  in  circumference.  Like  his  humbler  subjects  he 
is  the  center  of  a  numerous  family  of  wives,  children,  slaves  and  servants, 
who  live  around  him  in  hundreds  of  mud  huts.  The  surrounding  wall 
is,  of  course,  stronger,  consisting  of  two  or  more  rows  of  poles,  as  do 
also  the  walls  which  enclose  the  pathways  leading  to  all  the  principal 
huts  of  his  immense  household.  These  defenses  are  of  a  very  substan- 
tial nature,  and  each  member  of  the  king's  tribe  contributes  his  quota 
of  material  and  labor  to  make  them  so,  the  only  remuneration  of  the 
workman  being  an  unlimited  distribution  of  native  beer. 

SCATTERED  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  TRIBES. 

Shortly  after  leaving  the  Orange  river  in  Southern  Africa,  one 
commences  to  meet  the  tribes  of  a  great  nation  which  is  nearly  allied  to 
the  Caffres.  the  energetic  and  progressive  Bechuanas.  Their  complexion 
is  light,  although  they  have  short,  crisped  hair.  Each  tribe  has  a  village 
with  a  chief  of  its  own,  and  although  their  huts  are  of  the  prevailing 
style,  cone-shaped  and  thatched  with  grass,  those  found  nearest  the 
southern  coast  of  the  continent  are  plastered  within  and  without.  Their 
dwellings  have  no  windows;  the  doors  are  about  three  feet  high.  Each 
hut  is  fenced  with  wicker-work  and  the  village  entire  with  a  thick  fence 
of  thorns.  They  dress  in  skins  and  w^ear  charms  attached  to  copper 
chains  around  their  necks.  One  of  these  is  a  bone  whistle  which  they 
blow  when  in  danger,  as  if  to  call  their  guardian  spirits  to  protect  them. 
Instead  of  slaying  an  animal  and  studying  its  internal  organization,  to 
determine  what  the  result  is  to  be  of  any  of  their  enterprises,  they  shake 
dice  and  throw  them  on  the  ground.  Living  so  near  the  Caffreland 
they  are  obliged  to  be  warlike,  and  therefore  go  armed  with  a  thick 
shield  covered  with  the  skin  of  a  camelopard,  a  triangular-shaped  battle 


124 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


axe,  and  a  javelin  which  is  thrown  to  kill  at  one  hundred  yards' distance. 
Both  sexes  go  bare-headed  and  besmear  their  hair  with  a  composition  of 
grease  and  glittering  sand.  The  men  engage  in  war  and  hunt.  The 
women  cultivate  the  fields  and  drudge  at  home.  The  average  wife  is 
quoted  in  the  market  at  ten  or  twelve  head  of  cattle  ;  is  sold  sometimes 
for  a  spade,  or  a  string  of  beads. 

The  weapons  of  nearly  all  the  tribes  south  of  the  Kalahari  Desert 
being  made  of  iron,  those  natives  who  are  the  most  expert  blacksmiths 
are  held  in  the  highest  estimation.     A  blacksmith  is  above  the  genius — 


A  NATIVE  VILLAGE. 


or  rather,  a  good  blacksmith  is  a  great  genius.  He  gets  his  ore  by  a 
peculiar  process  of  smelting;  his  anvil  is  a  large  stone,  his  hammer  a 
small  one  and  his  bellows  are  made  of  skins.  The  natives  poison  their 
arrows  by  dipping  them  in  the  juice  of  a  certain  shrub.  They  also 
impregnate  springs  and  streams  with  the  powerful  poison  so  that  when 
antelope  come  to  drink  they  fall  dead,  and,  strange  to  say,  are  used  as 
food  without  bad  effects.  When  the  bee  extracts  the  poison,  however, 
and  the  natives  indulge  in  tlie  honey,  of  wliich  they  are  very  fond,  the 
effect  is  fatal.      The  black  rhinoceros,  the  fiercest  of  his  species,  eats  the 


SCATTERED    CENTRAL    AFRICAN    TRIBES. 


125 


shrub  with  great  greediness,  and  comes  from  his  repast  with  his  ferocity 
unabated. 

Just  before  plunging  into  the  great  desert  of  Central  Africa  a  pas- 
sage must  be  effected  through  the  country  of  the  Bamangwatos,  a  name 
which  the  reader  is  not  expected  to  keep  in  mind,  but  only  to  consider 
as  implying  an  odd  sort  of  people  burdened  with  an  odd  sort  of  name. 
It  is  a  very  rocky  country;  but  the  pods  of  the  Acacia  tree  and  its  gum, 
which  are   eaten  with  relish,  fatten  both    cattle  and   natives  to  a  very 


/  ^^ff-Xy    '4.S'J^^^l 


A  NATIVE  AT  LIVINGSTONE'S  FUNERAL. 


comfortable  size.  The  tribe  is  of  quite  a  commercial  turn,  perferring  to 
let  braver  people  kill  the  elephant,  while  they  are  careful  to  lay  in  a 
goodly  stock  of  beads  and  trinkets  which  they  barter  for  the  ivory. 
They,  in  turn,  will  pay  preposterous  prices  for  old  muskets,  powder, 
bullet  molds  and  rusty  iron  ladles,  snuff  and  coffee.  With  their 
"improved"  firearms  they  occasionally  kill  an  elephant  themselves,  and 
when  the  huge  beast  rolls  over  on  his  side,  all  the  "  savage  "  comes  out 
of  them.  They  dance  around  the  carcass,  and  with  shouts  of  joy  brandish 
the  knives  with  which  they  intend  to  cut  it  up.  The  leader  of  the  party, 
as  if  unable  to  suppress  his  growing  appetite,  suddenly  makes  a  dash  at 
the  head  of  the  elephant  and  cuts  off-  a  nice  beefsteak  from  the  temple, 
which  is  the  choiest  bit  of  meat  to  be  found.      His  companions  are  soon 


126  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

into  the  body,  skinning  and  cutting  up  the  carcass  as  if  on  a  wager,  and 
smearing  their  bodies  with  gore.  The  flesh  is  cut  into  strips  of  from  six 
to  twenty  feet  in  length  and  about  an  inch  in  thickness,  hung  on  poles 
to  dry  and  wound  up  in  bundles.  When  they  wish  to  make  a  meal  of 
one  of  them  they  uncoil  one  of  the  rolls  and  commence  to  chew,  as  a  boy 
does  a  long  strip  of  slippery-elm.  The  feet  of  the  elephant  are  baked 
in  a  hole  which  is  dug  in  the  ground,  and  they,  with  the  trunk,  are  really 
delicious  eating.  But  the  Africans  do  not  stop  with  the  temple  piece, 
the  flesh  from  the  Ijody,  the  feet  or  the  trunk;  they  crack  the  skull,  the 
spinal  column  and  all  the  bones,  sucking  out  the  marrow  with  the  keen- 
est of  enjoyment.  Reaching  Lake  N'gami,  the  Zambesi  River  region,  and 
Lake  Tanganyika,  larger  and  more  diversified  tribes  or  nations  come 
under  observation  than  those  which  are  further  south.  Amone  them 
the  lamented  Livingstone  spent  the  last  years  of  his  life  and  his  faithful 
negro  servant,  Wainwright,  was  among  the  most  affected  mourners  at 
his  funeral.  Those  inhabiting  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Zambesi 
river  are  spoken  of  in  connection  with  the  ancient  kingdom  of  Monoma- 
tapa,  or  Mozambique. 

It  is  not  very  surprising,  though  it  may  at  first  seem  an  anomaly, 
that  some  of  the  largest  of  the  native  towns  of  Africa  have  been  dis- 
covered  far  in  the  interior.  These  people  are  seldom  of  pure  negro 
blood,  but  may  rather  be  of  that  Ethiopian  stock  which  has  been 
emigrating  from  the  northeast,  via  the  River  Nile,  since  history  began. 
A  dash  even  of  Moorish  or  Arabian  blood  appears.  But  it  is  quite 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  basis  of  these  nations,  with  their  cities 
and  governments  and  manufactures,  was  laid  in  the  fact  that  the  more 
powerful  tribes  pushed  the  weaker  ones  away  from  the  inhabited 
portions  of  the  continent  but  could  not  extinguish  the  memory  of  what 
they  had  learned.  These  ideas  they  put  into  practice  and,  unmolested 
in  their  new  homes,  they  used  the  materials  at  hand  to  found  cities  and 
governments.  And  who  shall  say  that  many  of  these  little  fragments 
were  not  broken  from  the  body  of  that  great  Ethiopia,  which  rivaled 
Eg)'pt  when  her  glory  was  brightest  and  then  mysteriously  dissolved 
into  the  darkness  of  Central  Africa? 

Two  hundred  miles  or  more  above  the  nations  which  dwell  on  the 
banks  of  the  Zambesi  river  there  is  a  large  town,  which  is  given  over  to 
the  manufacture  of  cloth  by  the  felting  process  and  to  the  working  of 
all  kinds  of  useful  metals.  Gold  and  silver  its  inhabitants  value  far  below 
copper  and  iron. 

Two  hundred  miles  further  to  the  north,  in  the  Valley  Londa,  in 
the  very  center  of  the  continent,  is  a  compact  little  kingdom  of  people 


o 


> 


SCATTERED    CENTRAL    AFRICAN    TRIIiKS. 


127 


who  hold  to  many  of  the  truths  of  Christianity;  Avho  believe  in  the  im- 
mortality of  the  soul,  religious  freedom  and  trial  by  jury,  and  have  a 
written  language.  They  are  also  manufacturers  and  their  trade  extends 
to  the  Bechuanas  in  the  south.  The  Hottentots  even  of  South  Africa 
often  find  their  way  to  their  capital  with  ivory  and  ostrich  feathers,  to 
barter  for  their  goods.  The  complexion  of  this  people  is  about  as  light 
as  the  Moors  and  they  have  straight  hair  and  regular  features. 
Their  laneuaee  is  somewhat  similar  to  the  Hebrew  and  they  have  a 
tradition  of  a  general  deluge.  Churches  or  temples  they  have  none,  but 
worship  in  their  own  houses  or  in  groves.  The  priests  are  supported  by 
voluntary  offerings  of  the  public.     As  to  their  government,  the  king  may 


CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MANUFACTURES. 
1-2-7 — Wooden  Drums  and  Drumsticks.    3-4— Iron  Bells.    5-6 — Palm  Wine  Coolers. 

be  deposed  for  cause.  They  have  magistrates  who  are  elected  by  a 
magisterial  college,  and  who  must  be  vouched  for  by  ten  good  citizens. 
The  college  consists  of  forty-five  members,  sixteen  of  whom  are  selected 
by  the  chief  for  the  trial  of  causes.  They  are  not  allowed  to  receive 
compensation,  lest  their  decisions  should  be  biased;  and  they  need  no 
salary,  for  they,  as  well  as  the  king,  maintain  themselves  by  means  of 
some  handicraft.  They  write  upon  the  prepared  leaves  of  a  palm  tree 
with  a  pencil  of  red  clay  mixed  with  resin.  These  Bermegai  manufac- 
t^ure  both  woolen  and  cotton  cloth.  The  dress  of  the  men  consists  of  a 
long  frock-like  garment  which  reaches  below  the  knees  and  is  fastened 
behind  with  loops,  and  long  striped  stockings.  Rank  and  occupation  are 
indicated  by  the  color  of  the  upper  garment.  The  royalty  wear  green, 
public  men  yellow,  farmers  blue,  mechanics  red  and  priests  white. 
Black  is  worn  by  criminals  and  such  as  are  under  public  censure.     The 


128 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


dress  of  the  women  is  a  loose  robe  of  light  cotton  cloth,  reaching  almost 
to  t?.e  feet.  Their  country  houses  are  made  of  logs;  their  farms  inclosed 
by  hedges  of  wicker-work;  their  wagon  wheels  made  of  the  segments  of 
large  logs  with  a  body  of  wicker-work  and  drawn  by  zebras,  oxen  or 
antelope;  and  their  plows  are  skillfully  fashioned,  the  share  being  the 
breast-bone  of  a  large  bird  of  the  condor  species. 


THE  CONGO  CAFFRES. 


ORDERING  on  the  Atlantic  Ocean  for  about  one  thousand 
miles,  and  stretching  over  three  hundred  into  the  interior,  a 
great  portion  of  which  territory  is  yet  unexplored,  is  the 
country  oi  the  Congos,  or  the  Congo  Caffres,  and  once  the 
scene  of  great  activity  in  the  slave  trade.  Through  the  north- 
ern region  runs  the  great  Congo  river,  whose  source  is  now 
known  to  be  Lake  Tanganyika.  The  Congos  are  a  branch  of 
the  Bechuanas,  or  nearly  related  to  them.  Planted  in  the 
very  midst  of  the  country  of  the  negro,  they  have  lost  much 
of  the  activity  and  fierceness  of  their  Caffre  progenitors,  and 
their  distinguishing  qualities  are  now  indolence  and  good-nature.  When 
once  aroused,  however,  they  are  exceedingly  fierce  and  reckless,  as 
Stanley  and  other  explorers  have  found  in  fighting  their  way  down  the 
Congo  and  through  their  country.  At  the  time  of  their  discovery  by 
the  Portuguese,  the  Congos  were  a  very  numerous  people,  and  most 
improbable  stories  are  told  of  the  immense  armies  which  they  could 
bring  into  the  field.  One  of  these  is  that  the  king  actually  marched 
against  a  rebellious  chief,  at  the  head  of  900,000  men.  It  is  probable 
that  this  tale  is  on  a  par  with  the  great  stories  which  were  brought  back 
to  Portugal  by  the  discoverers  of  the  region,  and  which  resulted  in  an 
attempt  to  subdue  and  Christianize  the  country. 

The  capital  of  the  kingdom  was  situated  on  a  high  mountain  com- 
manding a  magnificent  view  of  the  surrounding  country,  and  when  most 
prosperous,  is  said  to  have  contained  at  least  40,000  people.  But  with  the 
growth  of  the  slave  trade,  the  repeated  invasion  of  hordes  of  Giaghi,  a 
terrible  tribe  from  the  east,  and  serious  civil  dissensions,  the  country  was 
so  decimated  that  now  it  is  far  from  populous.  The  Portuguese  and 
early  missionaries  did  much  to  improve  the  general  condition  of  the  land. 
They  built  wooden  palaces  for  the  king  and  his  chief,  planted  gardens  and 
fruit  trees,  and  erected  substantial  houses  both  for  private  dwellings  and 
places  of  public  worship.  The  "  upper  classes  "  of  the  Congos  felt  the 
benefit  of  these  acts,  but  the  mass  of  the  people,  then  as  now,  lived  in 

9  129 


T30  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

their  bamboo  huts,  scratched  their  ground  with  a  hoe,  and,  if  they  wore 
any  clothing,  made  it  as  scant  as  possible.  Then  as  now,  slavery  was 
the  penalty  for  all  crimes  except  murder,  the  difference  being  that  in  the 
palmy  days  of  the  slave  trade,  immense  numbers  of  Congos  and  other 
native  tribes  were  shipped  openly  to  the  western  world,  whereas  now  the 
traffic  is  pursued  with  fear  and  trembling.      It  would  seem  that  the  chiefs 


TYPES  OF  THE  CONGOS. 


themselves  brought  many  of  the  horrors  of  the  slave  trade  upon  their 
country  by  selling  into  servitude  their  own  people  who  had  fallen  under 
their  displeasure,  or  were  criminals,  and  also  those  whom  they  had  cap- 
tured in  war.  When  the  supply  fell  short  of  the  unrighteous  demand, 
then  the  country  suffered  all  the  horrors  of  fiendish  raids,  chainings, 
burnings  and  desolations  which  accompanied  the  hunters  of  human  prey. 
Domestic  slavery  is  still  common  among  the  Congos,  and  if  the  slave 


THE    CONGO    CAFFRES. 


131 


commits  a  crime,  he  may  be  transferred,  or,  in  other  words,  sold.  In  a 
word,  slavery  is  held  over  the  Congo  as  a  cattle-fine  would  be  over  his 
cousins,  the  Bechuanas  and  Caffres  ;  his  is  not  a  country  of  cattle,  but  it 
always  has  been  a  country  where  slavery  was  an  institution,  and  this  is 
therefore  made  the  basis  of  his  criminal  code.  A  man  who  cannot 
pay  his  debts  may  become  a  slave,  and  places  his  children  also  under 
bondage. 

If  he  is  found  guilty 
of  witchcraft,  he  is  re- 
duced to  slavery.  A  pris- 
oner of  war  has  the  choice 
of  death  or  slavery,  and 
there  are  scores  of  other 
loopholes  through  which 
he  may  escape  from  mis- 
fortune and  death  into 
serfdom.  It  must  not  be 
inferred,  however,  that 
the  slavery  of  Congo  or  of 
Southern  Guinea  is  an  in- 
stitution which  is  attend- 
ed, as  a  rule,  by  the  abom- 
inations which  have  dis- 
graced it  elsewhere.  The 
master  has  no  right  to  sell 
a  slave,  after  he  has  proved 
faithful,  from  the  sordid 
motive  of  gain  ;  and  if  he 
punishes  his  servant  un- 
justly, he  exposes  himself 
to  all  the  horrors  of  witch- 
craft which  the  slave  can 
command.  He  puts  the 
children  of  his  slaves  at 
some   kind  of  light  work, 

such  as  bringing  wood  and  water,  or  taking  care  of  the  younger  ones, 
while  the  man  is  called  upon  to  do  everything  that  a  man  servant  should. 
The  master  treats  the  slave  almost  as  he  would  his  own  child.  They 
both  call  him  father,  work  with  him,  eat  with  him,  and  sleep  with  him  ; 
cases  are  not  unknown  of  the  slave  rising  to  a  greater  portion  of  wealth 
than  his  master,  and  yet  preferring  to  be  his  servant.     A  slave,  also,  is 


A  CONGO  KING. 


132  PANORAMA    UF    NATIONS. 

sometimes  the  owner  of  slaves.  So  that  the  word  and  the  institution  do 
not  carry  with  them  tiie  odium  wiiich  is  attached  to  them  in  countries 
where  even  domestic  slavery  means  cruelty.  When  the  slaves  are  under 
the  arbitrary  power  of  a  chief,  the  case  is  somewhat  different  ;  for  his 
rank  in  the  state  is  based  upon  slavery,  and  when  he  dies  he  is  allowed 
to  sacrifice  the  number  which  fixes  his  station,  that  he  may  have  attend- 
ants in  the  other  world. 

There  are  royal  families  from  which  the  king  must  be  chosen,  but  there 
is  no  regular  order  of  descent.  The  people  elect  their  king  in-so-far  as 
they  decide  what  particular  member  of  the  family  shall  rule  them  ;  and 
before  the  king  is  crowned,  everybody  has  a  right  to  say  exactly  what 
they  think  of  him.  His  character  is  "raked  over  the  coals"  as 
thoroughly  as  if  he  were  running  the  gauntlet  of  a  political  campaign. 
If  he  is  miserly  he  hears  of  it.  If  he  is  deceitful,  or  cruel,  or  conceited, 
or  has  stolen,  or  cheated,  or  lied,  or  swindled,  he  hears  of  it  from  some- 
body. Every  sharp  tongue  does  its  best  ;  but  when  the  king  is  once 
inaugurated,  the  clatter  ceases,  and  the  royal  arm  cannot  thereafter  be 
lifted  to  chastise  the  offender.      After  he  becomes  king  he  is  sacred. 

Lower  Guinea  is  a  country  where  there  are  no  taxes.  Its  revenue 
consists  of  voluntary  offerings  made  by  the  captains  of  the  vessels  who 
come  to  trade  at  the  different  ports.  If  the  captain  wants  merely  a  load 
of  wood,  he  pays  about  thirty  dollars,  ten  of  which  go  to  the  king  and 
the  balance  to  the  head  men.  If  the  vessel  comes  for  a  cargo  of  ivory 
and  is  obliged  to  make  a  long  stay,  something  like  one  hundred  dollars 
is  presented  to  the  king  and  his  chiefs.  Besides  these  offerings,  which 
are  considered  somewhat  in  the  nature  of  royal  rights,  if  the  business 
proves  quite  successful,  the  captain  of  a  vessel  may  make  an  additional 
donation  to  the  king  of  a  piece  of  cloth  or  something  else  of  value. 

FETICH  WORSHIP. 

The  superstitions  of  the  Caffres  of  this  region  are  more  gross,  if 
anything,  than  are  found  among  the  tribes  further  east.  They  brought 
with  them  their  own  ideas  of  witches,  fetiches,  rain-makers,  spirits  and 
mysterious  agencies,  and  upon  these  have  been  engrafted  the  supersti- 
tions and  practices  of  the  negro.  Further  south  and  east  they  were 
more  in  the  nature  of  ideas,  but  the  negro  fashion  was  to  embody  those 
ideas  in  some  material  shape  ;  so  we  find  that  the  Congos  have  a  great 
spirit  who  pays  visits  to  their  different  villages  and  lives  for  a  period  in 
a  large,  flat  house  which  has  been  provided  for  him,  and  from  which  he 
disciplines  and  overawes  all   the  women  and  children,  by  rolling  forth 


FETICH    WORSHIP. 


133 


strange  noises  and  keeping  them  in  a  constant  state  of  terror.  He  is 
supposed  to  dwell  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  but  comes  forth  by  request 
of  the  wise  men.  When  he  desires  to  make  a  solemn  vow,  the  Caffre 
will  swear  by  "the  spirit  of  his  ancestors  ; "  the  Congo  has  his  images, 
skulls  or  bjnes  in  a  small  house  built  for  them,  to  which  he  takes  food 
and  drink  and  a  share  of  his  profits,  and  where  he  goes  to  make  his  vows 
or  narrate  his  troubles.  Although  the  people  have  ostensibly  several 
kings,  with  regular  seats  of  government,  and  the  Portuguese  have  often 
a  word  to  say,  there  are  as  many  independent  communities  as  there  are 
chiefs,  and  neither  kings,  chiefs  nor  Portuguese  have  any  authority  com- 
pared to  the  power  which  the  "  fetich  "  exercises  over  them.      The  fetich 


A  I'RECIOUS  PAIR. 


is  sometimes  a  horrible  figure  set  up  in  the  woods  or  in  a  small  house 
built  for  it,  and  is  supposed  to  represent  something  which  will  detect  the 
evil  doer  and  punish  him.  Those  who  know  of  crimes  and  do  not  give 
information  are  also  in  the  power  of  the  monster.  The  Congos  have 
their  laws,  and  some  of  them  very  severe  against  stealing  and  other 
crimes,  but  these  have  no  perceptible  weight  when  compared  to  the 
effect  which  "fetiches"  and  other  superstitious  notions  have  to  prevent 
the  commission  of  crime.  Their  custom  is  to  erect  a  hut  in  the  middle 
of  the  street  for  the  convenience  of  the  priest,  w^ho  exorcises  evil  spirits. 
The  process  is  often  stretched  out  to  a  great  length,  requiring  two  weeks 
or  more  to  be  perfected.  Day  and  night  dancing,  drumming,  feasting 
and  drinking  are  continued,  and  all  at  the  expense  of  the  relatives  of  the 
invalid.      If  she  is  a  female  her  face,  bosom,  arms  and  leg-s  are  streaked 


134  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

with  white  and  red  chalk,  her  head  adorned  with  red  feathers,  and  usu- 
ally  she  can  be  seen  pacing  in  front  of  the  shanty  wildly  brandishing  a 
sword,  gnashing  her  teeth,  foaming  at  the  mouth  and  exhibiting  other 
horrible  symptoms.  If  the  patient  recovers,  she  is  required  to  build  a 
little  temple  near  hei  own  house  in  which  her  evil  spirit  is  supposed  to 
reside  and  to  which  she  regularly  takes  offerings  to  keep  it  at  a  safe 
distance  from  her.  The  house  erected  to  the  Great  Spirit  in  some  of  the 
Congo  villages,  is  also  an  object  of  terror  to  those  who  have  not  beeni 
initiated  into  the  mysteries  of  the  interior.  The  term  of  initiation  is  the 
jDeriod  in  the  boys'  lives  between  fourteen  and  eighteen,  and  even  after 
they  grow  to  manhood  their  respect  for  the  Great  Spirit  does  not  seem 
to  have  weakened.  Upon  any  matter  of  grave  importance,  such  as  an 
agreement  between  different  tribes,  he  is  invoked  as  a  witness,  after 
which  the  covenant  is  binding.  The  Great  .Spirit  also  gives  sanctity  and 
authority  to  the  laws. 

The  Congos  have  a  spirit  of  the  woods  who  comes  out  at  night 
bundled  up  from  head  to  foot  in  dried  plantain  leaves  and  accompanied 
by  young  men.  The  party  dance  through  the  streets  of  the  village  upon 
the  occurrence  of  any  unusual  event,  such  as  the  birth  of  twins  or  the 
inauguration  of  some  one  into  office,  and  the  women,  children  and  slaves 
hurry  away  to  hide  themselves.  It  is  suspected  that  this  spirit  is  used 
principally  to  keep  the  weaker  portion  of  the  community  in  proper  sub- 
jection. None  but  males  are  admitted  to  his  company.  The  women, 
in  turn,  have  a  secret  order  whose  meetings  are  held  in  the  woods.  They 
march  there  in  regular  file  where  mysterious  ceremonies  are  conducted 
to  the  sound  of  a  crescent-shaped  drum  and  by  the  blazaof  a  fire.  Some- 
times they  spend  whole  nights  in  the  woods.  As  they  pretend  to  detect 
thieves  and  other  wrong  doers,  and  also  to  perform  wonders,  they 
undoubtedly  feel  that  they  have  gotten  even  with  the  gentlemen  Congos 
and  their  Spirit  of  the  Woods. 

For  the  detection  of  witchcraft  a  powerful  drink  is  used.  Small 
sticks  are  laid  down  at  a  short  distance  apart,  and  if  the  suspected  per- 
son, after  he  has  swallowed  the  medicine,  can  step  over  them  without 
staggering,  he  is  pronounced  innocent  ;  if  he  reels  or  otherwise  shows 
that  his  brain  is  affected  he  is  either  put  to  death  or  heavily  fined  and 
banished  from  the  country.  Sometimes  the  test  is  made  by  requiring 
the  accused  to  pass  vmder  a  row  of  bent  twigs  stuck  in  the  ground.  The 
drink  which  is  called  "  Casca"  has  been  analyzed  by  scientists  and  found 
to  invariably  affect  the  limbs  so  that  one  loses  all  power  over  them ;  if 
the  dregs  only  are  taken  the  effect  is  different,  and  this  the  "  fetich"  man 
who  prepares  it,  and  gives  it,  probably  knows.      He  therefore  holds  the 


X 

u 

H 


•■<l<.,..: 


•vi..'JL.jjJ/J  -2.. 


J.   f  i  ^■S'-^-:^3SV- ij/  ,  ,1    ^k  'ill,-',:  fT 

™.  ij I.  4ai(liiilrH,''li  .'   •■  Ll"ii:''.:ii; 


^it 


o. 


1^6 


I'ANOKAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


life  of  the  person  in  whose  hands,  though  this  is  not  known  either  by  the 
ignorant  women  and  children  who  have  been  dancing  around  the  hut 
beating  their  drums  and  shaking  their  rattles,  nor  do  the  men  who  sur- 
round the  poor  fellow  while  he  is  undergoing  the  ordeal,  armed  with 
knives,  hatchets  and  sticks.      It  would   not  be  surprising  if    he  should 

stagger  with- 
out having  tak- 
en any  power- 
ful drink  under 
such  circum- 
stances; but 
should  he  so 
much  as  stum- 
ble, the  howl- 
ing multitude 
set  upon  him 
and  cut  and 
hack  him  to 
pieces  in  a  few 
minutes. 

The  vil- 
lage house,  in 
charge  of  the 
fetich  man, 
is  generally  a 
small  square 
hut,  with  mud 
walls  which 
are  painted 
white, and  cov- 
ered with  the 
figures  of  men 
and  beasts  in 
red  and  black 
colors.      Here 

the  guardian  spirit  of  the  town  resides.  This  hut  is  also  the  place  where 
the  fetich  man  deposits  his  charms  which  bring  health  and  rain,  and  ward 
off  all  misfortunes  ;  and  from  his  hoard  he  supplies  the  men,  women  and 
children  of  the  entire  region.  You  see  them  everywhere — bits  of  w^ood, 
with  a  carved  head  protruding  from  a  pouch  ;  a  bundle  of  filthy  rags; 
or  small  antelope's  horns  and  land  shells,  suspended  from  the  neck,  waist 


A  FETICH  MAN'  OF  THE  COAST. 


HOW    THEY    TREAT    THE    DEAD.  I  37 

and  shoulders  of  little  children.  In  the  huts  and  ovei  their  doors  hane 
hideous  images  of  clay  or  wood,  but  always  colored  red,  black  and  white. 
The  tribes  on  the  Congo  river  are  considered  the  most  proficient  manu- 
facturers of  fetiches,  and  their  fetich  men  are  in  great  demand,  sometimes 
carrying  their  ugly  figures  for  long  distances,  accompanied  by  their 
attendants  beating  drums  and  chanting  a  dismal  song  as  they  go  along. 
Besides  ihc  fetich  msn  of  the  interior,  there  are  those  who  live  on  the 
coast  and  make  a  specialty  of  controlling  the  surf,  and  regulating  it 
according  to  the  wishes  of  the  natives  who  may,  or  may  not,  wish  to 
fish.  When  on  duty  they  usually  station  themselves  on  a  high  cliff,  and, 
covered  with  shells  and  sea-weed,  wave  their  arms  about,  mumble  to 
themselves,  and  go  through  with  other  mysterious  motions  calculated 
to  keep  up  their  weird  reputation,  Their  knowledge  of  natural  signs 
enables  them  usually  to  delay  a  trial  of  their  powers  until  everything  is 
propitious;  until  the  wind  dies  away,  and  the  power  of  the  surf  weak- 
ens, when  the  native  remunerates  the  imposter  for  his  services. 

Notwithstanding  that  they  are  far  above  the  bulk  of  the  population 
in  acuteness  they  are  sometimes  exposed  and  killed  by  the  infuriated 
natives.  Not  many  years  ago  a  native  village  was  destroyed  by  fire,  the 
inhabitants  refusing  to  lift  a  finger,  as  they  relied  upon  the  protection 
of  their  fetiches,  which  had  been  given  them  by  one  of  the  greatest 
men  in  the  land.  When  the  fetich  man  returned  to  the  ruined  villacre, 
he  found  not  only  his  house  gone  but  his  occupation,  and  was  nearly 
beaten  to  death  by  those  who  previously  would  not  have  dared  to  look 
him  in  the  eye. 

The  Congos  show  the  same  reverence  for  old  age,  and  the  same 
crude  ideas  regarding  legal  justice  as  the  Zulu  Caffres,  only  modified  by 
their  different  "habitat."  If  a  person,  besides  having  reached  a  good 
old  age,  has  become  noted  in  trade,  tribal  affairs,  or  war,  he  is  alm.ost 
worshipped  as  a  deity  on  earth.  The  youth  must  not  pass  his  dwelling 
without  bending  low.  If  they  hand  him  anything,  they  do  it  on  their 
knees,  and  address  him  as  "father;"  while  if  they  venture  to  sit  in  his 
presence,  they  must  be  separated  a  distance  proportionate  to  the  differ- 
ence in  their  ages  and  station  in  life.  A  reproof  or  a  curse  from  such  a 
person  is  deemed  a  great  misfortune.  This  feeling  which  we  see  evinced 
to  a  degree  which  almost  runs  from  the  pathetic  into  the  ridiculous  is 
carried  forward  in  their  worship  of  ancestors. 

HOW  THEY  TREAT  THE  DEAD. 

The  burial  customs  of  some  of  the  Concjo  tribes  are  so  singular  as 
to  merit  attention,  the  treatment  of  the  dead  as  of  the  living  depending 


138  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

on  the  social  or  tribal  station  of  the  deceased.  If  he  is  a  stranger,  two 
men  take  the  body,  tie  the  wrists  and  knees  together,  and  then,  by 
means  of  a  long  pole,  carry  the  pauper  to  some  point  outside  the  town, 
and  bury  him  anywhere.  If  the  corpse  is  that  of  a  man,  his  staff  is  laid 
on  the  grave  ;  if  that  of  a  woman,  a  basket  marks  her  burial  place. 
Should  tlie  death  be  that  of  a  king,  or  chief,  however,  the  case  is  quite 
different.  The  body  is  placed  in  a  shallow  pit,  dug  in  the  floor  of  the 
hut,  where  the  deceased  breathed  his  last,  and  covered  with  a  thin  laver 
of  earth.  For  a  month  fires  are  kept  burning  over  the  grave,  the  hot 
ashes  being  continually  spread  over  it.  The  body  is  then  uncovered 
and  smoked  in  a  frame  work  of  sticks,  the  whole  operation  being  wit- 
nessed by  the  family  of  the  deceased,  the  women  keeping  up  a  dismal 
wailing  day  and  night.  With  the  hut  full  of  smoke,  the  foul  atmosphere 
Caused  by  the  emanations  from  the  body  and  lungs  of  those  who  crowd 
the  scene  of  the  "wake"  and  the  superstitious  excitement  attending  the 
ceremonies,  it  is  a  wonder  that  any  members  of  the  dead  chief's  family 
pass  through  the  ordeal  alive.  But  the  body  being  at  length  com- 
pletely desiccated,  is  wrapped  in  cloth  and  stood  upright  in  the  corner 
of  the  hut,  where  it  may  remain  for  several  years ;  for  it  is  necessary 
that  every  surviving  relative  should  be  present,  when  the  body  is  wound 
in  hundreds  of  yards  of  cloth,  and  the  last  rites  of  burial  are  performed. 
These  consist  of  dancing,  firing  of  guns,  drinking  the  native  beer  made 
from  Indian  corn,  and  eating  roast  pig.  It  is  the  custom  in  some  of  the 
coast  districts  to  place  boots  and  shoes  on  the  feet  of  free  men  when  they 
are  buried,  and  the  spirit  of  the  deceased  is  thereljy  thought  to  imbibe 
some  of  the  advanced  ideas  of  the  white  man,  for  which  these  people  have 
unbounded  reverence.  In  some  places  there  are  regular  burial  grounds, 
the  mounds  being  ornamented  with  broken  crockery  and  bottles,  but,  as 
a  rule,  the  body  is  buried  in  a  private  spot,  and  after  a  time  may  be 
resurrected  and  the  bones  used  as  fetiches.  Paradoxical  as  the  statement 
may  seem,  the  Congos,  naked  though  they  be,  assume  a  mourning  habit 
of  black.  They  first  roast  a  species  of  oily  ground-nut.  and  grind  it  into 
a  black  paste,  which  is  smeared  over  the  whole  or  a  portion  of  the  body. 

In  short,  the  reverence  for  old  age  and  ancestral  worship,  bloody 
sacrifices,  the  observance  of  new  moons,  purifications  and  various  other 
Hebrew  customs,  exist  among  the  Caffres  of  Africa,  as  among  nearly 
all  the  .Ethiopian  tribes  of  any  prominence.  The  Congos  show  the 
same  eagerness  for  a  numerous  progeny  as  did  the  Jewish  patriarchs. 
Upon  the  birth  of  twins  they  rejoice  exceedingly,  some  of  the  tribes 
having  processions  and  regular  jubilees  in  honor  of  the  event.  A  public 
crier  proclaims  the  fact  of  the  birth  of  even  a  single  little  one,  the  pop- 


BAPTISMS    AND    DANCES. 


139 


ulation  turn  out  en  masse,  and  the  new-born  infant  is  brought  forward 
for  inspection.  Its  Httle  head  is  then  sprinkled  by  the  chief  man  of  the 
town,  and  most  of  those  present  add  their  quota  of  water,  with  their 
pledges  of  friendship,  to  the  blessing  invoked  upon  it  by  the  head  man 
of  the  village.  It  has  thus  been  given  a  name,  and  been  formally 
received  into  tlic  community.  The  people  have  no  idea  where  this  form 
of  baptism   originated,  but  ever)  ilung  points  to  the  belief  that  most  of 


A  GROUP  OF  MUSICIAN'S. 


their  customs,  distorted  now  by  a  long  separation  from  the  best  intelli- 
gence of  the  world,  had  their  birth  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  and  in  their 
journeyings  across  the  continent,  via  Christian  Abyssinia,  have  been 
metamorphosed  into  their  present  forms. 

The  Congos  seem  to  have  two  kinds  of  dances.  Possibly  one  may 
be  the  fashionable  dance,  the  other  that  of  the  country  ;  for  one  is 
mostlv  indulged   in   by  the  coast  tribes,  and   the  other  bv  those  of  the 


140  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

interior.  In  the  former  a  ring  is  made  of  tlie  participants  and  specta- 
tors, and  all  assembled  clap  their  hands  in  time  with  the  drums  and 
Other  musical  instruments,  which  should  be  described  before  the  dance 
commences.  First  comes  the  marimba,  a  flat,  hollow  piece  of  wood, 
upon  which  are  fixed  a  number  of  thin,  iron  tongues,  which  are  snapped 
upon  a  wire  on  which  some  glass  beads  are  strung.  The  instrument 
sometimes  has  a  gourd  attached  to  the  under  part.  All  in  all,  it  is  to 
the  Congo  what  the  guitar  is  to  the  Spaniard.  Then  there  is  an  instru- 
ment made  by  a  palm  stem,  split  and  grooved,  and  rubbed  upon  with  a 
stick  ;  another  is  a  combination  of  a  bow  and  a  gourd,  the  string  being 
struck  with  a  stick,  and  the  gourd  rapped  gently  against  the  stomach. 
Where  the  tribe  has  advanced  beyond  the  simpler  forms,  and  has  been 
able  to  obtain  a  small  powder  barrel  from  traders,  or  make  a  hollow 
wooden  cylinder,  a  more  complicated  sort  of  instrument  is  manufactured 
by  stretching  over  this  a  piece  of  sheepskin.  A  piece  of  wood  is 
inserted  with  a  knob  at  the  end  to  prevent  it  slipping  through,  and  the 
performer's  hand  is  wetted  and  thrust  into  the  cylinder  (open  at  both 
ends).  The  piece  of  wood  is  then  grasped  and  pulled  lightly  up  and 
down,  the  result  being  a  booming  sound  not  unlike  that  proceeding  from 
our  own  big  bass  drum.  These  instruments,  and  others,  may  be  brought 
to  give  eclat  to  the  dance.  They  strike  up,  those  assembled  clap  their 
hands,  and  soon  the  dancers,  both  men  and  women,  jump  yelling  into  the 
ring.  The  dancing  consists  chiefly  of  a  slight  motion  of  the  head,  feet 
and  arms,  and  a  great  swaying  of  the  body,  and  a  tremendous  twitching 
of  the  muscles  above  the  hips.  The  two  or  three  who  commence  are 
soon  covered  with  perspiration,  and  give  place  to  several  others,  the 
dancers  apparently  being  applauded  according  to  the  rapidity  with 
which  they  can  make  their  muscles  quiver.  The  dancing  is  kept  up  all 
night,  or  if  there  is  no  moon,  as  long  as  the  great  heaps  of  dried  grass 
last,  which  furnish  illumination  for  the  occasion.  The  other  dance  has 
the  same  accompaniment  of  musical  instrunients  and  spectators,  but  is 
taken  part  in  by  one  man  and  woman.  The  pair  shuffle  their  feet  with 
great  rapidity,  pass  one  another  backward  and  forward,  and  are  gener- 
ally more  boisterous,  reminding  one  of  the  plantation  dancers  of  the 
South. 

RIGHTS  OF  PROPERTY. 

Regarding  the  rights  of  property,  there  seems  to  be  a  marked  differ- 
ence in  the  disposition  of  the  Congo  Caffres  and  the  Zulu  Caffres.  In 
a  certain  sense,  supposing  he  is  not  suspected  of  being  uncanny,  the 
Zulu's  person  is  sacred ;  but  in  Congo  the  most  common  way  of  collect- 


RIGHTS    OF    PROPERTY.  I4I 

ing  debts  is  to  seize  the  person  of  tlie  delinquent  or  make  prisoners  of 
his  friends,  and  retain  the  body  or  bodies  until  the  matter  is  settled.  It 
is  but  justice  to  the  Congo  Caffre,  however,  to  say  that  he  usually  notifies 
the  person  or  persons,  through  the  elders  of  the  village,  that  unless  his 
claim  is  satisfied,  he  shall  proceed  to  extremities. 

Similar  to  this  practice  is  the  method  pursued  by  the  husband 
whose  wife  has  deserted  him,  and  married  another  man.  Poylgamy  is 
much  more  general  among  the  sea-coast  tribes  than  among  those  of  the 
interior,  the  former  being,  as  a  rule,  in  far  better  circumstances,  and 
their  members  able  to  support  numerous  wives;  for  ability  to  support  is 
the  sole  measure  of  a  man's  responsibility.  The  Bushmen,  or  bush  tribes, 
however,  are  poor  and  usually  have  but  one  wife.  When  she,  therefore, 
is  taken  from  him,  he  puts  into  practice  an  unusual  but  not  (in  his 
country)  a  disreputable  mode  of  revenge.  Shouldering  his  musket,  he 
starts  for  the  first  village  near  him,  and  shoots  anybody — it  matters  not 
whom.  He  then  proclaims  his  reasons  for  the  action,  a'nd  asserts  that 
the  villagers  must  hold  as  responsible  the  man  who  stole  his  wife. 
Gunners  are  started  out  from  this  village,  who  in  turn  shoot  some 
innocent  party  in  the  next ;  and  so  blood  continues  to  flow  until  the 
whole  country  is  aroused,  and  it  is  no  longer  possible  for  one  village 
to  be  revenged  upon  another.  Then  the  chief  of  the  last  village 
where  a  murder  has  been  committed,  summons  a  council,  and  the 
relatives  of  the  man  who  has  been  slain  agree  to  accept  a  certain  sum 
of  money  from  the  guilty  one  who  was  the  prime  cause  of  all  the 
trouble.  He  pays  his  money,  but  is  ostracised  from  even  African 
society. 

Another  case  in  point.  The  member  of  a  sea-coast  tribe  purchases 
a  wife  from  a  Bushman.  She  runs  away,  because  of  cruel  treatment, 
and  secretes  herself  with  her  relatives.  If  they  refuse  to  give  her  up, 
the  husband  may  seize  not  only  the  persons  and  property  of  the  rela- 
tives, but,  if  they  are  poverty-stricken,  the  bodies  and  chattels  of  any 
fellow  townsman.  If  the  woman  flies  to  a  distance  and  becomes  the 
wife  of  another  man,  her  friends  are  still  held  responsible  unless  hus- 
band number  two  should  see  fit  to  pay  the  original  purchase  money. 

Among  the  maritime  tribes,  wives  are  not  bousrht,  but  sisters  and 
daughters  are  exchanged.  There  is  no  marriage  ceremony,  but  the 
groom  marches  to  the  residence  of  the  bride's  father  at  the  head  of  a 
noisy  procession,  with  drums  and  fifes  playing  and  banners  waving,  and 
after  a  season  of  drinking  and  dancing,  returns  with  the  bride  to  his 
house.  His  arrival  is  heralded  by  the  firing  of  muskets  and  cannon. 
If  the  bride  comes  from  a  bush  tribe,  much  of  this  ceremony  is  dispensed 


142 


PANORA>[A    OF    NATIONS. 


with.     She   Is  at   once  placed    under  charge  of  the   "  head  wife  "  to  be 
refined  into  a  polite  member  of  society. 

COAST  AND   INTERIOR  TRIBES. 

From  what  has  already  been   said  it  will  probably  be  inferred  that 
the  coast   tribes  and  interior   tribes  are  widely  separated   in   material 


i^PC 


HEAD  DRESSES  OF  THE  CONGOS. 


prosperity  and  general  attainments.  They  are,  in  fact,  as  diverse  as  a 
Hottentot  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  who  is  master  of  several 
languages,  and  the  Bushman  of  the  mountains,  who  grubs  for  worms, 
and  eats  them  when  he  finds  them.     The  houses  of  native  tribes  along 


COAST    AND    INTERIOR   TRIBES. 


143 


the  coast  are  usually  quadrangular  in  form,  constructed  of  bamboo  and 
covered  with  mats  made  of  the  bamboo  leaf;  divided  into  five  or  six 
rooms  with  raised  clay  floors,  if  the  occupant  is  well-to-do;  neat,  clean, 
dry  and  airy.  You  see  chairs,  sofas,  tables  and  clocks,  and  the  native 
trader  who  receives  you  has  on  a  large  square  cloth  which  trails  on  the 
floor.  His  wife  is  also  decently  clad,  but  the  massive  rings  around  her 
limbs  greatly  detract  from  the  grace  of  her  movements.     The  women 


CONGO  HEADS. 


^'^'^■Js^ 


show  real  skill  in  dressing  their  hair,  and  when,  unluckily,  they  become 
bald,  they  are  in  the  habit  of  covering  the  defect  with  a  wig  made  from 
the  fibres  of  the  pine-apple  leaf,  which,  as  a  counterfeit,  leaves  little  to 
be  desired.  Such  civilized  customs  as  this  are  only  in  vogue  with  the 
bon-ton  of  even  the  maritime  tribes. 

And  speaking  of  the  appearance  of  a  Congo's  head,  it  vanes  from  a 
smooth  scalp,  to  the  hair  which  is  fashioned  into  the  semblance  of  a 
Roman  helmet  with  a  round  horn  projecting  in  front.  Those  who  shave 
the  head  clean  or  in  various  complicated  patterns,  are  often  provided 
with    neither  razor  nor  scissors.      If   nothing  else  comes  handy,   they 


144  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

skillfully  split  a  piece  of  glass  from  the  bottom  of  an  ordinary  bottle,  and 
use  that  upon  the  head  of  the  luckless  victim.  The  coast  tribes  are 
quite  apt  to  treat  their  hair  in  some  way.  The  interior  tribes  often  let 
it  grow  into  a  tangled  mass  of  wool,  dirt  and  palm  oil,  or  comb  it 
straight  up  and  ornament  the  front  with  a  cock's  feather  or  a  red  flower. 
Some  of  the  tribes  shave  their  hair  all  round,  letting  the  hair  in  the 
middle  grow  upright.  Some  plait  their  hair  in  little  strings,  twisting 
them  round  and  round  until  they  end  at  the  top  in  a  round  knot,  looking 
as  if  they  had  baskets  in  their  heads. 

The  Congo  seldom  indulges  in  the  excitement  of  the  chase.  As  a 
rule  he  is  too  indolent.  He  will  occasionally  shoot  an  antelope  or  a  hare, 
but  it  is  an  event  in  his  life.  You  find  him  at  his  best,  however,  when 
he  starts  out  with  the  other  villagers  upon  a  hunt  for  field  rats  and  mice, 
which  he  considers  great  food  dainties.  The  party  are  armed  with  hoes 
and  little  jjows  and  arrows  to  dig,  cut  and  shoot  their  prey.  Wickerwork 
traps,  into  which  the  rats  and  mice  run  or  by  which  they  are  caught 
around  the  neck,  are  placed  across  the  field  paths.  Then  the  bushes  are 
beaten  with  sticks,  and  the  little  tender  bodies  are  soon  strung  on  a  pole 
and  roasted  over  a  fire.  There  is  also  a  large  white  grub  of  which  he  is 
very  fond,  which  is  roasted  and  used  as  butter. 

The  interior  tribes  build  their  houses  in  a  much  more  primitive 
style  than  those  of  the  coast,  many  of  them  having  a  fashion  of  arrang- 
ing them  in  two  parallel  rows,  varying  in  length  from  a  few  hundred 
yards  to  a  mile  or  more.  They  are  often  situated  on  high  hills,  and  the 
end  of  the  street  is  barricaded,  the  walls  of  the  houses  being  protected 
by  piling  against  them  brushwood  on  the  outside,  and  thick  blocks  of 
wood  inside.  At  intervals  the  long  range  of  common  houses,  or  parti- 
tions, will  be  broken  by  a  more  pretentious  structure,  occupied  by  a  chief 
or  head-man.  The  whole  appearance  of  the  villages  indicates  that  they 
were  built  for  defense.  Hidden  as  they  often  are  in  the  midst  of  a  dense 
forests  of  plantain  trees,  they  are  a  novel  and  picturesque  sight ;  but  one's 
feelings  will  be  rudely  shocked  if  he  does  not  give  notice  of  his 
approach ;  for  otherwise  he  will  be  considered  an  enemy,  and  a  well- 
directed  shot  from  a  native  guard  will  make  him  realize  that  the  Congo 
Bushman  is  on  the  alert.  The  interior  furnishings  are  what  might  be 
expected,  consisting  of  a  few  sleeping  mats,  some  blocks  of  wood  to  sit 
on  and  some  rude  cooking  utensils.  The  men  and  women  are  clad  only 
with  strips  of  bark,  the  women  ambitiously  striving  to  see  who  can  make 
the  largest  holes  in  their  ears  and  noses,  and  wear  the  biggest  piece  of 
fat  meat  therein. 

But  a  maritime  tribe  does  not   necessarily  imply  an  opulent  one;  it 


COAST    AND    INTERIOR    TRIBES. 


145 


would  be  manifestly  absurd  to  consider  any  whole  tribe  of  West  Africa 
in  that  category.  The  most  ambitious  interior  tribes  eventually 
reach  the  sea-coast,  and  their  most  worthy  members  usually  become 
traders.  It  is  singular  also  how  soon  they  take  to  the  ocean  life.  The 
most  noted  canoemen  on  the  coast,  the  people  who  occupy  the  coast 
near  Cape  Lopez,  descended  from  the  mountains  of  the  interior  not 
many  years  ago,  and  now  they  shoot  over  the  roughe.st  sea  in  their 
feather-weight  canoes,  perched  upon  a  narrow  strip  of  wood  thrown 
across  the  sides;  now  using  the  feet  to  bail  out  the  water,  while  their 
hands    are    busy    with    the 


aijam    usmof 


paddles ;  and 
their  feet  as  paddles  while 
they  rest  their  arms ;  now 
skimminiT  around  a  sailintr 
ship  like  a  sea-gull ;  again 
tiring  of  the  amusement  and 
climbing  up  the  side  of  the 
boat  with  their  light  canoes 
to  visit  the  captain  and  crew. 
They  make  also  a  long  boat 
of  very  hard  wood,  capable 
of  seating  thirty  or  forty,  in 
which  they  make  excursions 
of  fifty  or  one  hundred  miles. 
In  this  rei^ion,  or  the  Poneo 
country,  live  the  remnants 
of  the  Giaghi,  who  ravished 
the  kincjdom  of  Consjo  when 


1', 


"H^n  .((1) 


the     Portuguese    were 
lords  of  the  coast  and 


the 
pat- 


CONGO  SHIELDS. 


rons  of  the  Congos,  and 
who  were  so  instrumental  in 
depopulating  the  whole  country.  The  appearance  of  the  Pangwes  who 
have  not  adopted  coast  manners,  indicates  an  origin  far  to  the  East  ; 
perhaps  they  are  a  tribe  from  the  Gallas  country  of  Abyssinia — a  shoot- 
ing meteor  from  the  restless  body  of  the  Tartars  of  Africa.  Their  com- 
plexion is  several  shades  lighter  than  that  of  the  neighboring  tribes,  and 
their  features  are  comparatively  regular.  Their  hair  is  softer  than  the 
negro's,  and  is  generally  plaited  into  four  braids,  two  short  ones  in  front, 
and  two  long  ones  which  are  thrown  over  the  shoulders.  A  red  oint- 
ment covers  their  bodies  ;  they  are  almost  naked,  and  armed  with  a  huge 


146 


PANORAMA    OP"    XATIOXS. 


knife  in  a  sheath  of  snake  or  g^uana  skin;  a  hatchet  is  carried  on  the 
shoulder,  and  usually  a  bundle  of  long  spears.  When  on  the  war-path 
they  use  cross-bows  and  poisoned  arrows,  and  have  shields  made  from 
the  skin  of  the  elephant.  They  are  workers  in  copper  and  iron,  their 
skill  in  the  manufacture  of  the  latter  metal  supplying  a  large  extent  of 
country  with  a  circulating  medium.  They  are  ad- 
dicted to  hunting,  and  excel  all  others  in  killing  the 
elephant.  One  of  their  methods  is  to  lirst  draw 
around  a  browsing  herd  a  kind  of  forest  vine  which  is 
exceedingly  distasteful  to  the  animals,  and  over 
which,  if  unmolested,  they  will  not  eo.  A  strong 
fence  of  upright  posts  is  then  cunstructetl  outside  this 


A  COLLECTION'  OF   \RRO\\S 

cordon,  and  poisoned  plantains  scattered  within.  Of  these  the  elephants 
are  very  fond,  and  soon  become  weak  from  the  effects  of  the  poison. 
The  natives  now  mount  into  trees,  and  with  their  spears  finish  the  work. 
It  is  from  this  region  that  large  quantities  of  India-rubber  are  exported, 
and  the  manner  in  which  the  blacks  collect  it  is  indicative  of  their  crude 
methods  generally.  India-rubber  is  the  milky  juice  of  a  giant  tree- 
creeper.  It  dries  very  quickly,  however;  so  the  negro  makes  a  long 
gash  in  the  bark  with  a  knife,  and  as  the  milky  juice  gushes  out,  it  is 
wiped  off  continually  with  his  fingers,  and  smeared  on  his  arms, 
shoulders  and  breast.  At  length  a  thick  coating  is  formed,  and  this  is 
peeled  off,  cut  into  small  squares  and  boiled  in  water. 


COAST    AND    IXTERIUR    TRIBES. 


H7 


South  of  the  Congo  country  is  the  kingdom  of  Loango.  Since  the 
dechne  of  the  slave  trade,  the  people  have  devoted  themselves  to  export- 
ing ivory  and  wax  and  to  the  manufacture  of  baskets,  boats  and  canoes. 
Their  boat  building  is  especially  excellent.     Trade  is  free  to  all,  but  is 


NATIVES  OF  LOANGO. 

transacted  through  the  king's  chief  minister.  The  king  himself  is  sacred, 
and  eats  and  drinks  alone.  An)-  person  who  should  dare  to  look  upon 
him  would  be  put  to  death,  and  the  statement  is  made  upon  authority, 
that  a  dog  was  put  to  death  who  looked  up  into  his  master's  face  when 
he  was  eating;  also  that  a  little  child  who  was  accidentally  left  in  the 
royal  banqueting  hall,  went  to  sleep,  and  upon  waking  saw  the  king  eat 
— whereupon  it  was   put  to  death,  and   its  blood  sprinkled  on  the  king's 


148 


r.WORAMA    OF    NATIONSb 


fetich.  Dwarfs  and  albinos  who  are  born  in  Loanno  are  regarded  as  the 
king's  spirits,  and  therefore  as  his  sacred  property.  From  the  sacred 
king  who  has  his  collection  of  hideous  fetiches  down  to  the  humblest 
Loangoan,  idol-worship  is  faithfully  practiced.  Fetich  houses  diso-race 
every  village  and  disfigure  every  forest  and  stretch  of  country. 

The  Congo  hree  State,  which  adjoins  th(;   kingdom   of    Loango,   is 

1  --k^ 


A   RO\AI.   I'AIR. 


ostensibly  governed  liy  a  "  lindy,"  Init  his  chiefs  show  no  great  respect 
for  his  authority,  thdugh  he  is  attended  by  a  royal  guard,  who  are 
dressed  in  stiff,  round  hats,  in  skirts  and  sandals,  and  are  armeil  with 
huge  swords  which  depend  from  bands  thrown  over  their  bare  shoulders. 
The  chief  of  the  province,  or  of  the  town  even,  is  a  ruling  power  com- 
pared to  the  "lindy."  When  a  chief  dies  his  son  does  not  succeed  him, 
but  his  brother  or  uncle  whose  age  and   experience  would,   as  a  rule, 


COAST    AM)    INIKKIOR     IRIBES.  I49 

carry  more  weight.  The  "chenoo's  "  insignia  of  office  is  a  small  staff  of 
black  wood,  inlaid  with  lead  or  copper.  In  addition  to  these  divisions 
of  society,  there  are  those  who  collect  the  revenue  and  carry  on  the 
trade;  the  farmers,  who  own  property  and  wives  and  slaves,  and  fisher- 
men and  laborers  who  possess  not  even  a  portion  of  a  fowl  or  hog.  In 
times  past  the  king  of  Congo  might  be  called  the  ruler  of  the  territory 
now  occupied  by  the  Congo  Caffres.  Under  his  protection  the  Portu- 
guese established  sugar-cane  plantations,  manufactured  indigo  and 
smelted  iron.  With  the  decline  of  that  power,  however,  he  fell  from 
his  high  station,  and  is,  at  the  present  time  little  more  than  chief  of  San 
Salvador,  and  a  few  other  small  towns.  There  are  so  many  smaller 
chiefs  and  kings  than  the  potentate  of  Congo,  however,  that  even  now 
he  cuts  quite  a  figure  when  he  takes  a  notion  to  go  abroad  and  visit  the 
country.  He  attires  himself  in  a  white  shirt,  fastened  round  the  waist, 
a  blue  velvet  coat  edged  with  gold  lace,  and  a  cap  of  the  same  material 
and  color.  The  king  is  furthermore  attended  by  his  royal  guard  of  3CXD 
blacks  and  his  private  band,  consisting  of  about  a  dozen  horns  made  of 
elephant  tusks,  and  ilrums  hollowed  out  of  pieces  of  wood  covered  with 
sheepskin  and  rubbed  over  with  beeswa.x.  A  piece  of  beeswax  is  left 
sticking  in  the  middle,  and  when  the  band  gets  ready  to  play,  the  drums 
are  warmed  before  a  fire  and  the  operators  smartly  tap  the  sticky  cen- 
ters with  the  flats  of  their  fingers,  which  produces  a  resonant  sound. 
Thus  he  proceeds,  and  many  of  the  chiefs  through  whose  towns  he 
passes,  drop  on  their  knees  to  him,  bow  their  heads  to  the  ground  and 
clap  their  hands,  remembering  that  he  was  once  great,  though  they 
now  refuse  to  pay  him  tribute.  Others  present  him  offerings  —  gourds 
of  palm  wine  —  as  he  proceeds  on  his  tour  through  his  provinces.  -Some 
of  this  homatre  which  is  shown  him  is  also  due  to  the  fact  that  the  kine 
of  Congo  is  known  to  have  in  his  possession  a  most  powerful  fetich, 
which  has  descended  to  him  from  his  ancestors. 

Some  of  the  blacks  in  this  part  of  the  country  are  armed  with  flint 
muskets  of  the  heaviest  pattern,  and  ornament  the  stocks  with  brass 
tacks.  Thev  usuallv  load  them  to  the  muzzle,  and  notwithstandine  the 
rebound,  they  persist  in  firing  them  from  the  side  w'ithout  much  regard 
to  aim  or  the  distance  they  may  carry.  An  amusing  story  is  told  of  a 
tribe  along  the  river,  who  captured  a  cannon  from  some  traders,  who 
were  on  a  commercial  trip.  The  natives  became  involved  in  a  dispute 
with  a  neighboring  village,  and  being  w-arned  of  an  attack,  planted  the 
cannon  in  the  path  along  which  their  enemies  would  march.  This  they 
loaded  to  the  muzzle  with  powder  and  stones,  and  laid  a  long  train  of 
powder  to  it.     When  the  assaultmg  party  appeared,  the   besieged  fired 


150 


I'ANURAMA    UF    NATIONS. 


the  train,  and  took  to  their  heels,  wliile  the  enemy  fled,  terrified,  in  the 
opposite  direction.  Xe.xt  day  the  enemy  sent  proposals  of  peace  to  the 
town  which  had  so  tremendous  a  fetich. 

Angola  adjoins  the  kingdom  of  Congo.  It  is  the  only  colony  on 
the  western  coast,  of  all  the  early  settlements  made  bv  the  Portuguese, 
over  w^hich  the  natives  acknowledge  they  have  not  still  control.  It  is 
opposite  Mozambique,  on  the  eastern  coast,  and  it  has  long  been  the 
dream  of  the  Portuguese  to  connect  the  two  colonies  by  a  continuous 
chain  of  forts.  There  are  several  fortified  places  in  Angola  ;  the  first 
links  in  the  chain  have  been  forged  in  Mozambique,  and  one  or  two 
expeditions  have  crossed  the  continent  between  the  two  points;  but  it 
is  probable,  since  now  their  richest  source  of  revenue,  the  slave  trade,  is 
being  surely  dried  up,  that  the  Portuguese  will  never  carry  their  original 


A  BC-^T  OF  THE      WARLIKE      CON'GOS. 

plan  into  effect.  The  capital  of  the  colony  was  for  nearly  three  cen- 
turies the  principal  depot  on  the  coast  for  the  supply  of  slaves.  For 
hundreds  of  miles  great  herds  of  slaves  were  marched  down  to  St.  Paul 
de  Loando,  each  able-bodied  man  bringing  with  him  an  elephant's  tusk. 
Such  sights  are  no  longer  seen,  but  the  Portuguese  still  engage  in  a 
little  of  that  trade,  and  their  commerce  is  also  considerable  with  the 
natives,  from  whom  they  obtain  ivory,  skins,  gum-copal,  turtle-shell, 
cocoa-nut  oil,  and  a  little  sugar-cane  and  coffee.  The  mountains  of 
Angola  abound  in  iron  and  copper,  gold  also  being  found  in  consider- 
able quantities  ;  but  although  jM-osjiecting  parties  of  Americans, 
Englishmen,  Germans  and  Frenchmen  are  not  uncommon,  neither 
the  Portuguese  nor  the  natives  seem  thoroughly  to  have  realized  their 
value. 


COAST    AND    INTKKIUK    TRIBES.  15! 

The  natives  of  Angola  were  formerly  quite 
celebrated  for  the  fine  quality  of  iron  which  they 
smelted;  yet  they  and  the  Congos  generally  now 
seldom  smelt  from  the  ore.  Fhey  are  usually 
satisfied  to  take  the  iron  hooping  from  bales  ob- 
tained from  traders  and  transform  them  into  the 
simple  hoe  which  they  use  in  scraping  the  ground, 
or  into  their  spear  heads. 

Their  furnace  is  a  hole  in  the  grountl,  but 
their  bellows  are  identical  with  that  used  by  the 
ancient  Egyptians.  What  is  quite  singular  also, 
is  that  those  tribes  who  do  not  speak  the  same 
language,  but  who  belong  to  the  same  great  sub- 
division of  the  Caffre  family,  should  use  the  same 
kind  of  bellows  in  the  smelting  of  ore. 

Although  in  most  districts  of  the  colony  the 
Congos  still  cling  to  their  savage  ways,  some  of 
them  along  the  coast  are  remarkably  intelligent, 
having  learned  to  read  and  write  and  to  success 
fully  manage  a  large  share  of  the  trade  of  the 
country.  Aside  from  a  few  natives  who  have 
thus  lifted  themselves  from  the  prevailing  state 
of  ignorance  and  laziness  which  pervades  the  col- 
ony, the  only  Congos  who  have  any  regular  occu- 
pation are  those  employed  by  the  government  as 
burden  carriers.  As  there  are  no  public  roads 
in  the  colony,  all  the  traffic  which  passes  to  and 
from  the  coast  is  conducted  by  means  of  these 
beasts  of  burden,  whose  endurance,  as  they  toil 
over  rugged  mountains  and  through  dense  for- 
ests, is  something  which  is  almost  superhuman. 
There  are  thousands  of  Congos  thus  engaged. 
They  are  furnished  by  the  head  men  of  the  dif- 
ferent villages  both  to  the  government  and  to 
Europeans  who  may  be  abroad  on  e.xploring 
expeditions. 

As  all  of  these  provinces,  in   fact  with  few 
exceptions  the  whole  of  Guinea,  is  given  over  to^ 
the  ivory  trade,   it  may  be   interesting  to  know 
how  the  article   reaches   the  coast.      It  is  carried       a  rARVF:n  rrsK. 
from  points  as  far  as  four  or  five  hundred  miles  from  the  ocean  by  great 


152  PAXOKA.MA    OF    NATIONS. 

squads  or  caravans  of  natives.  Tht-y  general!)-  travel  in  the  dry  sea- 
son so  that  the)-  will  not  be-  inipeded  b\-  the  great  number  of  streams 
and  gullies  which  they  have  to  cross.  The  tusks  are  carried  by  the 
natives  on  their  heads  and  shoulders,  being-  fastened  in  a  caee  of  four 
short  pieces  of  wood.  Very  heavy  teeth  ( for  they  sometimes  weigh  i  75 
or   180  pounds)  are  slung  to  a  long  pole  and  carried  by  two  natives. 

Some  of  the  native  traders  of  Angola  collect  and  deal  in  hides, 
skins  and  other  articles,  traveling  long  distances  in  pursuit  of  their  com- 
mercial ventures.  They  are  averse  to  manual  labor,  however,  preferring 
to  rely  on  this  spirit  of  enterprise  and  their  sharp  wits.      Others,  on  the 


DREARY  SCENE  IN  SOl'THWESTERN  AFRICA. 


other  hand,  who  are  also  of  the  educated  class,  do  not  even  stir  far  from 
home,  but  trade  a  little  in  wax  and  other  produce.  Once  a  year  the 
owner  of  the  hives  climbs  the  baobab  tree,  in  whose  branches  they  are 
placed,  and  draws  up  a  basket  for  the  wa.\  and  honey.  His  hives  are 
made  by  splitting  a  large  branch  of  a  tree  in  two,  hollowing  it  out  and 
afterwards  fastening  the  halves  together.  Taking  with  him  some  dry 
grass  and  fire  he  proceeds  to  smoke  out  the  bees  and  take  advantage 
of  their  Industry.  But  whether  lazy  or  industrious,  when  the  natives  are- 
once  seized  with  the  educational  fever,  their  pursuit  of  wisdom  is  indeed 


COAST    AND    INTERIOR    TRIBES.  1 53 

absorbing.  It  is  no  uncommon  sight  to  see  cliildren  of  ijoth  sexes,  early 
in  tlie  morning-,  squatted  on  tlie  ground,  wrapped  in  their  cotton  clothes, 
lazily  but  contentedly  learning  their  letters.  A  man  is  never  so  happy 
as  when,  in  exchange  for  some  article  of  produce,  he  receives  from  a 
trader  a  sheet  of  foolscap.  This  he  rolls  up  carefully  and  hangs  by 
a  bit  of  string  to  his  pack,  and  when  he  arrives  at  home  he  is  pretty  sure 
to  sit  down  and  with  his  quill  pen  and  charcoal  ink  write  a  letter  to  a 
friend  or  a  high-sounding  petition  to  a  chief. 

Beyond  Angola  the  traveler  soon  reaches  the  rocky  and  barren 
country  of  the  Damaras  and  Nemaquas,  which  is  being  quite  generally 
entered  by  practical  Germans,  who  brave  the  wastes  for  the  rich  mineral 
deposits  which  are  known  to  exist  there.  The  province  of  Benguela,  in 
Angola,  which  borders  upon  that  country  is  also  a  mineral  region,  but 
the  tribes  of  the  mountains  are  so  fierce  that  scarcely  any  attempt  has 
been  made  to  take  advantage  of  the  knowledge.  They  are  said,  natur- 
ally, to  be  harmless,  but  contact  with  slave-traders  has  made  them 
suspicious,  brutal  and  dangerous.  "The  land  along  the  coast  is  low 
and  flat,  but  it  rises  in  a  series  of  terraces  toward  the  interior,  and  fur- 
ther back  into  mountains  of  considerable  height.  The  low  orroLind  near 
the  coast,  especially  during  the  rainy  season,  is  extremely  unwholesome. 
On  the  high  ground  and  among  tiie  mountains  the  air  is  pure  and 
healthful.  Numerous  rivers  descend  from  the  mountains,  among  wliich 
sulphur,  copper,  petroleum,  gold  and  silver  are  found.  V^egetation  is 
luxuriant,  and  both  tropical  fruits  and  European  vegetables  grow  well. 
Elephants,  buffaloes,  zebras  and  antelopes  are  common,  hyaenas  and 
horses  even  venturing  down  to  the  city  of  Benguela.  This,  the  capital 
of  the  province,  is  on  the  coast,  and  is  so  unhealthful  that  no  Europeans 
can  withstand  the  climate.  It  is  especially  fatal  to  women.  The  most 
unwholesome  months  are  March  and  April,  the  rainy  months,  and  next 
to  them  January  and  May.  The  harbor  is  commodious  and  safe,  but 
difficult  of  access.  Ivory,  panther  skins,  and  the  other  productions  of 
the  country  are  brought  into  the  city,  and  it  is  visited  occasionally  by 
Portuguese  and  Brazilian  trading  vessels.  The  city  was  formerly  the 
principal  slave  market  fot  the  trade  with  Brazil.  It  is  under  the  juris- 
diction of  the  Governor-general  of  Angola,  who  resides  at  St.  Paul  de 
Loanda."  Benguela  comprises  the  southern  districts  of  Angola,  and 
some  idea  of  the  extent  of  this  country  may  be  gained  when  it  is  stated 
that  it  is  larger  than  California.  It  is  also  similar  in  shape  to  the 
American  State,  although  its  eastern  boundaries  are  not  definitely  fixed. 
The  natives,  who  are  estimated  to  number  between  2.000,000  and 
3,000,000,  speak  a  dialect  of  the  Bantu  or  Caffre  tongue. 


154  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

In  the  desolate  region  beyond  we  meet  those  tribes  which  connect 
Congo  Caffres  with  the  Hottentots.  It  seems  as  if  they  were  the  weak- 
est and  most  degraded  of  both  races  who  have  been  driven  into  this 
terrible  country.  From  Cape  Negro  to  the  Orange  River,  a  distance  of 
900  miles,  there  is  no  fresh  water  and  nothing  green,  with  one  unimport- 
ant exception,  which  only  serves  to  make  the  fact  more  evident.  The 
coast  is  a  low  desert,  which  runs  into  a  rocky  ridge,  and  be_\ond  the 
sandstones  is  a  more  elevated  and  rocky  desert.  But  as  if  to  recom- 
pense man  for  the  blight  that  she  brings  upon  the  vegetable  kingdom, 
Nature  has  been  caretul  to  make  rich  deposits  of  the  useful  metals  in 
this  sterile  region. 

Upper  Guinea,  to  which  OLir  next  voyage  of  discovery  tends,  pre- 
sents, in  som,e  respects,  a  complete  contrast  to  Lower  Guinea.  The 
natives  are  negroes  proper,  and  their  states  and  kingdoms  are  either 
compact  and  powerful  in  arms,  or  vital  forces  in  the  commercial  and 
Mohammedan  world.  They  may  not  be  more  civilized  than  some  of 
the  Central  African  kingdoms, but  whether  their  people  are  bloodthirsty, 
aristocratic  or  commercial,  they  evince  a  masterly  command  of  their 
resources,  which  seems  almost  lacking  in  the  Caffres  of  Lower  Guinea 


THE  LAND  OF  NIGRITIA. 


FTER  we  had^completed  our  tour  of  Lower  Guin.ea  we  found 
that  we  had  traversed  the  great  continent  of  Africa  east  of  the 
Sahara  desert  and  south  of  the  Mountains  of  the  Moon,  and 
^WHY'S'^^'  f^'lt  t'lat  we  had  become  quite  well  acquainted  with  the  Ethio- 
pian under  his  most  diverse  forms  of  civilization.  In  the  cen- 
:  tral  portions  of  the  continent  we  discovered  quite  a  smattering 
Jj  of  negro  blood,  but  had  only  touched  upon  the  borders  of  the 
Land  of  Nigritia.  It  lies  now  before  us,  embraced  and  held 
together  by  the  wide-spreading  arms  of  the  Niger  river.  Like 
an  immense  bar  of  iron  Soudan  lies  firmly  below  the  Great 
Desert,  pressing  Guinea  and  Senegambia  into  the  ocean.  This  vast 
region  is  the  home  of  the  negro  —  indolent  and  passionate,  dull  and 
intelligent,  brutal  and  affectionate.  He  was  thought  so  low  and  degradetl. 
so  devoid  of  all  manly  spirit,  that  the  greedy  eyes  of  the  slaver  and 
the  pitying  eyes  of  the  philanthropist  have  rested  upon  him  for  four 
centuries  as  the  most  fit  object  of  their  attention.  The  representatives 
of  all  nations  have  set  foot  upon  the  coast  of  Nigritia,  and  there  assisted 
to  drain  from  the  interior  its  ivory,  its  gold,  its  slaves  and  its  riches  of 
every  description,  or  have  bravely  attempted  with  their  weak  levers  to 
pry  the  tremendous  land  from  its  mire  of  ignorance  and  superstition  ;  but 
still  it  lies  there  with  its  savage  kingdoms,  its  fierce  tribes  of  the 
mountains,  its  milder  people  of  the  coast,  its  republics,  its  human  sacri- 
fices, its  superstitions  and  its  idolatries.  Fragments  of  the  race  have 
broken  off  into  the  desert,  such  as  the  Tibboos  in  the  east,  and  an  alien 
tribe  now  and  then  has  established  itself  in  their  midst,  as  the  Foulahs 
of  Senegambia,  but  it  would  be  speaking  within  bounds  to  say  that  West 
Central  Africa  is  purely  the  land  of  the  negro.  A  little  Moorish  and 
Arabian  blood  oozes  in  from  the  north  and  a  little  Ethiopian  blood  drips 
in  from  the  south,  but  the  type   is   there  in  greater  purity  than  can  be 

155 


156 


PANORAMA    OK    NATIONS. 


found  in  any  other  race  —  the  negro  with  his  unctious  skin,  his  thick 
lips  and  protruding  jaws,  his  broad  nose  and  small  ears,  his  wooll)-  hair, 
his  retreating  forehead  and  his  thick  skull. 


MOUNTAIN  WARRIORS. 

Notwithstanding  the  protection  which  European  powers  are  giving 
to  the  milder  negroes  of  the  coast,  the  fierce  warriors  of  the  interior  are 
supplanting  them.  Toward  the  ocean  the  native  star  of  empire  takes 
its  wa)',  as  will  become  more  clear  when  we  come  to  speak  of  the  negro 
kingdoms  of  the  coast. 


SENEGAMBIAN  TRIBES. 


THE  JALOFS. 


l^NEGAMBIA  is  the  western-most  country  of  Nigritia,  and 
although  the  smallest  political  division,  its  people  represent 
three  tribes,  who  seem  already  to  lead  the  race  in  commercial 
talent  and  intellectual  force.  The  Jalofs  occupy  the  delta 
formed  by  the  Senegal  and  Gambia  rivers.  Of  all  the-  negroes 
they  are  the  handsomest,  being  tall  and  graceful  in  form,  but 
glossy  black,  with  the  woolly  hair  and  thick  lips  of  their  race. 
Their  lantruacre  is  soft  and  acrreeable,  and  in  their  conversa- 
tion  as  well  as  their  personal  bearing,  they  evince  a  realization 
of  their  claim  that  they  are  the  most  ancient  people  of  West- 
ern Africa,  and  were  formerly  the  dominant  race.  They  are  generally 
mild,  hospitable,  generous  and  trustworthy,  but  remembering  their 
descent,  they  will  not  intermarry  with  other  African  tribes.  Among 
themselves  also  they  have  a  marked  species  of  caste.  They  prostrate 
themselves  before  an  autocratic  emperor,  proud  though  they  be,  because 
this  has  been  the  custom  handed  down  to  them  from  their  powerful 
ancestors.  Their  nobles  are  the  "  good  Jalofs."  The  smiths  are  called 
the  "tug;"  tanners  and  sandal  makers,  the  "oudae;"  fishermen,  the 
"  moul  ;"  musicians  and  bards,  the  "gaewell,"  and  wanderers  or  tramps 
"saobies."  The  "gaewell,"  though  they  faithfully  chant  the  praises  of 
their  ancestors  and  materially  assist  the  nobility  to  keep  alive  the  spirit 
of  pride  which  so  distinguishes  the  Jalofs  —  the  faithful  and  useful  "gae- 
well" cannot  live  within  town  walls,  keep  cattle,  drink  sweet  milk,  or  be 
buried.  They  are  refused  interment  on  the  ground  that  nothing  will 
grow  where  they  are  buried.  The  Jalofs  do  not  even  seem  to  have  that 
respect  for  European  advancement  which  marks  the  most  of  the  negro 
tribes,  and  except  with  the  agents  of  trading  stations,  have  little  com- 
mercial intercourse  with  foreigners.  They  are  easy  and  polite,  but  have 
a  cool  indifference  for  all  pretensions  but  their  own.  Notwithstanding 
which,  they  manufacture  cotton  cloth  of  a  firmer  texture  and  a  more 

157 


158  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

durable  color  than  any  other  tribe  in  Western  Africa.  With  this  they 
clothe  themselves,  both  men  antl  women  wearing  two  square  pieces,  one 
around  the  waist  and  the  other  thrown  around  the  shoulders.  Althouo-h 
fearless  and  expert  in  hunting,  and  splendid  horsemen,  they  are  quite 
domestic  in  their  habits,  and  do  not  wander  abroad  in  quest  of  advent- 
ures and  gain,  as  do  their  more  enterprising  neighbors,  the  Mandingoes. 
They  live  simply  and  their  houses  are  small,  but  a  man  of  any  standing 
will  have  two  houses  —  one  in  which  he  sits  and  sleeps,  the  other  in 
which  his  cooking  is  done  and  in  which  he  eats. 

The  Jalofs  occupy  four  provinces,  number  over  one  million  souls, 
and  are  under  the  rule  of  an  emperor,  who  traces  his  dynasty  back  to 
the  most  ancient  of  the  royal  houses  of  Western  Africa.  The  penalties 
for  a  violation  of  his  laws  are  very  severe,  but  there  are  few  of  them 
which  any  one  would  care  to  violate.  Any  one,  for  instance,  v/ho 
sleeps  under  a  certain  kind  of  mosquito  netting  which  is  peculiarly 
royal,  is  liable  to  be  sold  as  a  slave.  To  come  into  the  presence  of  the 
emperor  without  prostrating  one's  self  is  a  serious  crime  ;  but  there 
are  no  William  Tells  among  the  Jalofs,  for  they  are  glad  to  prostrate 
themselves  before  so  august  a  personage. 

A  portion  of  this  tribe  are  strict  Mohammedans,  and  others  have 
never  become  adherents  to  any  faith,  but  whatever  they  are,  and 
wherever  they  are,  they  are  pagans  in  the  matter  of  fetich  worship.  In 
conformity  to  the  general  exclusiveness  of  their  dispositions,  they 
observe  their  religion  quietly  and  faithfulK',  l)ut  unlike  the  vigorous 
Mandingoes,  they  do  not  attempt  to  spread  its  tenets.  They  are  firm 
believers  in  witchcraft,  and,  strange  to  say,  wear  the  same  kind  of 
charms  to  ward  off  its  evils,  and  resort  to  the  same  ridiculous  ordeals  to 
detect  it,  as  the  most  Ignorant  of  the  tribes  of  Central  and  Southwest- 
ern Africa. 

THE  FOULAHS. 

The  Foulahs  of  Senegambia  and  the  Fellatahs  of  Central  Soudan 
are  believed  to  be  a  branch  of  the  Nubians,  who  emigrated  westward  at 
a  very  early  day.  Some  ethnologists  have  attempted  to  trace  their 
origin  to  the  Malayan  stock.  Their  complexion  is  a  brownish  black, 
their  hair  soft  and  curly,  forehead  good,  lips  thin  and  nose  of  the 
Ethiopian  but  not  the  Nigritian  cast.  In  stature  they  are  of  the 
medium  size,  and  limbs  delicate  but  well  formed.  They  are  Moham- 
medans, but  have  engrafted  upon  their  religion  the  pagan  superstitions 
and  worship  of  the  negro.  They  have  a  tradition  that  they  are  the 
descendants  of  Phut,  the  .son  of  Ham,  and  hence  wherever  they  settle. 


THE    FOULAHS.  1 59 

they  seem  desirous  to  perpetuate  the  fact.  The  Foulans  are  the  largest 
and  most  powerful  of  the  three  great  families  of  Senegambia,  occupying 
Futa-Torro,  near  the  Senegal  river,  l-'uta-Boudu  and  Futa-Jallon 
to  the  north  of  Sierra  Leone.  Many  of  them  are  good  Arabian 
scholars  and  have  a  remarkable  knowledge  of  the  Koran.  They  are  peo- 
ple who  seem  to  possess  the  faculty  in  a  remarkable  degree  of  doing  as 
Rome  does.  They  are  industrious  and  enterprising  in  their  dealings  with 
the  European  ;  courteous  and  gentle  with  the  Asiatic  ;  cunning  and  sel- 
fish with  the  Moors  ;  but  in  whatever  position  they  are  placed,  show  a 
strength  of  mind,  superior  even  to  the  Jalofs,  who  are  their  neighbors  and 
the  aristocracy  of  the  negro  race.  One  thing  also  which  stands  greatly  to 
their  credit,  is  that  they  have  never  participated  in  the  slave  trade, 
except  that  in  a  few  cases  they  have  sold  criminals  into  servitude  instead 
of  putting  them  to  death.  By  many  of  the  negro  tribes  it  is  considered 
infamous  to  injure  a  Foulah  ;  thus  highly  are  they  respected  ;  and  a 
blessing  is  said  to  rest  on  any  territory  which  contains  one  of  their 
villages. 

Until  the  early  part  of  the  present  century  the  Fellatahs  had  been 
living  a  roving  life  in  the  forests  of  Central  Soudan,  tending  their 
cattle,  and  keeping  out  of  the  way  of  the  warlike  people  of  Bornoo. 
They  were  governed  by  their  chiefs,  who  held  also  the  position  of 
religious  teachers  to  them  ;  for  they  were  strict  Mohammedans.  One 
of  these,  a  prophet  as  well  as  chief,  so  effectually  aroused  them  that  the 
people,  scattered  as  they  were,  flocked  to  his  standard  and  under  him 
subjugated  seven  or  eight  rich  provinces,  the  empire  of  Bornoo  to  the 
east  and  that  of  Yarriba  to  the  west.  He  extended  his  conquests  even 
to  the  shores  of  Senegambia  ;  many  of  the  Foulahs  joining  him,  he 
assigned  them  a  province  and  formally  incorporated  it  as  a  portion  of 
his  empire.  The  emperor-prophet  died  insane,  through  religious  fanat- 
icism, and  his  son  succeeding  him,  the  conquered  states  made  an 
unsuccessful  attempt  to  shake  off  their  yoke.  The  empire  continued  to 
flourish,  the  son  fortified  his  capital  (Sockatoo)  which  his  father  had 
built  and  was  able  to  bring  into  the  field  a  larger  army  than  any  prince 
of  Africa.  Sockatoo  itself,  surrounded  with  walls  and  spacious  gardens, 
and  embellished  within  by  mosques,  public  squares  and  market  houses, 
stood  on  a  gentle  eminence  which  overlooked  a  branch  of  the  Niger, 
and  was  second  to  Cairo  in  population.  With  the  exception  of  Alex- 
andria it  would  probably  still  occupy  that  position,  but  the  empire  is 
now  divided  into  several  states.  Bornoo  early  regained  its  indepen- 
dence, and  the  powerful  empire  of  the  Fellatah  was  eventually  dismem- 
bered.      Its  people,  however,  remain  as  the  representatives  of  a  race 


i6o 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


different,  in  many  respects,  from  the  Nigritians,  who  hem  them  about, 
and  the  i^^reat  empire  is  divided  among-  a  number  of  princes.  Ganda, 
about  forty  miles  from  Sockatoo,  is  the  seat  of  a  powerful  prince,  and 
Timbo  is  the  capital  of  the  Senegambian  state. 

The  Foulahs  first  appear  in  history  about  the  middle  of  the  four- 
teenth century,  when  two  of  the  members  of  the  tribe  are  recorded  as 
journeying  from  the  borders  of  Senegambia  to  the  king  of  Bornoo  on  a 
religious  mission.  It  is  held  by  many  that  this  region  was  the  original 
seat  of  their  kingdom,  and  that  they  spread  east  into  Soudan.  As  a 
race,  however,  they  have  conquered  so  many  states  and  absorbed  so 
many  people,  that  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  identify  them,  beyond 
dispute,  with  any  of  the  eastern  families,  or  even  to  say  what  should  be 
considered  the  t\  piral  Foulah.     The  best  that  can   be  done  is  to  take 

the  statements  of 
their  own  people 
and  consider  the 
traditions  which 
have  come  down  to 
them,  which  all 
point  to  the  i)rob- 
ability  that  they 
came  from  the 
East,  brinmnofwith 
them  the  tastes 
and  aspirations  of 
the  ancient  Ethi- 
opian civilization. 
They  have  a  tradition,  among  others,  that  their  ancestors  were  white 
and  certain  tribes  call  themselves  white  men.  Certain  it  is  that  their 
appearance,  and  methods  of  thought  in  many  respects,  stamp  them  as 
intellectual.  Their  language  is  neither  African  nor  Semitic,  and 
although  they  are  in  a  continual  state  of  warfare  with  the  Arabs,  the 
children  of  the  better  classes  are  taught  to  read  and  write  the  language 
of  their  enemies.  They  have  schools  and  mosques  scattered  throughout 
their  provinces,  are  workers  in  iron  and  silver,  are  skillful  manufacturers 
of  woodenware  and  leather,  are  dairymen  and  cattle  breeders,  and  intel- 
ligent traders,  although  they  cannot  be  considered  as  being  so  purely  a 
commercial  race  as  the  Mandingoes.  Although  under  the  rule  of 
princes,  they  are  immediately  governed  by  republican  chiefs,  and  virtu- 
ally manage  their  own  domestic  affairs. 

The  usual  dress  of  the   men   is  a  red   cap  with    a  white  turban,   a 


A  NATIVE  CUP. 


ia)  SECTION  OF  SAME. 


THE    MANDINGOES.  l6r 

short  white  shirt,  a  large  white  robe,  white  trousers  trimmed  with  red 
or  green  silk,  and  sandals  or  boots.  The  women  wear  a  striped  gar- 
ment falling  as  low  as  the  ankles,  a  rosette  or  ribbon  is  placed  in  the 
hair,  which  is  neatly  dressed,  and  bracelets  and  ear-rings  usually  com- 
plete the  list  of  ornaments. 

Although  commercial,  and  the  most  scholarly  of  the  West  African 
races,  the  Foulahs  are  warriors  of  no  mean  standing.  The  men  wear 
swords  at  all  times,  and  even  go  armed  with  bows  and  arrows  on  horse- 
back. A  few  years  ago  the  princes  of  the  Foulah,  or  Fellatah  states, 
could  bring  into  the  field  a  well-disciplined  force  of  25,000  cavalry,  and 
a  proportionate  number  of  infantry ;  but  the  people  have  so  diffused 
themselves  throughout  Western  Africa  that  their  influence  is  more  as  a 
race  than  as  a  civil  or  military  power.  Their  population  is  estimated  at 
6,000,000,  and  with  the  Mandingoes  they  divide  the  honor  of  supremacy 
amono^  the  tribes  of  Western  Africa. 


£> 


THE   MANDINGOES. 

Outside  of  Turkey  and  Arabia  this  great  tribe,  whose  home  is 
between  the  sources  of  the  Senegal  and  Niger  rivers,  are  the  most  ener- 
getic propagators  of  Mohammedanism  in  Africa.  Like  most  people 
whose  native  country  lies  among  the  mountains  and  higher  regions,  they 
are  hardy,  enterprising  and  ambitious.  They  are  the  travelers  and 
merchants  of  the  continent,  and  in  the  pursuit  of  their  operations  after 
ivory,  gold  dust  and  slaves,  have  penetrated  into  more  of  its  hidden 
nooks  than  any  other  people  alive.  The  valleys  of  the  Senegal,  Gambia 
and  Niofer  see  throughout  their  length  and  breadth  their  three- 
cornered  cotton  caps  and  their  leather  pouches,  filled  with  scraps  of  Arab- 
ian writing,  while  Upper  and  Lower  Guinea  and  Central  Africa  itself 
draw  upon  the  Mandingoes  for  articles  of  commerce  and  potent  charms 
written  in  an  unknown  tongue.  They  are  a  people  who  seem  to  most 
closely  connect  their  religion  with  their  pleasure.  As  they  go  traveling 
through  the  continent,  conducting  caravans,  acting  as  agents  between 
native  tribes  in  their  commercial  dealings,  or  in  pursuit  of  their  own 
schemes,  they  are  ever  on  the  alert  to  establish  schools  for  the  purpose 
of  teaching  the  Arabic  language  and  spreading  the  truths  of  the  Koran. 
At  the  same  time  they  are  busy  trying  to  get  good  value  for  the  charms 
which  they  carry  in  their  leather  pouches,  in  doing  which,  however,  they 
believe  they  are  conscientiously  laboring  to  capture  the  soul  of  the 
pagan.  Their  black  faces  have  not  the  peculiar  raven  gloss  of  the  Jalofs, 
but  are  sufficient,  with  their  general  features,  their  cheerful,  gay  natures 


l62  PANORAMA    OK    NATIONS. 

and  their  great  love  for  music  and  dancing,  to  place  them  in  the  Nigri- 
tian  group  of  tribes.  It  may  be  said  that  from  the  equator  to  the  Sahara 
Desert,  the  Mandingoes  control  the  trade  of  the  continent.  They  have 
extended  themselves  over  Western  Soudan,  and  small  communities  of 
them  have  located  around  many  European  settlements  along  the  coast 
and  along  the  rivers,  where  they  manufacture  sandals,  bridles,  whips, 
sheaths  and  various  other  articles  out  of  their  own  leather,  and  sell 
amulets  to  the  natives.  But  it  must  not  be  thought  that  the  Mandin- 
goes are  mere  wanderers  and  a  race  of  traders.  They  are  most  success- 
ful agriculturists  and  raisers  of  cattle,  sheep  and  goats.  They  are  often 
not  only  good  Arabic  scholars,  bnt  proficient  as  extemporaneous  speak- 
ers, and  make  some  pretensions  to  being  poets.  The  regular  education 
of  the  average  child,  however,  consists,  as  among  all  Mohammedans,  in 
being  able  to  read  and  write  a  few  passages  from  the  Koran,  and  to 
recite  their  prayers.  The  six  million,  or  more,  Mandingoes  whose  pres- 
ence is  felt  in  Western  Africa,  acknowledge  the  authority  of  their  chiefs, 
Manclingo  itself  being  divided  into  a  number  of  petty  states  nearly  inde- 
pendent of  each  other.  Each  free  man,  however,  may  appear  before 
the  general  council  of  his  tribe  and  speak  as  he  pleases.  Freedom  of 
speech  is  certainly  a  recognized  plank  in  their  system  of  government. 
Notwithstanding  the  people  are  independent  and  frank  in  their  conduct 
with  each  other,  society  is  divided  into  castes,  as  it  is  among  the  more  exclu- 
sive falofs.  Ne.xt  to  the  king  or  chief  stand  the  teachers  of  the  Koran, 
then  artisans,  dependent  freemen,  native-born  domestic  slaves,  and  slaves 
who  were  prisoners  of  war  or  criminals.  Their  Mohammedan  education 
has  severed  them  neither  from  pagan  sujicrsiiiion  iu)r  native  custom. 
They  persistently  cling  to  "  Jumbo,"  that  monster  who  comes  out  of 
the  woods  clad  in  plantain  leaves,  to  maintain  proper  discipline  among 
the  women  and  children  ;  their  funeral  ceremonies  are  attended  by  the 
same  wailingis  and  beatino^s  of  drums  as  we  find  in  Lower  Guinea  and 
Central  Africa,  and  the  grave  is  dug  in  the  floor  of  the  house  where  the 
deceased  lived.  Occasionally  the  burial  place  is  under  the  shade  of 
a  favorite  tree  and  the  spot  is  always  marked  by  a  rag  flying  from 
a  pole. 


NEGROES  OF  UPPER  GUINEA. 


^N  the  Jalofs,  Foulahs  and  Mandingoes,  of  Senegambia  ana 
f*^  Soudan  are  found  the  higher  types  of  the  negro  race,  if, 
s  indeed,  the  Foulahs  may  even  be  considered  a  type  of  the  race. 
^■^*fP  If  the  people  of  Upper  Guinea  we  meet  representatives  of  the 
race  whom  no  one  could  doubt  to  be  a  concentration  of  all  the 
broadest  features  of  the  negro,  as  he  would  be  recognized  by 
the  veriest  infant.  His  paganism  has  not  been  diluted  by  the 
faith  of  Mohammed,  and  fetich  worship  prevails  in  as  exagger- 
ated a  form  as  in  Southern  Guinea,  with  the  lamentable  differ- 
ence that  human  sacrifice  has  become  quite  common.  There 
seems  to  be  a  more  general  belief  in  one  god  than  among  the  tribes  to 
the  south,  but  the  evil  spirits  appear  also  to  have  obtained  a  firmer 
hold  upon  the  world,  and  therefore  require  more  cruel  forms  of  propitiation. 
Most  of  the  tribes  have  names  for  God,  and  some  of  them  are  descriptive 
of  his  nature,  as  maker,  preserver,  benefactor.  In  the  barbarous  king- 
dom of  Ashanti,  whose  people  are  noted  for  their  bloodthirsty  sacrifices 
and  the  general  cruelty  of  their  natures,  he  is  called  "  My  Great  Friend." 
At  the  death  of  a  king,  a  large  number  of  his  wives  or  favorite  slaves  are 
put  to  death  to  be  his  future  attendants.  The  same  practices  are  com- 
mon in  the  kingdom  of  Dahomey,  east  of  Ashanti,  although  of  late  years 
the  sanguinary  nature  of  the  sacrifices  has  been  somewhat  modified, 
through  the  efforts  of  missionaries  and  the  Powers  of  the  West.  Not- 
withstanding the  reforms  which  have  taken  place,  it  is  said  that  the 
present  king  of  Dahomey,  upon  the  death  of  his  father,  sacrificed  five 
hundred  human  victims.  Despite  these  abominations  the  Ashantis  and 
the  Dahomans  are  courageous,  intelligent,  and  far  above  most  of  the  tribes 
of  Upper  Guinea  in  general  morality. 

SUPERSTITIONS  OF  THE  NEGROES. 

Believing  as  they  do  that  the  world  and  all  its  affairs  are  in   the 
keeping  of  either  good  or  bad  spirits,  they  do  not  always  wait  for  their 

163 


164 


PAXURAMA    OF    .XATIOXS. 


priests  or  fetich  men  to  drive  away  tlie  evil  ones,  but,  upon  stated 
occasions  take  matters  into  their  own  hands.  At  a  given  signal  a  whole 
village  will  start  up  with  torches  and  clubs,  rush  around  their  huts, 
yelling  and  beating  here  and  there;  then  out  into  the  streets,  howling 
and  waving  their  weapons,  until  some  one  in  authority  announces  that 
the  evil  spirits  have  fled  through  the  gates  of  the  town.  Pursuit  does 
not  end  here,  but  the  spirits  who  have  brought  sickness,  or  scarcity  of 
food,  or  some  other  form  of  misfortune  upon  the  community,  are  chased 
and  stourged  far  into  the  woods,   where  they  take  up  their  abode  in 

hollow  trees,  great 
locks  or  deep  riv- 
ers. Tree,  rock, 
river  and  mountain 
are  the  dwelling 
places  of  both  good 
md  bad  spirits  and 
ire  ne\'cr  passed 
by  the  true  negro 
without  being  of- 
^fe^  fered  some  propi- 
tiation, such  as  a 
leaf  or  a  shell.  He 
approaches  a  deep 
cavern  with  fear 
and  trembling  that 
he  m  a  y  receive 
spiritual  advice.  If 
he  brings  a  suita- 
ble offering  in  the 
shape  of  food  or 
drink,  he  receives 
an  oracular  answer 
to  his  queries,  and  although  he  may  suspect  that  his  priest  is  the  spirit  of 
the  cavern,  he  dare  not  investigate  for  fear  of  the  legion  of  spirits  in 
whom  he  does  believe.  The  negroes  of  Upper  Guinea  also  have  a  very 
definite  faith  in  the  transmigration  of  the  soul.  Monkeys,  crocodiles, 
snakes  and  sharks  are  the  favorite  dwelling  places  of  the  human  soul,  and 
are  considered  sacred.  The  consequence  is  that  the  crocodile,  in  certain 
localities,  has  been  so  pampered  that  he  will  follow  a  man  for  a  long 
distance  like  a  dog;  the  snake  will  bite  or  harmlessly  lick  the  hand,  as  the 
keeper  desires ;  or  the  shark  will  come  to  the  water's  edge  and  wait  for 


IN  THE  STOCKS. 


SUPERSTITIONS   OV    THE    XEGRUES.  165 

his  fmiil  like  a  tame  tix)ut.  They  believe  in  the  unity  of  the  human  race, 
and  have  a  saying  that  God  offered  the  two  sons  of  its  first  [)arents  the 
choice  between  gold  and  a  book;  the  elder  son,  and  the  progenitor  of 
the  black  race,  seized  upon  the  gold,  leaving  the  book  to  the  younger. 
The  latter  was  immediately  transported  to  a  colder  country,  retaining 
his  book  (his  wisdom)  and  his  white  skin,  while  the  son  who  seized  upon 
the  srold,  retained  his  riches  and  his  black  skin,  but  lost  wisdom.  The 
negroes  have  also  ridiculous  traditions  of  a  deluge  which  have  become 
distorted  in  beine  handed  down  either  from  ancient  times  or  from 
Portuguese  missionaries,  who  may  have  visited  their  forefathers  three  or 
four  hundred  years  ago. 

An  African  fimeral  in  Northern  Guinea  is  tantamount  to  a  Fourth- 
of-July  celebration  in  the  United  States.  A  bullock  is  slaughtered,- 
ostensibly  for  the  dead,  but  really  for  the  living,  and,  except  the  value  of 
the  presents  which  are  laid  upon  the  grave  of  the  deceased,  the  respect 
which  can  be  shown  their  dead  is  commensurate  with  the  amount  of 
powder  which  is  used  in  the  discharge  of  musketry.  If  the  deceased  is  a 
person  of  quality,  sometimes  a  hundred  men  will  be  discharging  their 
muskets  over  the  heads  of  the  mourners,  enveloping  everything  in  sti- 
fling smoke.  After  these  ceremonies,  two  persons  take  up  the  cofifin, 
which  is  often  the  section  of  a  canoe,  and  proceed  to  the  graveyard. 
They  may  not  be  allowed  to  go  far,  but  may  be  cast  hither  and  thither 
by  the  spirit  of  the  dead  man,  and  finally  propelled  toward  the  residence 
of  a  certain  villager,  who  is  thereupon  accused  of  murder.  He  is 
confined  in  a  hut  built  for  the  occasion,  and,  after  the  burial,  is  brought 
forward  to  undergo  the  "red-water"  ordeal.  The  man  is  formally 
accused  of  murder,  when  invoking  the  name  of  God  three  times  to  pun- 
ish liim  in  case  he  is  guilty  of  the  crime,  he  steps  forward  and  drinks  the 
water  freely.  Virtually  the  same  ceremony  is  gone  through  with  in  South- 
ern Guinea  to  detect  witchcraft;  "red-water"  is  also  so  employed  in 
Northern  Guinea,  with  a  like  understanding  that  if  the  drinker  is  taken 
with  vertieo,  his  life  is  forfeited.  Children  even  are  encouraged  to  hoot 
at  him,  pelt  him  with  stones  and  spit  upon  him  in  case  he  does  not  pass 
through  the  ordeal.  In  many  instances  the  men  and  women  then  seize 
him  by  the  heels  and  drag  him  through  bushes  and  over  rocky  places 
until  there  is  no  life  in  him.  Again,  there  is  the  "hot-oil  ordeal," 
through  which  the  innocent  will  pass  unscathed.  Ridiculous  as  these 
tests  seem  to  be  to  the  more  rational  ideas  of  the  Western  World,  they 
bear  a  striking  similiarity  to  those  applied  not  long  ago  in  England  and 
America. 

The  old  story  of  fetich  upon  fetich  is  repeated  in  Upper  as  in  Lower 


,l66  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

Guinea.  In  a  word:  "  One  of  the  first  things  which  salutes  the  eyes  of 
astrangerafter  planting  his  feet  upon  the  shores  of  Africa,  are  the  symbols 
of  its  religion.  He  steps  forth  from  the  boat  under  a  canopy  of  fetiches 
not  only  as  security  for  his  own  safety,  but  as  a  guaranty  that  he  does  not 
carry  the  elements  of  mischief  among  the  people ;  he  finds  them  sus- 
pended along  every  path  he  walks;  at  every  junction  of  two  or  more  roads; 
at  the  crossing  place  of  every  stream ;  at  the  base  of  every  large  rock  or 
over-grown  forest  tree ;  at  the  gate  of  every  village  ;  over  the  door  of 
every  house  and  around  the  neck  of  every  human  being  he  meets.  They 
are  set  up  on  their  farms,  tied  around  their  fruit  trees  and  are  fastened 
to  the  necks  of  their  sheep  and  goats  to  prevent  them  from  being  stolen. 
If  a  man  trespasses  upon  the  property  of  his  neighbor  in  defiance  of  the 
fetiches,  he  is  confidently  expected  to  suffer  the  penalty  of  his  temerity 
at  one  time  or  another.  If  he  is  overtaken  by  a  formidable  malady  or  a 
lingering  sickness,  twenty,  thirty  or  forty  years  afterwards,  he  is  known 
to  be  suffering  the  consequences  of  his  rashness." 

COAST  TRIBES  AND  KINGDOMS. 

The  tribes  which  have  settled  along  the  coast  of  the  colony  of  Sierra 
Leone  present  few  features  of  interest,  with  the  exception,  perhaps,  of 
the  Veys.  Although  their  manner  of  living  was  not  materially  different 
from  that  of  other  neighboring  tribes,  they  not  only  conceived  the  idea, 
but  carried  it  to  a  successful  conclusion,  of  inventing  an  alphabet  for 
writing  their  own  language.  It  is  said  that  the  characters  are  all  quite 
new  and  that  the  invention  was  entirely  their  own,  although  the  idea 
was  no  doubt  suggested  to  them  by  the  Mandingoes,  who  had  labored 
among  them  as  among  all  other  tribes  of  the  coast  to  induce  them  to 
learn  the  Arabic  language,  and  become  converts  to  Islamism.  About 
twenty  years  were  spent  by  their  leading  men  in  bringing  the  language 
to  a  fair  state  of  perfection. 

The  Liberian,  or  Grain  Coast,  is  so  named  on  account  of  the  great 
quantity  of  Malaguette  pepper,  or  Guinea  grain,  which  was  formerly 
raised  in  this  locality.  It  was  exported  from  the  coast  to  England,  and 
used  in  the  manufacture  of  malt  liquors  until  it  was  thought  to  be  harm- 
ful. It  is  used  as  a  medicine  by  the  native  doctor,  and  highly  prized. 
The  principal  article  of  commerce  at  the  present  time  is  palm  oil,  while 
forty  years  ago  it  was  almost  unknown  in  this  region.  The  representa- 
tive people  of  this  coast  are  the  Kru,  whose  beautiful  country  is  covered 
with  little  villages.  They  are  a  progressive  tribe,  with  a  manly,  frank 
and  courteous  bearing  and  noble  in  physique.      Although  they  have  the 


COAST    TRIBKS    AND    KINGDOMS. 


167 


narrow  and  peaked  forehead  of  the  negro,  they  have  proven  their 
capacity  in  more  ways  than  one.  A  majority  of  the  men  speak  the 
EngHsh  language,  and  have  quite  an  extensive  knowledge  of  civilized 
customs,  though  they  refuse  to  abandon  many  of  their  own.  But  they 
have  greatly  improved  in  the  construction  of  their  houses  and  it  is 
nothing  unusual  to  see  modern  articles  of  furniture  in  their  huts.  They 
have  less  intelligence  than  the  Foulahs  and  Mandingoes,  but  are,  as  a 
rule,  more  straightforward  in  their   dealings.     The)-   are  the   sailors  of 


A  VILLAGE  ON  THE  GRAIN  COAST. 

Guinea,  and  may  be  found  on  all  seas;  even  in  London,  Liverpool  and 
New  York  a  Kru  seaman  is  no  remarkable  sight.  Tht'\'  are  often 
absent  from  home  for  three  or  four  years,  shipping  on  one  voyage  after 
another.  If  the  young  Kru  is  fortunate  enough  to  reach  home  with  a 
stock  of  goods  intact,  the  fatted  sheep,  goat  or  bullock  is  killed,  and  he 
is  marched  around  the  streets  of  his  native  village  to  the  sound  of  the 
firing  of  guns  and  the  acclamations  of  his  fellow  townsmen.  He  is  con- 
sidered a  fit  subject   for   matrimonial   honors  and    married  off  at  once. 


l68  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

Soon  he  is  restless  for  another  voyage,  which  is  taken ;  perhaps  with 
like  results  as  to  the  collection  of  property  and  being  rewarded  with  a 
wife.  By  the  time  he  has  reached  middle  age  our  Kru  sailor  has  accumu- 
lated quite  a  collection  of  wives  and  children,  and  settles  down  to 
domestic  bliss.  By  the  death  of  a  brother  or  uncle  he  also  has  the 
l)ossibility  of  inheriting  a  group  of  wives  and  children,  and  becoming  a 
regular  patriarch  of  the  village,  with  the  reputation  of  being  a  great 
man.  There  he  lives  in  his  peaked,  tent-like  hut,  having  a  small  gar- 
den in  front  planted  to  corn,  peas,  beans  and  bananas,  his  farm  being 
some  distance  away  so  as  to  be  beyond  the  reach  of  his  cattle.  This  is 
sown  to  rice,  which  he  both  uses  for  his  family  and  puts  upon  the 
■  market  for  sale.  When  the  grain  commences  to  head,  he  marshals  his 
numerous  children  and  posts  them  in  different  parts  of  the  field,  armed 
with  sticks,  stones,  brass  pans  and  anything  which  can  be  thrown,  shaken 
or  rattled,  for  the  purpose  of  driving  away  the  myriads  of  birds  which 
threaten  his  harvest.  Some  of  these  youthful  negroes,  more  ingenious 
than  the  rest,  make  a  net-work  of  cords  which  connect  with  dry  bushes 
to  which  bells  are  attached,  so  that  they  can  lay  around  in  lazy  enjoy- 
ment, taking  care,  however,  to  keep  their  machines  in  rapid  motion,  and 
the  birds  in  a  constant  flutter  in  all  parts  of  the  rice  field.  In  four 
months  from  the  time  of  planting,  the  grain  is  harvested,  each  head  of 
rice  being  cut  with  a  small  bladed  instrument  no  larger  than  a  pocket 
knife,  and  the  large  bundles  are  carried  home  on  the  heads  of  men. 
This  is  a  season  of  great  excitement,  and  the  roads  leading  into  the 
villages  are  lined  with  the  burden-bearers,  some  cheerfully  trotting  along, 
single  file,  but  the  majority  of  them  screaming  and  shouting  in  a  mad 
race  for  the  village.  When  the  rice  of  our  well-to-do  Kru  is  brought  to 
his  house,  it  is  tied  to  the  rafters  in  his  attic  (which  is  his  granary)  and 
there  left  to  be  dried  and  cleansed  by  the  smoke  from  his  household 
fire,  which,  in  default  of  a  chimney,  passes  through  the  roof.  After- 
wards the  women  remove  the  chaff  in  a  small  wooden  mortar.  In  the 
upper  part  of  the  house  are  also  stored  earthen  jars  filled  with  palm  oil, 
which  has  been  extracted  from  the  nuts  of  the  palm  tree.  If  the  Kru 
sells  his  oil,  it  will  go  into  the  manufacture  of  soaps  and  candles,  in 
England  or  France,  but  it  is  probable  that  he  has  other  designs  upon 
both  rice  and  palm  oil  than  to  sell  them  for  filthy  lucre.  The  rice  being 
nicely  dried  and  cleaned,  one  of  the  wives  boils  a  large  quantity  of  it 
and  places  it  on  the  floor  in  a  wooden  bowl.  She  then  calls  in  her  hus- 
band and  the  party  of  friends  from  a  distant  village  whom  he  may  be 
entertaining,  and  they  seat  themselves  on  the  floor  around  the  bowl, 
while  she  pours  over  its  contents  a  generous  quantity  of  fragrant  palm 


COAST    TRIBES    AND     KINT.DO.MS.  1 69 

oil.  Each  man  iiv^w  thrusts  his  hand  into  the  dish,  and  taking  up  a 
goodly  allowance  of  the  mixture  rolls  it  into  a  ball,  which  he  pitches 
into  his  mouth.  Even  strangers  who  visit  a  Kru  village,  have  food  and 
lodging  provided  for  them  free  of  expense  ;  unless  the  townsman  is  thus 
honored,  he  has  no  regular  meal,  but  he  and  his  families  eat  when  they 
are  hungry.  At  the  conclusion  of  a  regular  repast,  the  hostess  brings 
in  a  jar  of  palm-wine  and  having  removed  the  tuft  of  leaves  which 
covers  its  mouth  dips  up  a  little  of  the  wine  and  drinks  it.  This  is  to 
convince  the  company  that  there  is  no  poison  in  it.  We  have  observed 
the  same  custom  among  the  Abyssinians  and  Gallas  whose  country  is 
across  the  continent.  Their  habits  at  table  no  doubt  seem  filthy,  but  in 
other  matters  they  are  extremely  cleanly,  and  perhaps  using  the  hands 
so  indiscriminately  would  not  be  considered  so  gross  a  practice  if  it 
were  known  how  persistently  the  Kru  performs  his  ablutions  and  rubs 
all  parts  of  his  body  with  pure  palm  oil.  Clothing  is  not  esteemed  of 
more  value  than  knives  and  forks,  but  a  Kru  w^ould  barter  his  rice  or 
his  pepper  field  for  a  quantity  of  large  blue  beads  or  a  large  string  of 
tiger's  teeth. 

The  government  of  the  Kru  is  not  substantially  different  from  that 
of  other  people  along  the  coast,  there  being  one  singularity  to  be  noted, 
however,  and  that  is  that  certain  tribes  have,  from  time  immemorial, 
divided  themselves  into  families,  and  certainly  one  of  these  has  retained 
a  division  of  twelve  as  did  the  children  of  Israel.  The  families  have 
each  a  head  man,  or  patriarch,  and  the  property  is  held  in  common. 
The  head  man  is  responsible  both  morally  and  materially  for  the  con- 
duct of  his  family.  When  any  object  of  public  interest  is  to  be 
considered,  those  who  are  entitled  to  take  part  in  the  deliberation  gather 
in  the  "  palaver  house  "  or  the  open  air.  The  representatives  of  the 
soldier  element  are  the  most  powerful,  next  to  the  high  priest  of  the 
nation  who  takes  care  of  her  fetiches,  and  guards  her  health  and  pros- 
perity, and  the  general  of  all  the  forces ;  both  of  the  latter  being 
presiding  officers  over  the  delibera*'ions  of  the  palaver  ;  then  come  the 
old  men  of  the  tribe.  The  soldiery  are  middle-aged  men  who  have 
proved  themselves  in  times  of  w-ar.  Young  men,  also,  who  aspire  to 
become  members  of  this  influential  body,  form  a  portion  of  the  circle 
which  gathers  around  the  two  presiding  officers,  each  member  thereof 
having  brought  his  stool  and  sat  down  with  dignity  in  his  proper  place. 
A  long  staff  is  handed  to  the  speaker  who  is  to  open  the  discussion  by 
the  high  priest  or  generalissimo.  The  orator  stands  in  the  center  of 
the  circle  and  says,  with  an  impressive  motion  of  the  staff.  Listen  ; 
To  which   the  people  respond,      We   do  listen.       He  then  states  the 


170  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

object  of  the  gathering,  and  when  he  has  concluded,  in  case  he  has  not 
become  excited,  he  hands  the  staff  to  the  next  speaker.  If  his  remarks 
have  become  very  forcible,  he  uses  his  staff  for  emphasis  and  concludes 
by  casting  it  violently  upon  the  ground  —  as  though  he  were  speaking 
from  the  rostrum  and  had  thoutrht  best  to  bring  down  his  fist  with  a 
crash  upon  the  desk.  These  popular  assemblies  make  the  kiws  and 
execute  them,  elevate  the  deserving  humble,  and  confiscate  the  property 
of  those  who  become  too  arrogant ;  they  are  common  to  most  of  the 
tribes  of  Upper  Guinea,  which  have  not  been  consolidated  into  such 
autocracies  as  Ashanti  and  Dahomey,  and  are  the  scenes  of  many  bursts 
of  native  oratory  which  might  arouse  the  emulation  of  the  better  edu- 
cated and  more  refined. 

ASHANTI. 

What  is  called  the  Ivory  Coast  extends  fronj  Cape  Palmas  to  the 
kingdom  of  Ashanti.  Quantities  of  ivory  were  formerly  collected  here 
by  traders,  but  it  might  now  with  greater  propriety  be  called  the  Palm- 
oil  coast.  There  are  no  striking  tribal  peculiarities  until  we  reach  Ash- 
anti, or  Ashantee,  which  is  the  seat  of  the  most  powerful  state  in  West- 
ern Africa.  Formerly  the  Fantis  occupied  the  coast  and  the  Ashanti 
kingdom  lay  almost  among  the  Kong  mountains  ;  but  notwithstanding 
an  English  protectorate,  the  Ashantis  power  continued  to  extend  until 
it  has  now  virtually  absorbed  their  rivals.  The  language  of  the  two 
tribes  is  nearly  the  same,  the  Fantis  being  milder  in  their  manners,  as 
they  have  been  long  ii  coast  people,  and  enjoyed  a  more  intimate 
acquaintance  with  European  civilization.  The  history  of  the  Ashanti 
kingdom  commences  when  the  tribe  appeared  beyond  the  Kong  mountains, 
whence  it  no  doubt  was  driven  by  the  more  powerful  and  numerous 
Foulahs,  when  the  empire  of  the  Fellatah  was  spreading  over  so  great 
a  portion  of  Soudan  ;  its  history  has  been  one  of  war  and  blood-shed,  the 
chief  objects  of  pursuit  being  the  Fantis,  whom  they  drove  to  the  coast, 
and  whose  territory  they  repeatedly  desolated.  At  the  commencement 
of  the  eighteenth  century  their  implements  of  warfare  were  but  the  bow, 
arrow  and  spear  ;  but  when  their  troubles  with  England  commenced  at 
the  commencement  of  the  nineteenth,  they  learned  the  value  of  powder 
and  guns.  The  awful  cruelty,  or  it  may  be  fanaticism,  which  separates 
the  Ashantis  even  from  the  cruel  and  fanatical  tribes  of  Western  Africa, 
was  first  brought  forcibly  to  the  attention  of  the  world,  when,  to  protect 
their  own  commerce  and  the  Fantis,  the  English  entered  into  one  of  their 
many  campaigns  of  subjugation.  The  English  force  had  greatly  under- 
estimated the  strength  and  determination  of  the  Ashanti  army,  so  that 


ASHANTI.  171 

when  the  war  horns  of  their  barbaric  foes  were  heard  one  winter  day  in 
1824,  they  marched  confidently  forward  to  meet  them.  Akhough  the 
English  brought  several  field  pieces  to  bear  upon  the  howling  Ashantis, 
and  defended  themselves  bravely  with  bayonets,  their  ammunition  having 
been  exhausted  ;  and  though  they  were  heroically  supported  by  their 
allies,  the  Fantis,  the  combined  forces  were  overwhelmed,  cut  to  pieces, 
and  their  English  commander  killed.  Others  were  taken  prisoners  and 
were  spared,  to  sleep  nightly  in  the  same  room  with  the  heads  of  their 
chief  and  companions  in  arms,  which  were  carried  to  Coomassie,  the 
capital  of  the  kingdom.  The  heart  of  the  commander-in-chief  was 
devoured  by  the  great  warriors  of  the  Ashanti  kingdom,  and  his  flesh 
eaten  by  those  of  the  lower  rank,  that  they  might  imbibe  the  courage 
which  he  showed  upon  the  field  of  battle,  and  which  they  could  not  but 
admire.  His  bones  were  preserved  for  a  long  time  as  national  "  fetiches," 
while  one  of  the  bravest  of  his  officers  was  sacrificed  to  the  protecting 
idol  of  an  important  native  town.  Two  years  afterwards  the  Ashantis 
were  subdued,  as  they  have  been  several  times  since  ;  but  though  repeat- 
edly subdued,  both  they  and  the  Dahomans  to  the  east,  still  control  the 
coast,  and  are  a  perpetual  menace  to  the  trade  of  Great  Britain,  Portugal, 
France  and  other  nations  whose  commercial  representatives  venture 
into  their  disputed  dominions. 

Moderation  is  an  unknown  word  in  the  vocabulary  of  the  Ashanti. 
His  king  is  absolutely  despotic  and  is  very  likely  to  cut  off  his  head,  if 
he  suffers  defeat  on  the  field  of  battle.  He,  therefore,  does  not  fio-ht 
with  moderation,  but  with  the  desperation  of  despair.  '  It  is  said  that 
after  several  unsuccessful  engagements  with  the  English,  many  of  the 
king's  nobles  met  their  death  by  applying  matches  to  kegs  of  powder 
upon  which  they  were  seated,  knowing  their  probable  fate  should  they 
return  to  the  capital.  He  rules  over  them  as  they  do  over  their  slaves, 
who  compose  the  bulk  of  the  army.  Should  they  by  the  slightest  word 
reflect  upon  the  character  or  policy  of  their  royal  master,  so  complete  is 
his  system  of  espionage  that,  in  some  mysterious  way,  he  hears  of  it,  and 
calls  them  to  account.  Some  of  these  nobles  have  as  many  as  one 
thousand  slaves,  and  although  they  lead  their  men  to  battle  and  place 
all  their  other  property  at  the  disposal  of  the  king,  their  privileges  are  as 
limited  as  those  of  the  most  common  subject.  Provided  he  has  behaved 
himself  (according  to  the  idea  of  good  behavior  entertained  by  the  king) 
each  noble  is  allowed  to  display  his  wealth  once  a  year  in  the  streets  of 
Coomassie.  If  he  thinks  it  politic,  he  loads  down  his  children  with  all 
the  jewels  and  gold  he  can  collect,  and  with  them  parades  the  streets 
to  the  sound   of  music.      He  may  not,  however,  wish  to  exhibit  to  the 


172  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

kitiij  the  extent  of  his  possessions,  especially  if  he  has  much  pure  gold 
in  his  keeping  ;  for,  at  his  death,  the  latter  is  the  royal  property  —  and 
death  may  come  to  him  at  any  moment  if  he  make  too  great  a  display. 
The  consequence  is  that  most  of  the  gold,  quantities  of  which  are  found 
in  Ashanti,  is  promptly  manufactured  into  ornaments.  But  the  king 
still  retains  his  clutch  upon  the  property  of  the  nobility  by  levying  a 
heavy  tax  upon  all  gold  ornaments,  as  well  as  all  metal  taken  from  the 
mines,  which  belong  to  the  crown.  There  are  a  few  exceptions  to  the 
latter  rule,  certain  mines  being  sacred  to  the  spirits  and  divinities.  The 
royal  treasury  is  also  replenished  by  the  tribute  which  the  king  levies 
upon  a  score  or  more  of  conquered  provinces.  Since  the  partial  sup- 
pression of  the  slave  trade,  however,  one  of  his  most  prolific  sources  of 
revenue  has  been  running  dry  ;  although  the  institution  of  domestic 
slavery  is  conducted  on  the  same  tremendous  scale  which  marks  every 
other  institution  in  Ashanti. 

The  king  of  Ashanti  being  a  polygamist,  is  not  satisfied  to  be  a 
moderate  one,  but  for  some  inscrutable  reason  has  drawn  the  line  at 
3,333  wives  !  When  the  grains  of  the  kingdom  are  being  harvested,  or 
the  fruits  being  gathered,  the  wives  are  dispersed  over  the  royal  planta- 
tions, laboring  as  if  they  were  the  meanest  of  slaves.  This,  in  fact,  is 
their  condition.  A  man's  importance  is  measured  by  the  number  of 
wives  whom  he  can  bring  into  the  harvest  field  to  work  for  him  and  the 
number  of  slaves  he  can  brine  into  the  field  of  battle  to  fieht  for  the 
king  ;  but  the  king  only  is  allowed  to  reach  the  sacred  number  of  3,333. 
When  his  wives  return  from  the  harvest  field,  headed  by  the  wife  whom 
he  most  trusts,  his  whole  capital  runs  to  cover  ;  for  should  even  one  of 
his  noblemen  set  eyes  upon  one  of  them,  the  head  of  that  man  is  in 
danger.  Any  one  who  is  caught  in  the  wa.y  must  fall  upon  the  ground 
and  hide  his  face.  When  once  they  are  housed  in  the  two  streets  reserved 
for  them  in  Coomassie,  the  king's  female  relatives,  or  special  messengers, 
may  communicate  with  them  through  their  bamboo  walls. 

The  wives  of  the  more  common  Ashantis  are  also  poor,  degraded 
creatures  They  do  not  eat  with  him,  but  each  brings  her  portion  of 
the  repast  to  her  lord,  and  either  retires,  or  remains  with  the  children  to 
receive  in  her  little  wooden  bowl  such  morsels  as  he  may  see  fit  to  dispense. 
This  performance  is  said  to  give  the  lord  of  the  household  much  manly 
satisfaction.  It  would  be  as  unbecoming  a  true  Ashanti  to  carry  any 
spirit  of  mildness  to  the  family  meal  as  to  show  it  in  war. 

The  houses  of  the  nobles  and  rich  inen  of  the  kingdf)m  oftc-n  have 
man\-  r  oms,  and  are  so  constructed  as  to  leave  a  square  or  court  in  the 
center,  into  which  the  apartments  of  all  the  wives  open.      They  receive 


DAHU.MEV.  1/3 

their  visitors  in  a  sort  of  portico,  built  from  the  side  of  the  house,  which 
is  furnished  with  lounges  and  other  conveniences. 

War  is  the  great  occupation  of  the  kingdom,  but  agriculture,  com- 
merce and  manufactures  have  their  part.  It  has  a  large  trade  with  the 
interior  provinces,  such  as  Bornoo  and  .Sackatoo,  and  caravans  even 
come  from  Cairo  and  Tripoli  for  its  gold  dust  and  ivory.  When  it  is 
not  quarreling  with  Europeans,  much  of  its  trade  in  these  articles,  how- 
ever, goes  to  the  forts  on  the  sea  coast,  where  they  are  exchanged  for 
manufactures.  The  Ashantis  make  a  beautiful  kind  of  cotton  fabric, 
richly  finished  earthenware  and  highly  tempered  sword  blades.  They 
have  made  some  advancement  as  manufacturers  of  agricultural  imple- 
ments, and  otherwise  show  an  intelligence  and  ingenuity,  which  is  all  the 
more  surprising  when  we  consider  their  moral  turpitude  and  the  fiendish 
lengths  to  which  their  pagan  fanaticism  carries  them. 

DAHOMEY. 

Adjoining  the  Ashanti  country  on  the  east  is  the  kingdom  of 
Dahomey,  or  the  Land  of  Horrors.  Its  autocrat  even  rivals  the  king  of 
Ashanti  in  the  power  which  he  exercises  over  his  subjects,  for  his  gov- 
erning power  is  not  so  much  fear  of  personal  injury  as  the  greater  dread 
of  spiritual  destruction.  His  subjects  all  consider  him  a  demi-god,  and 
not  only  put  the  property  of  the  whole  realm  into  his  hands,  but  their 
very  daughters.  They  grovel  before  him  and  throw  dust  upon  them- 
selves as  if  they  were  in  truth  worms  of  the  dust.  They  esteem  it  a 
favor  to  send  their  young  girls  to  him  every  year  and  have  him  parcel 
them  out  to  his  guards  or  nobles,  retaining  the  most  pleasing  for  him- 
self. This  custom  nets  him  a  large  revenue  (which  is  the  more  appreci- 
ated since  the  decline  of  the  slave  trade);  for  the  king  does  not  give 
away  these  maidens  as  rewards  for  bravery,  but  sells  them  to  his  sub- 
jects as  so  much  merchandise.  There  are  no  freemen  in  the  kingdom, 
each  subject  not  only  paying  a  head  tax,  but  a  tax  upon  everything  which 
he  eats,  drinks  and  wears.  The  principal  part  of  the  revenue  is  now 
derived  from  duties  on  palm  oil  and  ivory  exported,  and  a  duty  levied 
upon  every  import.  When  a  chief  dies  the  king  inherits  his  possessions 
absolutely,  and  is  not  even  so  kind  as  to  make  an  exception  of  the  furni- 
ture and  household  goods  of  the  deceased ;  but  as  he  has  provided  the 
chief  with  wives,  and  everything  that  the  chief  has  had  during  his  life- 
time has  been  upon  sufferance,  so  upon  his  death  he  takes  everything 
back. 

The  king  of  Dahomey  does  not  even  limit  himself  to  3,333  wives  as 


174  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

does  his  neighbor,  the  king  of  Ashanti,  Init  he  tal^es  as  many  as  he 
chooses.  His  boch guard  is  composed  of  women  who  are  cliosen  from 
amone  the  most  muscular  females  of  the  land  and  brought  to  him  from 
outlying  districts.  They  are  tall  and  commanding,  are  put  through  a 
course  of  private  and  severe  training,  and  are  considered  by  him  the 
flower  of  his  army,  as  they  are  fierce  as  tigers  and  cruel  as  wolves.  These 
Amazons  have  the  greatest  contempt  for  the  male  warriors,  and  when 
they  desire  to  reproach  one  another  with  cowardice,  say,  with  a  sneer, 
"  You  are  nothing  but  a  man."  Most  of  them  are  furnished  with  bows 
and  arrows,  swords  and  clubs,  though  some  are  armed  with  muskets. 
Each  of  them  is  also  furnished  with  a  rope  to  bind  prisoners.  As  they 
parade  through  the  streets  on  public  occasions,  dressed  in  their  sleeve- 
less blue  and  white  tunics  and  short  linen  trousers,  with  hideous  scalp 
locks  dangling  from  their  belts,  or  cowry  shells  fastened  to  their  guns 
with  coagulated  blood  (one  for  each  man  slain)  it  is  like  getting  a 
glimpse  of  the  three  furies,  repeated  again  and  again. 

Dahomey  is  saddled  with  two  kings,  each  absolute  in  his  particular 
province.  Europeans  hear  most  of  the  city  king,  for  he  rules  the  cities, 
makes  war,  regulates  the  slave  trade,  and  always  appears  to  the  outside 
world  when  scenes  of  cruelty  are  being  enacted.  He  it  is  who  makes 
the  raids  upon  neighboring  tribes,  seizing  the  women  and  children  for 
slaves,  who  are  destined  for  sacrifical  victims  upon  the  occasion  of  his 
own  death  or  that  of  a  relative  ;  and  once  every  year  some  hundreds  of 
them  are  slain  that  the  king  may  have  blood  to  water  the  graves  of  his 
ancestors.  His  loyal  subjects  express  their  homage  to  him  by  drinking 
the  blood  of  the  victims  thus  offered,  intermixed  with  a  plentiful  supply 
of  rum.  The  unfortunate  slave  is  led  to  the  king  by  the  official  heads- 
man. This  omnipotent  ruler  then  whispers  in  the  ear  of  the  victim  a 
message  which  is  to  be  conveyed  to  his  ancestors  who  have  passed  away, 
after  which  the  headsman  performs  his  duty.  After  decapitation  and 
the  collection  of  a  sufiicient  quantity  of  blood  for  the  purposes  named, 
the  bodies  are  dragged  out  of  town  and  left  to  be  devoured  by  beasts 
and  birds  of  prey.  Their  skulls  are  cleaned  and  used  as  building  mater- 
ial for  palaces,  as  ornaments  to  public  buildings,  and  as  the  heads  to 
banner  staves.  The  city  king  is  the  only  one  whom  the  traders  meet, 
but  there  is  another  royal  autocrat  who  rules  the  country  districts,  who 
regulates  tillage  and  commerce.  He  is  called  the  "  bush  king,"  and  has 
a  palace  about  six  miles  from  the  palace  of  the  city  king  in  Abomey. 

The  skeptic  who  smiles  when  told  that  there  are  people  who  believe 
in  a  Supreme  Deity,  and  yet  who  bow  down  in  worship  to  the  snake, 
would  shudder  and  grow  sick  at  heart  could  he  but  visit  some  Dahomey 


OAIIUMEY.  175 

town  ;  for  it  is  usually  provided  with  a  house,  which  is  centrally  located, 
and  in  which  sacred  reptiles  dwell.  They  are  in  charge  of  a  priest  who 
feeds  them  and  guards  them  tenderly  and  carries  them  about  with  him. 
If  a  person  is  suspected  of  witchcraft  or  other  crime  the  priest  is  sum- 
moned with  his  charges;  the  guilt  of  the  suspected  party  is  determined 
by  whether  or  not  he  is  bitten  by  the  writhing  monsters.  In  this,  as  in 
other  ordeals,  the  fetich  man  undoubtedly  holds  the  reputation,  the  life 
and  the  death  of  the  "defendant"  in  his  own  hands.  If  a  reptile  escape 
from  his  house,  the  people  first  prostrate-  themselves  before  him  and  then 
carefully  bear  him  back,  even  at  the  expense  of  their  lives.  To  kill  or 
to  injure  one  of  them  is  a  capital  offense.  The  origin  of  this  hideous 
form  of  worship  is  found  in  their  belief  that  although  there  is  a  -Supreme 
Deity,  he  must  be  reached  and  propitiated  through  the  minor  gods. 
The  most  important  of  the  minor  deities  is  the  snake-god,  who  has  1,000 
snake  wives.  The  tree-gods,  of  whom  the  "poison  tree"  is  the  most 
powerful,  have  also  a  like  number  of  help-mates.  The  sea-gods  are  rep- 
resented by  a  high  priest  at  the  seaport  of  Wlndah.  This  individual 
ranks  as  a  king  and  has  500  human  wives.  The  immediate  agents  of  the 
sea-gods  are  the  sharks,  who  snap  up  the  sacrificial  victim  as  he  is  cast 
into  the  water.  .Sharks  are  therefore  sacred.  When  a  person  has  been 
killed  by  lightning  it  is  not  lawful  to  bury  him  —  he  is  the  victim  of  the 
thunder-gods.  The  dead  body  is  placed  on  a  platform  and  cut  up  by 
women  who  hold  pieces  of  flesh  in  their  mouths  and  pretend  to  eat  them. 
This  is  supposed  to  intensify  their  power  as  fetich  women,  and  nearly 
one-fourth  of  all  the  females  in  Dahomey  belong  to  this  order. 

There  was  a  time,  and  that  not  a  century  ago,  when  the  king  of 
Dahomey  was  lord  of  the  coast  of  Guinea.  But  the  desolating  wars 
which  he  has  waged  to  keep  up  the  supply  of  skulls  for  his  court-jards 
and  temples,  for  his  national  fetiches,  for  his  periodical  and  ancestral 
sacrifices  ;  to  fill  his  coffers  with  tribute  money  and  to  collect  wives  for 
sale  ;  the  slaughter  of  his  own  people  whom  he  charges  with  crime, 
reduces  to  servitude  and  sacrifices  to  the  gods  ;  the  death  of  thousands 
of  wives  who  must  follow  the  king  to  his  grave  and  the  hereafter;  the 
fiendish  raids  upon  native  tribes  for  hundreds  of  miles  around  to  supply 
the  demands  of  the  slave  trade  ;  the  decline  of  this,  his  most  profitable 
trafific ;  and  finally  the  ruinous  system  of  ta.xation  which  he  imposes 
— all  of  these  things  have  combined  to  impoverish  the  surrounding 
countr)  and  reduce  almost  to  impotency  the  internal  organization  of 
the  kingdom.  Tracts  which  were  formerly  cultivated  are  now  a  desert, 
and  the  population  is  but  a  fraction  of  what  the  territory  might 
support. 


176  PANORAMA    OF    iNATIONS. 

A  NATIVE  REPUBLIC. 

Between  Dahomey  and  the  Niger  there  are  two  loosely-jointed 
negro  kingdoms  which  were  the  powers  of  the  coast  before  Ashanti 
and  Dahomey  acquired  the  ascendancy.  Yoruba  was  ruptured  by  an 
invasion  of  the  Eoulahs  about  sixty  years  ago,  but  still  contains  more 
populous  cities  than  any  other  one  kingdom  of  Western  Africa.  The 
Yorubas  are  an  industrious  race  of  people,  with  clear,  brown  complexions 
and  rather  incline  toward  the  European  cast  of  features.  Many  of  them 
are  good  mechanics.  Palm  oil  is  their  principal  article  of  export,  which 
they  exchange  for  powder,  brandy  and  European  fabrics.  In  the  eastern 
and  northern  portions  of  the  kingdom,  the  Foulahs  are  in  the  ascendant. 
but  the  .southern  and  western  parts  are  in  the  hands  of  native  tribes. 
The  manner  in  which  they  consolidated  and  formed  a  government  of  their 
own,  evinces  an  independent  spirit  which  is  rare.  Not  onlv  was  their 
kingdom  conquered  by  the  Foulahs,  but  their  tribes  were  being 
continually  decimated  by  .slave  hunters.  The  remnants  of  the 
country,  the  discouraged  and  intimidated  inhabitants  of  many 
towns,  finally  abandoned  their  territory  and  took  refuge  in  an  immense 
cavern  near  the  banks  of  the  Niger,  about  seventy-five  miles  from  the 
coast.  At  first  they  did  not  venture  far  beyond  their  hiding  place,  but 
collected  berries  and  roots  and  dwelt  in  their  cavernous  home.  As  they 
increased  in  numbers,  however,  they  built  houses,  engaged  in  agriculture 
and  other  industries,  formed  a  government,  and  named  their  town  or 
colony  Abeokuta,  or  "  Under-Stone,"  in  remembrance  of  the  great  stone 
roof  which  had  sheltered  them  in  the  time  of  their  misery  and  weakness. 
The  founding  of  Abeokuta  was  as  much  a  protest  against  the  enormities 
of  the  slave  trade  as  Sierra  Leone  or  Liberia;  and  it  was  a  more  remark- 
able protest,  as  coming  from  "home  talent,"  unprotected  and  unpatron- 
ized  by  any  Western  Power.  The  city  received  accessions  from  Sierra 
Leone,  even.  Slaves  who  had  been  recaptured  and  placed  under  the 
protection  of  the  British  flag  preferred  to  sojourn  in  the  rich  and  power- 
ful city  of  Abeokuta.  At  one  time  its  population  is  said  to  have  num- 
bered nearly  one  hundred  thousand  souls,  and  its  people  were  spread- 
ing over  to  the  coast  and  to  the  west.  Such  prosperity  was  so  distasteful 
to  the  slave-power,  Dahomey,  that  its  brutal  king  determined  to  destroy 
the  city  and  reduce  its  inhabitants  to  bondage.  But  the  Abeokutans 
became  aware  of  his  designs  and  before  he  had  set  his  large  army  in 
motion,  they  had  been  so  trained  under  the  leadership  of  an  American 
missionary,  that  when  it  appeared  it  was  driven  from  the  walls,  despite 
the  frantic  assault  of  the    kinor  and   his  Amazonian   soldiers.      The  kinsjf 


THE    STATES    OF    SOUDAN.  177 

himself  was  nearly  captured,  and  his  defeat  seriously  imperiled  the  exist- 
ence of  his  kingdom.  Thus  Abeokuta  became  the  capital  of  the  native 
kingdom  of  Yoruba.  It  is  still  so  considered,  although  the  kingdom 
itself  is  little  more  than  a  collection  of  independent  communities,  which 
form  a  close  union  only  in  times  of  war. 

"Benin"  was  the  name  formerly  applied  to  the  whole  coast  of 
Guinea,  and  the  kingdom  ruled  over  many  tribes.  It  is  now  chiefly 
noted  for  what  "  it  has  been,"  the  kingdom  being  an  unimportant  factor 
even  in  native  commerce,  notwithstanding  its  population  is  dense.  Its 
king  is  worshiped  as  a  fetich. 

THE  STATES  OF  SOUDAN. 

This  vast  country  has  for  many  centuries  been  the  battle-ground  of 
the  Arabs,  the  Moors,  the  Foulahs,  the  Mandingoes  and  the  Berbers. 
It  is  rich  in  cotton,  tobacco,  indigo,  wheat,  rice,  maize,  gold-dust  and 
iron.  Ivory  and  ostrich  feathers  are  also  largely  exported.  The  com- 
mercial races  of  Africa  have  therefore  concentrated  much  of  their  energy 
upon  this  valuable  expanse  of  land,  and  where  they  have  found  it  possible 
to  absorb  a  native  tribe  or  wrest  a  tract  of  country  from  one  another,  they 
have  not  hesitated  to  do  so.  Remnants  of  the  great  Fellatah  Empire  are 
scattered  over  the  country  in  the  shape  of  independent  states  governed 
by  native  chiefs,  but  each  is  so  powerless  that  he  is  unable  to  maintain 
himself  against  any  combination  of  his  rivals.  The  result  is  that,  especi- 
ally in  Western  and  Central  Soutlan,  the  Foulahs  and  Mandingoes  are 
called  upon  to  settle  all  disputes,  and  besides  being  numerically  in  the 
majority  are  so  superior,  intellectually,  that  these  portions  of  Soudan 
may  be  said  to  belong  to  them.  They  are  both  the  commercial  and 
political  powers,  and  with  the  Moors,  have  founded  many  towns  which 
do  not  even  make  a  pretense  of  being  subject  to  any  native  jurisdiction. 
Bambara  and  Borgu,  west  of  the  Niger  river,  have  nominal  monarchs, 
but  are  thus  under  the  dominion  of  these  energetic  races.  They  carry 
on  an  active  trade,  the  Mandingoes  principally  exporting  ivory  by  way 
of  the  coast,  and  the  Moors  dealing  in  gold  and.  slaves  through  the  great 
Sahara  Desert.  The  Touaricks,  or  Berbers  of  the  desert,  obtain  their 
share  of  the  riches  of  Soudan  by  constantly  swooping  down  upon  the 
border  states,  and  exacting  tribute  from  them,  or  by  attacking  the 
richly  laden  caravans  which  wend  their  way  across  the  Sahara  sands 
toward  the  Barbary  states.  The  pivotal  point  of  their  plundering  opera- 
tions has  always  been  Timbuctoo,  which  is  situated  on  the  great  north- 
western bend  of  the  Niger,  and  the  center  of  this  immense  trade.     To 

12 


178  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS 

protect  the  caravans,  whicli  make  Timbuctoo  the  commercial  mart  of 
Western  Africa,  the  city  pa)s  an  immense  annual  tribute  to  these  robbers 
who  were  driven  by  the  Arabs  from  their  Mediterranean  homes,  and 
continually  seek  to  avenge  themselves  upon  the  race  which  expelled  but 
never  conquered  them. 

In  Eastern  Soudan  the  Arabs  seem  to  be  the  dominant  race.  Three 
or  four  centuries  ago,  when  Timbuctoo  was  the  center  of  a  vast  empire, 
with  seven  kingdoms  dependent  upon  it,  this  fiery  people  ruled  the 
whole  country.  Since  the  rise  of  the  Foulahs  and  Mandingoes  as  a 
political  power,  they  have  been  confined  to  Eastern  Soudan.  Here,  in 
the  vicinity  of  Lake  Tchad,  is  to  be  seen  a  wreck  of  their  former  might 
in  the  "Empire  of  Bornoo."  This  name  has  a  very  large  "sound,"  and 
in  the  days  of  its  glory  meant  Eastern,  Southern  and  Central  Soudan  ; 
to-day  it  signifies  a  small  state,  somewhat  stronger  than  the  weak  ones 
which  surround  it.  Most  of  the  inhabitants  are  called  Bornoose  or 
Kanowry.  They  are  genuine  negroes,  peaceable  and  lazy  as  when  the 
Arabs  conquered  their  kingdom.  The  government  is  nominally  vested 
in  a  native  sultan,  but  really  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Arab  sheik.  The 
sultan  is  surrounded  by  a  bodyguard  of  nobles  and  chiefs,  clad  in  the 
most  grotesque  garb;  the  military  of  the  empire  to  the  strength  of  30,- 
000,  and  consisting  mostly  of  cavalry,  is  at  the  beck  and  call  of  the  sheik. 
The  troops  are  armed  with  huge  spears,  and  both  men  and  horses  are 
clad  in  armor 

The  Begharmis  are  a  powerful  negro  tribe  to  the  east  of  Bornoo, 
who  engage  the  cavalry  of  their  neighbors  in  thicker  iron  armor  than 
their  enemies  are  able  to  don.  They  have  a  sultan  who  has  several  petty- 
states  tributary  to  him.  At  last  accounts  Begharmi  acknowledged  the 
supremacy  of  Bornoo,  although  the  following  correspondence  lately 
passed  between  the  Mohammedan  sheik  and  the  pagan  sultan,  upon 
the  occasion  of  a  rebellion  from  his  authority  by  the  Begharmis.  Halt- 
ing his  army  about  half  a  mile  from  the  capital  of  his  enemy,  the  ruler 
of  Bornoo  sent. the  following:  "  Ruler  of  Begharmi,  deliver  up  your 
country,  your  riches,  your  people  and  your  slaves  to  the  beloved  of  God, 
without  reluctance  on  your  part ;  for  if  you  do  not  suffer  him  quietly 
and  peaceably  to  take  possession  of  your  kingdom,  he  will  shed  your 
blood  and  the  blood  of  your  household  ;  no  one  shall  be  left  alive  ;  while 
your  people  he  will  bind  with  fetters  of  iron  to  be  his  slaves  and  bonds- 
men, forever:  God  having  so  spoken  by  the  mouth  of  Mohammed." 
The  reply:  "The  sultan  of  Begharmi  does  not  know  you  or  your 
prophet ;  he  laughs  your  boastings  to  scorn  and  despises  your  impotent 
threats.     Go  back  to  your  country  and  live  in  peace  with  your  people  ; 


THE    STATES    OF    SOUDAN. 


179 


for  if  you  persist  in  the  foolish  attempt  to  invade  his  dominions,  you 
will  <:.arely  fall  by  his  hands ;  your  slaves  shall  be  his  slaves,  and  your 
people  his  people.  Your  chiefs  and  warriors  and  mighty  men  will  be 
slaughtered  without  mercy,  and  their  blood  shall  be  sprinkled  on  the 
walls  of  his  town  ;  even  your  priests  and  princes  shall  be  thrust  through 
with  spears  and  their  bodies  cast  into  the  woods  to  be  devoured  by 
lions  and  birds  of  prey."  Mohammedanism  has  been  introduced  among 
the  Begharmi,  but  they  are  still  pagans  as  a  people.  Physically  they 
area  fine  race;  their  women  being  especially  handsome.  The  men, 
however,  are  subject  to  a  peculiar  disease  in  the  little  toe,  which  eats  it 
away.  The  disease  is  supposed  to  be  caused  by  a  worm,  and  it  is  said 
that  one  in  every  ten  of  the  male  population  has  lost  his  little  toe. 


i8o 


S5 


o 

G 
D 


THE  BERBERS. 


THE  TOUARICKS. 


RIVEN  from  "  pillar  to  post;"  scourged  by  the  Phoenicians, 
Romans,  X'anclals  and  Arabs  ^crowded  from  their  fertile  ter- 
ritories along  the  iNIediterranean  Sea  into  the  Atlas  Mountains 
^^^■^  and  the  great  Sahara  desert — is  it  to  be  much  wondered  at 
that  the  Berbers  of  Northern  Africa  are  suspicious,  cruel  and 
treacherous,  and  tliat  many  of  them,  as  the  Touaricks,  are 
robbers  by  trade,  whose  hands  are  against  every  man  ?  Is  it 
to  be  wondered  at  that  they,  especially  the  settled  Berb.ers 
near  the  mountains,  are  a  proud  people  ?  They  have  seen  the 
ships  of  Phfrnicia  rotting  for  centuries,  and  the  great  Roman 
fortresses  which  were  thrown  along  the  Atlas  ranges  ha\e  crumbled  into 
ruins,  while  they  are  still  a  distinct  people  with  a  government  of  their 
own.  They  call  themselves  "Amazirghs"  (noble  or  freemen),  and 
although  they  are  but  a  shred  of  their  former  selves,  they  have  still  as 
distinct  an  existence  as  when  the  Vandals  had  swarmed  over  into 
Europe  and  were  hovering  over  the  decaying  carcass  of  Rome.  The 
Arabs  have  spread  themselves  over  Northern  and  Eastern  Africa,  mix- 
ing with  negroes,  Egyptians,  Abyssinians,  Gallas,  Caffres  and  Mada- 
gascans;  I)ut  the  Berbers  have  kept  their  blood  pure  and  are  proud  of 
it,  though  they  have  nothing  to  show  but  a  few  villages,  sundr_\-  herds 
of  sheep  and  cattle,  some  fertile  land  and  fine  fruit  trees,  water  mills 
and  oil  presses,  imperfectly  developed  mines  of  iron  and  lead,  rude 
agricultural  implements,  swords,  guns  and  powder  (their  own  make), 
some  horses  and  a  motley  collection  of  plunder,  comprising  all  the  prod- 
ucts of  Africa.  Why  they  are  called  Berbers  is  a  somewhat  mooted 
question;  some  say  from  their  word  "berberat,"  Avhich  expresses  the 
murmuring  sound  which  runs  as  a  common  harmony  through  all  their 
dialects:  others  from  "  Ber."  one  of  the  shepherd  kings  of  Egypt,  from 

i8i 


1 82  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

whom  some  of  the  tribes  trace  their  origin.  That  branch  of  the  Berbef 
family  which  has  firmly  planted  itself  near  the  Atlas  Mountains,  south 
of  Morocco,  is  believed  to  be  identical  with  the  ancient  Numidians,  who 
were  mature  in  their  strength  when  the  Carthaginians  were  in  their 
infancy,  and  whose  empire  included  a  part  of  Tunis,  Algiers  and  Beled 
El-Jerid.  The  latter  country,  or  the  "land  of  dates,"  is  a  narrow  strip 
of  sterile  land,  sprinkled  with  oases,  and  stretching  along  the  borders  of 
the  desert  from  Morocco  to  Tripoli.  The  Lybians  have  been  identified 
in  distinct  tribes  of  Berbers,  who  have  settled  in  a  chain  of  oases  near 
the  Touarick's  country  ;  while  the  Touaricks  themselves,  in  the  moun- 
tains and  desert  south  of  Algiers,  are  believed  to  be  the  Northern  Gae- 
tuli  of  Pliny  and  Ptolemy.  Though  this  vast  stretch  of  country  may 
be  called  their  rendezvous,  their  home  is  the  Great  Desert.  They 
claim  that  no  one  is  so  well  acquainted  with  its  natural  features  as 
they;  that  it  is  not  so  destit~ate  of  water  as  the  ignorant  generally 
suppose;  that  they  can  detect  water  in  the  most  sandy  districts 
by  boring  into  the  soil  with  their  long  lances.  By  slightly  lifting 
the  points  and  allowing  them  to  remain  in  the  holes,  a  little  moist- 
ure will  have  collected  at  the  bottom  if  the  survey  has  been  success- 
ful. The  Touaricks  have  their  well  districts  in  every  portion  of  the 
grciat  .Sahara  desert,  so  that  they  can  dig  for  water  as  they  require  it, 
and  then  cover  up  all  traces  of  their  discovery.  To  reveal  this  secret  to 
any  foreigner  is  punishable  by  death — thus  has  their  king  decreed. 
Many  of  these  robber  nomads  camp  in  small  leathern  tents  which  are 
peculiar  to  them.  They  seem  to  be  made  of  the  untanned  hides  of 
goats  or  antelopes. 

The  Touarick's  bulwark  of  strength  as  a  successful  robber  is  in  his 
great  white  dromedary,  which  is  as  peculiar  to  him  as  his  tent.  Its 
head  is  small,  its  hair  fine,  its  limbs  as  long  as  a  greyhound's,  and  its 
chest  as  deep  as  that  of  a  thoroughbred  race  horse.  In  fact  it  is  the 
swiftest  of  its  kind,  and  the  Touarick  is  as  proud  of  his  "  inahari  "  as  the 
Arabian  or  Galla  is  of  his  steed.  The  mode  of  trainincr  this  noble 
war-horse  of  the  desert  is  kept  as  close  a  mystery  as  the  existence  of  the 
well  districts  ;  Ijut  it  is  as  docile  as  a  dog,  obeying  the  voice  but  being 
guided  by  a  bridle.  The  saddle  is  placed  on  the  neck  and  shoulders, 
and  is  shaped  like  a  chair  with  a  high  back,  with  a  peak  in  front  around 
which  the  rider  crosses  his  legs.  Then  over  the  desert  he  rushes,  the 
mahari  going  at  a  swinging  trot  from  sunrise  to  sunset,  covering  with 
ease  eighty  miles  a  day.  The  Touarick's  long  tuft  of  hair  streams  out 
from  under  liis  high  red  fez  cap,  and  his  blue  sleeveless  cloak,  with  the 
rajiid  nidtioii,  [jufts  out  Ijehind  him.      He  has  on  cotton  trousers  commg 


REPUBLIC    OF    THE    SEVEN    CITIES.  183 

down  to  the  ankles  and,  if  he  is  well  off  in  the  world,  wears  no  shoes; 
for  he  maintains  that  it  is  only  those  who  are  too  poor  to  ride  who  need 
to  protect  their  feet.  Over  his  trousers  he  wears  a  loose  robe  of  black 
cotton,  which,  with  his  nether  garments,  are  confined  by  a  broad  leather 
girdle.  The  blue  cloak  Sfoes  over  this.  There  is  a  black  turban  around 
his  red  fez  cap,  and  one  end  of  the  folds  is  brought  over  the  face  and 
fastened  with  an  ivory  pin,  so  as  to  expose  only  the  eyes.  Even  in 
eating,  this  black  veil  is  never  removed,  but  held  from  the  mouth  by  the 
left  hand.  To  expose  the  face  is  considered  a  degradation.  The  women 
are  never  veiled.  Although  the  Touarick  evidently  thinks  she  is  not 
thus  degraded,  he  seems,  on  the  whole,  to  treat  his  wife  with  considera- 
tion, and  his  life  is  remarkably  free  from  vice.  The  common  weapons 
are  a  lance  seven  feet  in  length,  and  a  large,  straight,  double-edged 
sword  slung  over  the  left  shoulder.  A  short  dagger  is  sometimes  worn 
in  the  girdle.  To  bear  fire-arms  is  the  privilege  of  only  the  wealthiest 
chiefs.  Besides  the  weapons  aforementioned,  the  rank  and  file  carry  on 
the  left  arm  a  round  shield  made  of  elephant  hide,  stretched  on  a  wooden 
hoop  and  studded  with  large-headed  nails.  Thus  towering  above  the 
horseman  on  the  highest  of  steeds,  the  Touarick  robbers,  as  they  swoop 
down  upon  the  caravan,  are  dreaded  foes.  They  seldom  kill,  however, 
except  in  self-defense.  In  appearance  the  Touarick  is  of  a  dark-brown 
complexion,  tall  and  slender-limbed,  with  thin  lips,  aquiline  nose  and 
remarkably  small  hands  and  feet.  The  language  of  the  Touarick  is 
stated,  on  good  authority,  to  be  the  purest  existing  dialect  of  the  Ber- 
ber family,  it  being  quite  unintelligible  co  the  Kabyles,  the  Berbers  of 
the  Atlas  Mountains,  or  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  oases  wdio  have  set- 
tled between  the  Touaricks  and  the  mountains.  They  are  not  pagans; 
neither  are  they  strict  Mohammedans.  They  are  lax  in  the  observance 
of  forms,  but  seem,  all  in  all,  despite  their  loose  ideas  of  property,  to  be 
moral,  straightforward  and  fearless. 

REPUBLIC  OF  THE  SEVEN  CITIES. 

North  of  the  Touaricks,  in  Beled  El-Jerid,  is  the  Republic  of  the 
Seven  Cities  of  the  Mozabites.  Their  own  tradition  is  that  their  founder 
was  named  Messab,  the  fourteenth  in  succession  from  Noah,  They  were 
driven  from  the  northeastern  shores  of  the  Red  Sea,  remained  for  sev- 
eral generations  in  Upper  Egypt,  when  they  emigrated  to  the  shores  of 
the  Mediterranean,  the  main  body  settling  on  the  frontier  of  Morocco 
and  Algiers.  A  portion  of  the  race  settled  on  a  small  island  between 
Tunis  and  Tripoli,  where  they  still   remain.      They  remained  for  several 


184  l'ANOr<AMA    OF    NATIONS. 

generations  on  the  Morocco  frontier  under  the  rule  of  the  king  being, 
at  that  time,  Christians.  About  "]•]•]  a.u.,  having  by  this  time  also  inter- 
mingled considerably  with  the  aboriginal  Berbers,  they  adopted  a  form 
of  Mohammedanism  from  a  Persian  priest  who  settled  in  their  metropolis, 
which  was  located  in  the  modern  province  of  Ovan,  Northwestern 
Algeria.  Their  Berber  neighbors  who  belonged  to  another  and  a 
stricter  sect,  drove  them  from  the  country  in  which  they  had  resided  for 
two  centuries;  but  establishing  several  artificial  oases  further  to  the 
south,  they  founded  a  new  state  in  company  with  the  aboriginal  inhab- 
itants who  were  settled  at  Waregla.  The  religion  of  the  Mozabites  was 
also  a  cause  of  offense  to  the  Wareglas,  and  the  immigrants  were  so 
harassed  that  they  sent  out  scouts  to  spy  out  another  land  in  which  they 
could  dwell  in  peace.  This  the)'  found  still  far  to  the  south,  and  in  a 
rugged,  mountainous  region  surrounded  by  the  Algerian  desert  of  the 
Great  .Sahara,  secure  from  the  attacks  of  the  Arab  and  Touarick  cav- 
alr}',  they  have  dwelt  for  nearly  900  years,  irrigating  their  land  and  draw- 
ing from  it  the  necessities  of  life,  building  houses  and  cities  and  found- 
ing their  snug  little  republic.  They  afterwards  extended  their  republic 
both  to  the  north  and  the  southwest. 

The  Mozabites  hold  the  Jews  in  as  great  contempt  as  they  are  held 
by  the  Arabs,  and  where  the  Hebrews  have  settled  in  the  cities  of  their 
republic  they  are  strictly  confined  to  their  own  quarters.  The  great 
cause  of  this  animosity  is  found  in  the  assertion  which  the  Jews  have 
made  for  ages,  that  the  Mozabites  are  the  Moabites  who  conquered 
Israel  and  were  conquered,  in  turn,  Ijy  the  Babylonians  whom  they 
assisted  to  subdue  Palestine,  who  were  worshipers  of  Baal  —  botli  the 
religious  and  national  enemies  of  the  Hebrew  people  —  a  portion  of 
whom  emigrated  to  the  west,  and  with  the  other  idolatrous  foes  of  the 
Jews,  the  Ammonites,  disappeared  for  a  time  from  the  light  of  history. 
Among  the  coast  tribes  of  Zanzibar,  also,  there  is  a  numerous  people 
called  the  "  Weled  Hammam,"  whom  the  Jews  assert  to  be  the  children 
of  Ammon.  It  has  been  a  custom  of  the  Mozabites,  for  several  ages, 
after  performing  the  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  to  go  to  this  country  in  order 
to  visit  tlicir  acknowledged  brethren.  But  although  the  feud  between 
the  Jew  and  the  Mozabite  stretches  back,  indefiniteh',  the  Hebrew  is  a 
useful  member  of  the  industrious  republic,  being  a  skillful  worker  of 
metals  and  a  merchant. 

Most  of  the  cities  of  the  repulslic  have  been  built  on  Ixild  emi- 
nences, the  houses  of  the  inhabitants  being  mostl\-  of  nuul.  ']'he  walls 
and  gateways  of  the  towns  and  the  f-tructure  of  their  parliament  houses 
and  other  public  buildings  are  decidedly  Egyptian   in  style.      After  the 


REPUBLIC    OF    THE    SEVEN    flTIES.  1 85 

fashion  of  the  Egyptian  temples  the  porticos  of  their  mosques  and  tow- 
ers lean  inward,  and  their  marabouts,  or  great  buildings  in  which  are  the 
tombs  of  their  dead,  instead  of  having  their  tops  domed  as  among  the 
Arabs,  are  brought  to  a  point.  All  the  graves  are  covered  with  urns,  and 
many  of  them  have  a  ram's  horn  stuck  upright  in  the  neck.  This  latter 
peculiarity  seems  certainly  to  point  to  them  as  worshipers  of  Amnion 
(who  is  represented  as  a  human  being  with  a  ram's  head)  whose  greatest 
temple  was  in  Thebes,  and  from  which  country  they  claim  to  have  emi- 
grated. Whatev^er  may  have  been  their  former  religion,  they  are  now 
known  as  the  fifth  sect  of  Mohammedans  and  treated  as  schismatics. 
When  they  are  abroad  and  worship  in  the  regular  mosque  of  Islam,  they 
are  separated  from  the  true  followers  as  though  tainted  with  leprosy. 
Every  species  of  luxury  is  forbidden  among  them,  tobacco,  snuff  and 
coffee  being  banished.  They  have  a  distinct  priesthood,  but  scorn  a 
dervish.  The  priesthood  elect  the  sheik,  who  is  president  of  the  repub- 
lic. Each  city  or  republic  is  under  the  government  of  a  popular  assem- 
bly, which  consists  of  from  four  to  twelve  members,  according  to  the 
number  of  families  in  the  district.  The  Mozabites  have  only  one  paid 
official  in  their  government,  he  being  a  negro  who  is  paid  to  execute 
orders  and  to  see  that  strangers  are  properly  entertained.  The  people 
are  hospitable  and  generous  —  Avithin  bounds.  They  are  lovers  of  home 
and  they  guard  their  houses  with  the  utmost  care.  No  man  ever  goes 
abroad  without  a  ponderous  polished  key  or  brace  of  keys  in  his  hand. 
In  default  of  iron  he  uses  a  yard  of  wood,  his  wives  being  safely  locked 
up  at  home.  They  delight  in  music  with  all  their  austerity,  and  from 
their  seven  cities  the  tones  of  the  pipe,  tom-tom  and  zickar  are  inces- 
santly arising  and  mingling  with  the  echoes  of  the  drum.  They  are 
peaceable,  reserved  to  strangers,  honest  in  their  commercial  dealings  and 
truthful  in  their  conversation. 

Any  immorality  is  punished  by  the  assembly,  presided  over  by  the 
priest.  The  man  is  first  warned  of  his  fault,  and  if  he  persists  in  it, 
sentence  is  passed  upon  him  incapacitating  him  from  entering  the 
mosques  or  voting  in  the  civil  elections;  otherwise  any  man  may  cast  his 
vote  who  has  a  house  and  estiblishment  of  his  own.  The  offender 
against  virtue  can  be  restored  to  his  religious  and  political  privileges 
only  upon  proof  of  his  repentance  and  good  behavior.  If  he  repents, 
the  nails  of  his  fingers  and  toes  are  pared  very  close.  He  is  shaved, 
rubbed  all  over  with  warm  grease  and  washed  from  head  to  feet.  With 
his  hands  crossed  over  his  breast,  the  penitent  then  presents  himself 
before  the  assembly  and  exclaims :  "  I  am  one  of  the  children  of  God, 
and  of  the  children  who  repent."     The  priest  thereupon  reads  a  chapter 


1 86  PANORAMA    OF    NATION'S. 

of  the  Koran  and  absolves  him.  Punishment  by  death  is  unknown  to 
the  laws  of  the  Mozabites,  perpetual  banishment  being  the  heaviest  pen- 
alty recognized.  To  the  average  native  this  punishment  is  severe 
enough,  for  although  most  of  the  young  men  go  abroad  uijon  commer- 
cial enterprises,  traveling  at  times  for  years  without  returning  perma- 
nently to  their  desert  homes,  their  aim  is,  when  age  comes  upon  them, 
to  be  able  to  live  and  die  within  the  domain  of  the  peaceful  republic.  If 
a  citizen  finds  himself  in  distress,  his  natural  heirs  or  his  clan  are  bound 
to  support  him  ;  begging  Is  a  crime.  If  a  man  dies  without  heirs,  his 
property  is  divided  by  the  state.  Should  a  citizen  not  be  able  or  willing 
to  respond  to  the  demands  of  the  government  upon  him  for  work  upon 
the  city  walls,  wells  or  aqueducts,  he  may  deposit,  in  lieu  of  his  labor, 
a  certain  sum  in  the  money  chest  of  the  mosque.  Taxation  is  levied 
upon  houses,  gardens,  palm  trees  and  camels,  every  man  who  pays  a 
house  tax  being  exempt  on  six  palm  trees  and  six  camels. 

In  every  city  of  the  Barbary  States,  this  industrious  well-governed 
people  are  found,  usually  formed  into  societies  or  guilds,  in  which  each 
member  is  responsible  for  the  debts  and  good  behavior  of  all  the  rest. 
When  at  home  the  principal  occupations  of  the  people  are  the  cultiva- 
tion of  their  gardens  and  weaving.  Their  towns  are  usually  perched  on 
the  steep  side  of  a  rocky  eminence,  behind  which,  in  a  ravine  or  artificial 
oasis,  are  the  gardens  of  the  villages.  The  walls  which  surround  them 
are  of  stone,  plastered  with  mud-colored  lime,  and  are  strengthened  with 
four  towers  on  each  side.  On  each  side  of  a  town  commonly  appears  a 
cemetery,  the  graves  being  cut  from  solid  rock.  Near  one  of  their  most 
ancient  cities  is  a  vast  cemetery  in  which  is  a  tomb  building  containing" 
the  remains  of  27,000  human  beings,  respected  citizens  of  the  kingdom 
and  republic,  whose  lives  stretch  over  a  thousand  years  of  time  !  But 
we  started  to  say  something  about  their  industry  and  modes  of  cultiva- 
tion ;  then  we  shall  see  how  they  look,  take  a  stroll  o\er  their  seven 
cities,  and  depart  for  another  community  of  peculiar  people,  as  distinct  a 
race  as  they.  The  soil  is  all  artificial,  vegetable  and  animal  contributing 
to  its  slow  formation.  The  city  groves  or  gardens  arc  hedged  with  palm 
trees.  At  the  foot  of  each  palm  is  a  trench  to  hold  water,  which  is  con- 
veyed to  the  soil  by  neat  channels  formed  of  hard  lime,  the  land  being 
divided  into  squares  as  it  is  in  Egypt.  Each  garden  is  daily  watered, 
and  every  inch  of  space  is  utilized,  being  sown  to  capsicums,  pumpkins, 
carrots,  turnips  and  barley.  Vines  are  trellised  from  palm  to  palm,  and 
fig  trees,  quinces  and  pomegranates  gi\'e  the  stateh^  hedge  the  beauty  of 
their  pale  green.  The  plow  by  which  the  soil  has  been  turned  up  is 
devoid  of  iron,  being  merely  a  long  piece  of  wootl  sharpened  at  one  end. 


REPUBLIC   OF   THE   SEVEN    CITIES.  1 87 

to  whicli  are  fastened  two  beams,  one  for  drawing- and  the  other  for  truid- 
ing.  The  camel  who  furnishes  the  motive  power  is  led  by  one  boy  and 
driven  by  another.  Wheat  is  almost  unknown  in  the  republic,  and  the 
use  of  meat  is  confined  to  festivals. 

The  Mozabites  are  expert  dyers  and  tanners  of  morocco  leather. 
They  use  the  rind  of  the  pomci^ranate  for  tanning-  purposes.  After 
bleaching  the  wool  with  water  mixed  with  the  powder  of  a  soft  lime- 
stone, they  use  the  roots  of  various  desert  plants  for  yellow,  primrose 
and  red  dyes. 

The  women  do  not  appear  much  in  public,  spending  most  of  their 
time  on  the  tops  of  their  houses.  Four  of  them  are  allowed  one  husband, 
at  least  one  man  is  allowed  to  marry  four  wives.  Their  hair  is  twisted 
into  a  huge  knot  on  each  side  of  the  forehead,  and  there  is  another  knot 
behind  on  the  left  side.  The  whole  arrangement  is  fastened  with  large 
gold  or  silver  skewers,  and  powdered  with  red  and  white  beads.  On  the 
right  knot  only  they  wear  such  ornaments  as  gold  stars  and  coins. 
These  ladies  are  very  dark,  and  yet  have  red  or  black  patches  of  paint 
on  the  forehead,  and  a  black  patch  on  the  end  of  the  nose.  Rings, 
bracelets  and  anklets  are  plentifully  worn.  The  men,  however  poverty- 
stricken,  always  wear  a  signet-ring  of  silver.  More  ornaments  are  some- 
times tolerated  by  the  Jews,  but  otherwise  there  is  no  distinction  in 
dress  between  them  and  the  Moslems,  except  in  place  of  the  red  fez 
under  the  turban  they  always  wear  a  black  one. 

Each  of  the  seven  cities  of  the  republic  has  a  distinctive  air  and 
although  the  people  are  united,  there  is  so  much  that  is  different  in 
architecture,  in  local  laws  and  customs  as  almost  to  leave  the  impression 
of  a  passing  into  another  country.  The  military  city  of  the  confederacy 
is  Beni  Isguen.  Surrounded  by  a  double  line  of  fortifications,  it  stands 
upon  the  side  of  a  hill  at  the  summit  of  which  are  the  ruins  of  the  first 
settlement  of  the  Mozabites,  made  more  than  a  thousand  years  ago. 
The  space  between  the  walls  is  covered  with  Arabian  tents.  This 
privilege  is  not  even  accorded  the  Jew;  for  the  inhabitants  of  Beni 
Isguen  boast  that  they  are  of  the  purest  Mozabite  blood,  part  of  them 
having  come  from  the  Arabian  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Bab-el-Mandeb,  and 
the  others  from  the  Berbers  of  the  mountains.  None  but  members  of 
these  two  clans  are  allowed  to  hold  land.  Every  fortnight  one  hundred 
of  the  citizens  are  summoned  to  practice  ball  firing  against  the  face  of  a 
rock.  Their  military  faithfulness  has  worn  it  into  a  cave  twelve  feet  deep, 
so  that  little  of  their  ammunition  is  lost.  Everything  is  ancient  and 
impressive  in  this  city,  although  its  population  does  not  exceed  ten 
thousand  ;  it  has  two  massive  mosque  towers,  one  for  the  upper  and  old 


1 88  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

town,  and  the  other  for  the  lower  city.  After  pointing  these  out  to  the 
stranger,  the  Kadi  (ci\il  president  of  the  corporation)  will  lead  him 
proudly  to  the  city's  register,  in  which,  for  nine  hundred  years,  are 
recorded  its  chief  events  and  the  names  of  its  distinguished  visitors. 

The  capital  of  the  republic  is  Ghardaia,  a  city,  as  usual,  "  founded 
on  a  rock,"  its  flat-roofed  huts  built  in  terraces,  tier  upon  tier.  A  taller 
hill,  on  one  side,  is  crowned  by  the  oldest  of  the  Mozabite  fortified 
towns  ;  on  the  one  hand  loom  the  ruins  of  another  ancient  town.  Enter- 
ing through  the  gateway,  overshadowed  by  the  square  tower  of  a  mosque, 
you  are  met  by  the  "  mayor,"  who  is  also  president  of  the  republic,  and 
who  carries  in  his  hand  three  enormous  keys  with  which  he  ushers  you 
into  the  "  guest"  house.  This  is  apt  to  be  a  small  windowless  hut, with 
only  the  door  through  which  you  enter;  upon  the  floor  you  find  spread  for 
your  reception  a  long  carpet  of  some  thick  material,  a  basket  of  da,tes,  a 
dish  of  pomegranates,  and  perhaps  a  huge  water-melon.  The  great  cem- 
etery of  the  republic  is  located  at  the  capital,  and  here  is  the  immense, 
marabout,  or  tomb  Iniilding,  to  which  reference  has  been  made.  This 
hallowed  ground  is  not  only  the  scene  of  mourning,  but  of  one  of  the 
most  joyous,  simple  festivals  which  can  be  imagined.  It  is  known  as 
the  "  death-feast"  of  the  founder  of  the  Ghardaia.  Once  every  year,  in 
a  large  open  space  in  the  cemetery,  the  poor  of  the  city  gather  to  receive 
a  bounteous  feast  from  the  hands  of  the  rich.  Underneath  the  open 
space  is  the  grave  of  the  man  whose  name  is  revered  in  so  tender- 
hearted a  manner. 

Trade  is  comparatively  so  brisk  at  the  capital  that  quite  a  commer- 
cial atmosphere  surrounds  it.  Windowless,  one-story  houses  front  the 
streets,  and  some  of  them  have  holes  in  the  wall  through  which  cotton 
cloaks,  burnooses,  handkerchiefs,  etc.,  are  sold.  The  market  is  an 
irregular  space,  surrounded  by  rows  of  venders  with  their  wares  on  their 
knees  on  the  ground,  the  buyers  sitting  beside  them.  A  negro  acts  as 
auctioneer,  having  an  assistant  who  carries  the  article  to  be  sold  around 
the  square.  Among  other  strange  valuables  disposed  of  is  a  large  heap 
of  date  stones,  which  are  cracked  between  stones,  and  fed  to  camels.  The 
Jews  are  here  allowed  the  freedom  of  the  city,  though  they  are  confined 
to  one  quarter,  where  they  work  as  jewelers,  silversmiths,  farriers,  and 
blacksmiths. 

Mellika  is  the  sacred  city  of  the  republic,  which  contains  more 
.mosques  than  its  sister  towns,  more  ruined  houses  outside  the  walls, 
more  tumbhtd-down  gates,  and  boasts  a  large  cemetery  in  which  are 
buried  many  of  the  republic's  revered  founders.  Beyond  this  is  a  city  so 
small  and  jumbled  together  that  it  does  not  even  have  a  house  for  the 


THE    WAREGLAS.  1  89 

entertainment  of  guests;  it  has  seen  better  days,  however,  for  the  top  of 
the  hill  is  covered  with  a  mass  of  ruins.  El  At'f  has  a  double  wall  like 
the  military  city,  and  is  the  oldest  city  which  stands  upon  its  former  site. 
You  see  again  the  same  holes  in  the  wall  through  which  cottons  and 
fruits  are  being  vended.  There  is  also  something  which  looks  like  a 
mass  of  loose  sand.  It  is  really  a  desert  lichen  and  not  considered  bad 
eating  by  the  hungry  Touarick,  though  to  any  one  who  has  a  liking  for 
the  dainties  of  this  life,  it  might  just  as  well  be  a  section  of  the  .Sahara  for 
all  the  attraction  it  would  have  to  him.  The  entire  site  of  the  city  is  a 
polished  rock,  and  its  gardens  are  choked  with  sand — but  the  Mozabite 
is  proud  of  it,  too,  with  its  white-washed  houses,  built  of  good  stone,  and 
its  palm  trees  within  instead  of  without  the  walls. 

Guerara,  the  seventh  city  of  the  Mozabite  republic,  wonderful  to 
relate,  occupies  an  almost  level  site,  being  situated  in  an  isolated  oasis, 
and  havine  little  intercourse  with  the  balance  of  the  commonwealth. 
The  houses  stretch  from  both  sides  of  the  usual  tower,  and  are  of  mud- 
brick  and  stone.  Small  eminences  surround  the  town,  each  crowned  by 
the  tomb  of  a  holy  man  ;  this  is  a  complete  little  house  with  many  cham- 
bers, but  all  closed  and  dark,  in  which  prayers  are  offered  by  the  family 
on  stated  occasions.  On  the  anniversary  of  his  decease,  the  virtues  of 
the  departed  are  extolled  and  a  largess  doled  out,  as  in  the  death  feast 
we  have  described. 

THE  WAREGLAS. 

A  three  days'  march  from  the  Seven  Cities  brings  one  to  the 
Wareglas,  with  whom  it  will  be  remembered  the  Mozabites  attempted 
to  form  a  union.  As  you  approach  their  city  the  "  Peace  be  with  you" 
which  greets  you  on  every  hand  makes  you  imagine  that  you  are  among  the 
faithful  people  of  the  Prophet.  The  people  are  of  a  different  race  from 
those  among  whom  we  have  been  living — very  dark,  often  with  a  strong 
dash  of  negro  features  ;  the  women  with  frizzed  hair  curled  into  cork- 
screws, plaited  at  the  back  and  oramented  like  Nubians  with  red  beads 
and  gold  coins.  Instead  of  the  long  cord  of  camel's  hair  worn  around 
the  fez  by  the  Arabs,  the  Wareglas  wear  a  simple  twist  of  fine  grass 
matting.  In  other  ways  they  show  the  independence  befitting  a  people 
who  claim  to  have  founded  the  most  ancient  city  in  the  Sahara.  Although 
Waregla  boasts  that  it  has  never  voluntarily  submitted  to  Dey  or 
Porte,  it  was,  at  one  time,  unable  to  choose  a  native  prince  and  called 
upon  the  Emperor  of  Morocco  for  a  ruler.  He  sent  his  son,  who  agreed 
to  levy  no  taxes,  but  to  be  content  with  as  many  gardens  as  there  were 
days  in   the  year.     The  extravagance  of  the  royal  family  induced  the 


190 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


Wareglas  to  stipulate  that  the  sviltan  should  receive  a  camel-load  of  dates 
for  every  one  hundred  trees  of  the  60,000  in  their  oasis.  This  generous 
provision,  however,  did  not  long  keep  the  foreign  ruler  within  bounds, 
and  the  indolent  people  therefore  aroused  themselves,  and  put  into 
effect  their  prerogative  of  deposing  the  sultan  at  will.  '1  heir  resolve  was 
delicately  conveyed  to  him,  as  had  been  previously  understood,  by  neglect- 
ing to  furnish  him  a  band  of  music  at  the  time  of  morning  prayer.  The 
band  did  not  play  before  his  chamber  door,  and  he  retired  to  private  life, 
only  to  give  place  to  a  powerful  chieftain  of  the  .Southern  Sahara,  who 
agreed  to  protect  the  city  against  the  raids  of  the  Touaricks.  These 
marauders  have  more  than  once  attacked  the  place,  and  laid  waste  the 
gardens  and  palm  groves  which  extend  for  several  miles  in  all  direc- 
tions. The  trees  are  irrigated  by  salt  water,  which  is  said  to  be  con- 
ducive to  their  fruitfulness.  Beyond  the  gardens  is  a  marsh  swarming 
with  wild  duck  and  abounding  with  rank  herbage.  The  city  has  a  triple 
circuit  of  crumbling  walls,  the  outer  enclosing  a  wide  space  where  cattle 
are  driven  in,  camels  loaded  and  unloaded,  and  caravans  arranged.  The 
middle  walls  are  built  of  sun-dried  brick.  A  forest  of  palms  envelops 
the  whole  city.  The  mosques  with  their  lofty,  square  towers  again 
appear,  but  instead  of  the  clear-cut  features  of  the  Mozabites,  we  are 
confronted  with  the  broad  nose  and  coarse  mouth.  There  is  a  Jewish 
quarter  in  Waregla,  also,  given  up  almost  entirely  to  the  workers  of 
metals.  The  Hebrews  have  their  own  streets,  a  separate  municipal 
organization,  and  if  they  pay  their  taxes,  may  be  greeted  with  the  "  Peace 
be  with  you  "  of  the  lax  Wareglan,  who  seems  to  have  forgotten  that  the 
salutation  should  only  be  given  to  the  faithful  Mohammedan. 


THE  MALAYANS. 


ROM  the  southeast  of  Asia,  in  the  dim  past,  there  came  a 
fierce,  active  race  of  men,  driving  the  aborigines  into  the 
islands  of  the  sea.  First  they  crowded  them  into  tlie  interior 
and  sometimes  off  the  islands  entirely.  The  race  of  Papuans 
finally  concentrated  themselves  on  the  great  island  of  New 
Guinea,  from  which  the  war-like  Malayans  were  unable  to  drive 
them.  This  with  the  Philippines  and  a  few  small  groups  of 
islands  in  direct  communication  with  New  Guinea,  or  Papua, 
were  virtually  all  that  remained  to  the  overwhelmed  aborigi- 
nes. From  Borneo  and  the  Celebes  Islands  the  hardy  and 
enterprising  conquerors  shot  out  in  all  directions.  Describing  curves 
of  thousands  of  miles,  the  race  swung  round  the  oceanic  territory  of  the 
Papuans,  when  they  could  not  break  through  it,  until  they  had  in  their 
embrace  nearly  all  the  islands  of  the  ocean  from  South  America  to 
Africa  and  from  Australia  to  the  Sandwich  Islands.  At  quite  an  early 
day  in  their  history  of  savage  colonization  there  occurred  a  gigantic 
split  or  emigration.  For  fifteen  hundred  miles  east  of  the  Celebes 
Islands  the  Malayan  language,  both  in  its  structure  and  traditions,  shows 
many  admixtures  from  the  Indian  or  old  Sanskrit.  With  the  Samoan, 
or  Tonga  groups  of  islands  which  are  then  reached,  commences  to  be 
heard  both  a  distinct  language  and  a  new  order  of  traditions.  Physical 
development  has  also  been  progressing.  The  pure  Mala)-an  type  shows 
a  native  of  small  stature;  skin  a  copper  brown,  with  a  tint  of  yellow; 
straight,  coarse  and  dark  hair  ;  long  and  broad  head  ;  protruding  cheek 
bones  ;  flat  nose  and  large  nostrils  ;  small  eyelids,  but  not  as  narrow  as 
those  of  the  Mongolian  ;  large  mouth,  but  the  lips  not  puffed  up  ;  black, 
but  not  brilliant  eyes.  Progressing  eastward  the  body  Increases  both  in 
height  and  muscularity ;  the  jaw,  cheek-bones,  mouth  and  nose  are 
shaded  more  toward  the  European  cast,  and  the  hair  does  not  tend  toward 
the  Papuan  variety  (which  grows  in  tufts)  but  is  inclined  to  be  curly. 
We  are  now  among  the  Polynesians — those  tall  athletic  cannibals,  and 

igl 


192 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


Christians,  who  are  regarded  as  the  purest  remnants  of  the  race  which 
was  crowded  out  of  Asia  by  the  more  vigorous  Aryans,  and  which,  in 
turn,  pushed  the  Papuans  out  into  the  broad  Pacific  and  hemmed  them 
round  about  in  their  island  prisons.  The  Polynesian  languages,  there- 
fore, are  among  the  most  primitive  forms  of  speech.  As  those  gigantic 
"  South  Sea  Islanders,"  the  Polynesians,  come  up  before  us  all,  with  their 
black  skins  and  their  bluish  black  hair,  divided  from  them  by  thou- 
sands of  miles,  their  geographical  as  well  as  personal  extremes  are  the 
Madagascans,  who  are  a  branch  of  the  Malayans  proper. 


^m- 


THE  MADAGASCAR  MALAYANS. 


\LV  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  the  African  coast,  oppo- 
site MozambiciLie,  is  a  great  island  which  it  is  natural  to 
suppose  would  be  peopled  by  the  tribes  of  Africa;  but  with  a 
few  unimportant  exceptions  on  their  western  coasts,  the  Afri- 
cans have  never  been  navigators.  Not  even  to  escape  the 
persecutions  of  war  or  the  pressure  of  pojnilation,  do  they 
seem  ever  to  have  ventured  far  from  the  coast,  but  rather  to 
have  trusted  themselves  to  the  great  unknown  interior  of  their 
continent,  when  circumstances  have  forced  them  to  "move 
on."  So  that  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  lying  between 
the  continent  of  Africa  and  the  great  island  of  Madagascar  have  barred 
out  the  Ethiopians,  and  left  the  way  open  for  an  influx  of  population 
via  the  Indian  Ocean.  In  what  way  and  when  the  adventurous  Malay 
found  his  home  in  this  far-distant  island,  has  been  one  of  the  problems 
which  has  most  puzzled  the  ethnologist;  but  find  him  we  do,  with  the 
speech,  eyes,  hair  and  features  of  his  brethren  so  far  to  the  east. 

THE  TWO  TRIBES. 


The  Madaeascans  are  divided  into  two  distinct  races,  the  black 
tribes  inhabiting  the  western  or  African  slope,  and  the  olive-colored 
natives  the  eastern.  Since  the  country  came  into  view  as  a  historic 
land,  the  great  conflict  has  been  between  representative  people  from 
these  races.  Though  the  texture  of  their  languages  —  even  the  names  of 
towns,  mountains  and  rivers,  east  and  west —  makes  itclearly  evident  that 
they  were  originally  united,  their  animosity  has  been  implacable  since 
the  world  has  known  anything  of  them.  During  the  last  century  a 
black  tribe  called  the  Sakalavas  held  the  fairer  natives  in  subjection. 
They  now  hold  the  western  and  northern  portions  of  the  island,  where, 
with  their  tall  and  robust  frames,  black  crisped  hair  and  dark  eyes,  they 
look  with  disdain  upon  the  diminutive  Hovas,  with  their  soft  hair  and 
their  hazel  eyes.     They   call  them  "  vagabonds,"  and  are  perpetually 


l.S 


194  PANORAMA    OK    NATIONS. 

showing  their  contempt  by  carrying  off  their  cattle  and  plundering  their 
homesteads.  But  their  fair-haired  enemies,  "vagabonds"  though  they 
be,  have  become  the  dominant  race  of  the  island  by  trusting  to  their 
intellectual  force,  combined  with  European  weapons  and  tactics,  instead 
of  to  personal  bravery  and  physical  strength.  They  respond  to  the 
Sakalavas  by  dubbing  them  "the  tall  cats,"  both  on  account  of  their 
fierceness  and  great  stature.  The  Hovas  occupy  only  a  central  prov- 
ince of  Madagascar,  and  the  Sakalavas  with  other  tribes  of  less  strength 
are  independent  of  their  actual  dominion.  Their  kingdom  is  called 
Imerina,  and  is  united  and  powerful;  all  outside  is  confusion  and  disor- 
ganization. So  that  it  has  been  customary  to  consider  their  government 
as  that  of  the  whole  island. 

ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

The  Hovas  are  the  onl)'  people  of  Madagascar  who  possess  any 
traditions  in  regard  to  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  the  island,  whose 
ancestors  they  claim  to  be.  It  is  from  them  that  the  supposition  is 
drawn  of  a  far  more  primitive  people  than  they  whom  the  ancient 
Ho\as  found  dwelling  in  their  present  territory,  about  eight  hundred 
years  ago.  This  tribe  they  call  Vazimba.  The  two  tribes  united  to 
produce  the  Hovas  of  the  present.  Their  traditions  pictured  the 
Vazimbas  as  of  so  heroic  and  godlike  a  cast  that,  when  the  Hovas  were 
pagans,  their  ancestors  were  worshiped  as  gods,  and  even  now,  as  Chris- 
tians, their  tombs  are  among  the  most  sacred  objects  in  the  country. 
After  they  had  lived  together  for  over  a  century,  a  quarrel  arose,  how- 
ever, which  resulted  in  the  \'azimbas  being  driven  out  of  the  country 
with  the  iron  spears  of  the  Hovas,  which  their  wooden  weapons  were 
not  able  to  resist.  Their  traditions  have  it  that  for  five  hundred  years 
thereafter  the  Hovas  continued  to  flourish.  They  built  fortified  towns. 
They  had  their  tribal  governments,  their  orators  and  their  heroes,  and 
neither  Arab  nor  Portuguese  knew  of  their  continued  growth  into  a 
united  and  powerful  people. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  one  of  their  great  chiefs 
("  Andriamasinavalona")  by  the  power  of  his  name  and  arms,  brought 
every  town  under  his  sway.  He  also  built  embankments  along  the 
river  Ikopa,  which  watered  his  province,  to  prevent  the  annual  flooding 
of  the  great  rice  plain  along  its  borders,  which  w^s,  withal,  a  source  of 
much  wealth  to  the  kingdom.  The  cultivation  of  rice  was  extended, 
the  smeltint);  of  iron  and  the  manufacture  of  cloths  were  encouraofed, 
and,  later,  the  thin  spear  and  round  hide  shield  gave  way  to  the  musket 
and  cannon.     The  ruder  tribes  became  subject  to  the  Hovas. 


ANXIENT    HISTORY.  1 95 

A  kill"-  ascended  the  throne  who  was  a  Madatjascan  of  the  old 
school ;  who  sat  on  the  floor  and  ate  with  his  hands  out  of  a  silver  dish, 
who  worshiped  idols  and  who  believed  in  divination  with  the  help  of 
beans,  rice,  straw  and  sand;  but  this  king  abolished  the  slave  trade  in 
his  dominions,  in  return  for  the  privilege  of  being  supplied  with  British 
arms  and  British  officers,  and  became  master  of  the  island.  The  native 
language  was  reduced  to  writing  and  thousands  of  the  people  learned  to 
read  and  write.  European  blacksmiths  instructed  those  of  Madagascar. 
Infanticide  was  abolished,  and  other  cruel  customs  of  paganism. 

A  pagan  queen  ruled  over  the  Hovas,  and  destroyed  all  the  good 
work  which  had  been  accomplished.  Persecutions  of  the  Christians  and 
of  civilization  followed  ;  thousands  of  persons  were  massacred,  and  sub- 
jected to  most  horrible  forms  of  death.  Other  rulers  came,  some  good 
and  some  bad,  but  the  advance  was  sure,  until  with  the  accession  of  the 
present  ruler,  an  enlightened  woman,  the  firm  foundation  of  a  progress- 
ve  state  seems  to  be  laid. 

MADAGASCAN  SLAVERY. 

Although  slavery  has  been  abolished  in  so  far  as  that  the  natives 
are  not  sold  and  exported,  it  still  exists  in  various  forms  under  the 
generally  intelligent  reign  of  the  queen.  The  descendants  of  prisoners 
of  war  are  still  slaves.  There  are  slaves  who  have  placed  themselves  in 
servitude  on  account  of  debts  ;  and  in  Madagascar  slavery  is  not  only 
imposed  upon  the  criminal,  but  extends  to  his  wives  and  children.  In 
the  service  of  the  queen,  as  of  her  predecessors,  are  also  a  class  of 
workmen  who  are  slaves,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  although  not  so  in 
name.  In  the  great  forests  are  hundreds  of  woodcutters,  felling  timber 
for  government  purposes,  who  receive  no  pay,  and  yet  toil  there  all 
their  lives  and  rear  their  families  in  darkness  and  privation.  Their 
boys  follow  in  their  footsteps  and  their  girls  are  given  in  marriage  to 
other  woodcutters,  who  drag  out  the  same  monotonous  existence,  their 
only  privilege  being  to  cultivate  enough  land  to  keep  body  and  soul 
together.  A  certain  quota  of  artisans,  such  as  workers  in  iron,  gun- 
smiths, spearmakers  and  carpenters  are  also  bound  in  perpetual  serfdom 
to  the  government.  Such  arrangements  as  these  bring  the  expendi- 
tures of  the  government  down  to  a  verv  low  figure. 

THE  GOVERNMENT. 

The  queen's  advisers  in  the  government  are  a  prime  minister, 
commander-in-chief,    and  a    chief  secretary   of  state.       The   offices   of 


196  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

prime  minister  and  commander-in-chief  are  sometimes  held  by  the  same 
individual.  A  certain  noble  family  called  Rainiharo  has  for  several 
generations  retained  the  confidence  of  both  the  queen  and  her  prede- 
cessors. Its  members  have  invariably  thrown  their  great  influence 
against  heathenism,  in  favor  of  a  constitutional  monarchy,  and  have 
placed  several  rulers  upon  the  throne.  Measures  of  state  are  discussed 
by  the  queen  with  her  immediate  council,  old  and  honored  officers  of 
the  army,  and  a  unique  domestic  cabinet  called  the  "  Twelve  Wives." 
Every  king  is  authorized  to  have  that  number  of  mates,  because  twelve 
is  a  cabalistic  number  with  the  Matlagascan.  He  has  his  twelve  sacred 
cities,  and  what  better  evidence  of  its  power  is  required  ?  This  inner 
council  is  not  supposed  to  have  much  influence,  since  all  these  ancient 
superstitions  are  on  the  wane,  but  the  relic  may  be  retained  as  a  conven- 
ient method  of  keeping  the  first  ladies  of  the  land  in  good  humor. 
There  are  several  noteworthy  instances,  however,  which  go  to  show  that 
the  queen  is  a  believer  in  the  political  and  civil  ability  of  her  sex. 
Female  chiefs  have  frequently  been  greatly  honored  by  her,  being 
entitled  to  the  highest  rank  in  the  government,  and  on  the  east  coast  a 
Betsimasaraka  princess  was,  for  many  years,  one  of  her  most  trusted 
counsellors. 

THE  TRIBES  AND  THEIR  CHIEE.S. 

Although  the  Hovas  and  their  subject  tribes  acknowledge  a  central 
government  in  the  queen  and  her  cabinet,  they  are  still  a  federation. 
At  the  head  of  each  tribe  are  the  nobility,  who  are  descended  from  the 
great  chiefs  of  former  ages,  and  the  common  jjeople  are  enrolled  as  their 
followers  rather  than  the  subjects  of  the  cjueen.  Taxes  are  levied  by 
these  chiefs,  but  they  are  paid  in  service  or  in  rice,  sugar-cane,  lambas, 
fire-wood,  beams  for  building,  bundles  of  thatch,  stones,  pork,  beef,  etc. 
If  the  Malagassy  had  a  currency  this  awkward  form  of  payment  would 
not  be  necessary.  In  their  larger  towns  the  French  fi\'e-franc  piece  is 
used  and  chopped  up  into  smaller  pieces,  as  required,  every  household 
as  well  as  shop  having  its  weights  and  measures. 

Upon  a  message  from  the  queen  asking  for  some  special  service, 
the  tribes  meet  and  decide  upon  the  details.  When  any  great  question 
agitates  the  kingdom,  the  tribes  meet  and  express  themselves  freely, 
before  the  queen  renders  her  judgment. 

DEGRADING  THE  COURT. 

The  judges  are  chosen  from  the  nobility,  and  hear  complaints  and 
examine  criminals  in   open   market  or  close  to  some  i)ublic  road.      The 


THE    TRIBES    AND    THEIR   CHIEFS.  197 

Strange  custom  of  thus  exposing  the  judicial  dignity  to  the  gaze  of  the 
masses  is  reported  to  have  originated  from  the  fact  that  once  upon  a 
time,  not  many  years  ago,  a  great  king  of  the  Hovas  passed  a  house 
wherein  the  judges  were  assembled,  and  they  neglected  to  arise  and  pay 
him  the  usual  honiage.  It  was  thereupon  decreed  that  the  house  should 
be  razed,  and  the  judges  thereafter  hold  their  court  in  the  open  air, 
where  they  could  see  and  be  seen.  So  now  they  sit  upon  a  bank  of 
earth,  or  a  pile  of  stone,  with  principals,  witnesses  and  spectators  crowd- 
ing around.  They  write  their  depositions  upon  the  knee  ;  but  their 
duties  are  lightened  in  other  respects,  for  no  advocates  are  employed, 
the  principals  being  their  own  lawyers.  In  difficult  cases  the  judges 
retire  to  deliberate  ;  but  the  bulk  of  their  business  is  transacted  accord- 
ing to  the  royal  mandate. 

Formerly  the  poison  ordeal  was  employed  in  criminal  cases  to 
determine  the  verdict,  or,  in  minor  cases,  two  fowls  or  dogs  representing 
plaintiff  and  defendant  were  pitted  against  each  other.  Trial  by  a  jury 
of  twelve  is  a  provision  of  the  constitution,  but  seems  a  dead  letter. 

Under  the  judges  are  the  revenue  officials  of  the  country,  who 
collect  the  rice  and  other  productions  which  fall  to  the  queen  in  place 
of  taxes  and  government  fines,  besides  taking  charge  of  all  the  revenues 
which  are  covered  into  the  royal  treasury  for  the  running  expenses  of 
the  state.  Another  class  of  civil  officers  are  the  royal  couriers,  who  send 
messages  from  the  government  to  the  head  men  of  the  villages  on  public 
business,  and  form  a  sort  of  constabulary  in  the  preservation  of  the 
peace.  Below  them  are  the  centurions,  who  have  immediate  oversight 
over  ''  one  hundred,"  who  actually  deliver  the  messages  to  the  head  men, 
or  proclaim  them  to  the  people  after  the  subjects  have  been  brought  to 
the  great  markets  by  the  firing  of  a  gun.  The  head  men  are  appointed 
by  the  sovereign  to  preserve  order  in  their  residence  villages,  and  to  act 
as  district  representatives. 

The  punishments  inflicted  for  crimes  seem  to  be  the  worst  relic  of 
barbarism  allowed  to  exist  under  the  Hovas' government.  For  political 
offenses,  as  for  the  non-payment  of  debts,  not  only  is  the  person's 
property  confiscated,  but  himself  and  family  are  sold  into  slavery.  Many 
crimes  are  punishable  by  death.  The  criminal  may  be  thrown  upon  the 
ground,  and  spears  be  driven  through  his  back,  or  he  may  be  stoned, 
flogged  or  burned  to  death,  crucified  or  thrown  over  a  precipice.  If  he 
is  a  noble,  it  is  deemed  unlawful  to  shed  his  blood,  and  he  may  take  his 
choice  of  being  smothered,  starved  or  burned. 

In  actual  rank,  the  nobles  or  judges,  come  next  to  the  royal  family. 
Then   come   the   officers  of  the    arm\-,   who    are  divided   into  thirteen 


198  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

grades,  the  field  marshal  being-  the  highest.  The  policy  pursued  by 
many  of  the  sovereigns  of  obtaining  the  most  modern  of  military  ideas 
has  borne  fruit  in  a  large  and  well-disciplined  army,  but  has  had  the  evil 
effect  of  inclining  the  ruler  of  the  kingdom  much  more  to  autocracy. 

THE  QUEEN'S  CAPITAL. 

In  fact,  situated  as  her  kingdom  and  capital  are,  on  a  high  table- 
land backed  by  noble  hills  and  dense  forests,  with  a  large  army  at  her 
command,  she  may  well  feel  herself  secure  not  only  from  domestic  dis- 
turbance, but  from  an  invasion  of  foreign  enemies  or  outside  tribes. 
Antananarivo  is  her  capital,  as  it  was  the  city  of  the  Vazimbos.  It  is 
built  upon  a  high  ridge  of  land,  having  three  elevations.  Between  two 
of  them  is  the  plain  where  the-  sovereigns  have  been  crowned.  On  the 
highest  point  stands  the  palace  of  the  queen.  Upon  a  level  piece  of 
ground  on  another  hill  the  laws  of  the  kingdom  are  promulgated. 
Lower  elevations  than  those  upon  which  the  capital  is  built  are  utilized 
as  picturesque  suburbs  of  the  great  city. 

CHRISTIAN  PERSECUTIONS. 

A  church  now  and  then  comes  into  view,  while  near  it  maybe  steep 
and  frowning  cliffs,  over  which  the  martyrs  were  thrown  when  the 
heathen  monarchs  raged  against  the  Christian  missionaries,  thinking 
that  these  foreigners  not  only  came  to  destroy  their  gods,  but  to  put  in  the 
places  of  their  sacred  ancestors  the  names  of  God  and  Jesus  Christ. 
The  proud  memories  resting  upon  the  twelve  sacred  cities  in  which  once 
resided  the  twelve  revered  kings  of  the  ancient  Vazimbos  were  to  be 
obliterated  ;  and  they  were  to  no  more  cast  their  eyes  from  their  lofty 
portals  and  with  one  sweep  of  their  royal  heads  witness  those  ruins  by 
which  they  swore,  and  which  kept  alive  in  their  minds  great  and  ambi- 
tious resolves.  The  rude  mounds  of  earth  and  stone,  in  which  were  laid 
the  bones  of  some  Vazimba  demigod,  were  no  more  to  be  used  as  altars 
by  their  subjects,  but  were  to  be  looked  upon  as  so  many  common  heaps 
of  refuse.  Those  sacred  obelisks  of  stone,  set  up  as  memorials  of  the 
great  chiefs  of  ancient  times,  were  to  be  unhallowed.  The  three  hills 
upon  which  dwelt  three  of  their  most  famous  idols,  through  whose 
agencies  they  were  to  reach  the  Prince  of  Heaven,  were  to  be  leveled, 
figuratively  speaking,  and  the  kingdom  torn  from  their  embraces. 

A  dozen  miles  to  the  north  upon  a  bold  ridge  of  rock,  which  rose 
from  a  great  plain,  their  ancient  capital,  with  the  ancestral  tombs  and 
royal  houses,  appealed  to  these  heathen  monarchs  to  stamj)  out  this  new 


i;i'.    ■'' 


AUSTRALIAN 


AUSTRALIAN. 


MALAYAN. 

ffASr  INDIA  islands) 


CHRISTIAN    PERSECUTION'S. 


199 


force  which  threatened  to  tear  up  their  hoar)'  superstitions  by  the  roots; 
and  with  the  uprooting  of  the  old  would  be  destroyed  much  of  the  sanc- 
tity which  hedged  their  own  persons  about.  And  horribly  did  they 
acquit  themselves.  Those  of  the  nobility  who  had  joined  the  new  order 
of  things  were  burned  to  death  at  the  summit  of  the  northern  ridge  of 
the  capital  hill,  cis  it  begins  to  slope  toward  the  plain. 

A  precipice  frowns  from  the  western  side  of  the  city.  Toward  this 
awful  descent  fifteen  persons  were  carried,  bound  and  gagged;  a  rope 
was  firmly  tied  around  the  body  of  each,  which  was  lowered  a  short 
distance  down  the  cliff.  Within  a  stone's  throw  was  the  royal  palace. 
A  great  multitude  gathered  on  the  adjacent  elevations,  with  various 
emotions,  awaiting  to  see  the  officer  give  the  executioner  the  word  of 
command  to  cut  the  rope  with  the  knife  which  he  held  raised  over  it, 
and  to  witness  the  awful  plunge  and  the  sickening  wreckage  of 
humanity. 

But  though  the  Christians  were  killed  by  hundreds,  and  banished  by 
thousands,  and  driven  to  worship  in  rice  pits  or  in  those  ver)- tombs  which 
they  had  been  taught  to  believe  were  deified,  the  spark  was  kept  alive 
which  kindled  into  a  flame  under  more  auspicious  reigns;  and  from  the 
tolerance  of  one  pagan  queen  sprang  the  fostering  care  of  a  Christian 
sovereign.  So  that  to-day  the  spectacle  is  presented  of  a  ruler  who  has 
cut  away  from  the  ancient  superstitions  of  her  people,  has  herself  done 
most  to  eradicate  the  religion  of  her  forefathers,  and  yet  who  seems 
firmly  planted  in  the  public  confidence. 

BURXIXG  OF  THE  IDOLS. 

The  Sakalavas,  and  other  tribes  which  have  not  embraced  Chris- 
tianity, have  as  many  strange  superstitions  and  customs  as  the  negroes 
of  Africa.  They  have  a  supreme  god,  whom  they  call  the  Prince  of 
Heaven,  and  various  tutelar\-  crods.  Their  two  great  idols  were  lodged 
in  common  huts,  there  being  no  temples,  and  there  were  no  priests 
e.xcept  the  men  who  had  charge  of  them.  The  queen  ordered  these 
hideous  monsters  to  be  destroyed,  when  the  pagans  of  the  kingdom 
demanded  that  she  return  to  her  native  faith. 

The  long  cane  which  preceded  the  chief  idol,  Rakelimalaza,  in  the 
heathen  processions  was  first  cast  into  the  fire  ;  then  the  twelve  bullocks' 
horns  which  were  used  as  sprinkling  vessels  ;  the  three  scarlet  umbrellas, 
the  lamba  which  concealed  the  idol  when  its  keeper  was  travelling  with 
it,  and  the  idols  case  made  of  the  trunk  of  a  hollow  tree — all  these 
followed,  the  people  standing  around,  awe-struck  but  quite  silent  until 


200  PANORAMA    OF    XATIOXS. 

the  idol  itself  was  revealed  !  Upon  which  the}-  exclaimed  to  the  officer 
and  his  soldiers  :  "  You  cannot  burn  him;  he  is  a  god  I  "  Astounding  it 
is  that  the  idol-worshipers  did  not  all  abandon  their  faith  when  their  eyes 
beheld  what  they, had  been  revering  as  the  Great  Unknown  ;  for  it  con- 
sisted merely  of  a  piece  of  wood,  about  four  inches  long,  wrapped  in  two 
thicknesses  of  scarlet  silk  some  three  feet  long  and  three  inches  wide. 
The  other  great  idol  which  was  made  of  three  round  pieces  of  wood,  of 
about  the  same  length,  and  bound  together  with  a  siher  chain,  suc- 
ceeded Rakelimalaza.  He  was  called  Ratsimahalahy — the  names  were 
enough  to  frighten  any  one. 

It  is  well  that  the  idols  were  kept  undercover;  for  the  Madagascans 
have  no  talent  as  sculptors,  their  very  idols  prove  their  deficiency  With 
the  Africans  and  races  of  the  East,  the  reverse  is  the  case,  their  hideous 
representations  of  powers  which  are  only  known  to  be  quite  awful  and 
mysterious,  serving  to  keep  alive  the  most  degarded  of  superstitions. 
Sometimes  the  pagan  of  Madagascar  wears  the  rude  figure  of  a  bul'ock 
as  a  charm  against  evil,  but  that  is  the  extent  to  which  native  art  goes. 
This  fortunate  deficiency  in  the  artistic  nature  of  the  Madagascan  may 
account,  in  part,  for  his  lack  of  cruelty  in  the  manner  of  making  his 
offerings.  He  comes  as  near  being  the  worshiper  of  ideas,  hideous  and 
ridiculous  though  they  may  be,  as  an  idolator  possibly  can. 

So  far  as  the  habits  of  the  people  are  known,  the  natives  of  Mada- 
gascar, with  one  minor  exception,  have  never  practiced  human  sacrifice. 
The  "  sampy  "  or  household  god  has  greater  infiuence  over  the  average 
Madagascan  than  his  larger  or  national  god.  Even  this  is  usually 
a  mere  piece  of  wood,  stone  or  glass,  kept  in  a  straw  basket,  and 
hung  from  the  north  wall  of  the  house,  near  the  bedstead.  When  the 
people  wish  to  make  an  offering  to  the  village  god,  it  is  brought  from  its 
house  in  the  middle  of  the  town,  snugly  laid  away  in  its  box,  and  the 
ceremonies  are  gone  through  with  upon  sacred  stones,  or  the  grave  of  a 
Vazimba,  under  the  direction  of  the  priest.  Sometimes  the  keeper  calls 
the  people  together  and  they  wait  around  the  idol-house  until  he  has 
offered  prayers  and  anointed  the  god  with  the  oil  of  the  castor-oil  plant  ; 
after  which  the  audience  is  considered  to  be  blessed. 

Fortunes  are  told  and  fortunate  days  are  foretold  by  observing  the 
phases  of  the  moon.  If  a  child  should  be  born  on  an  unlucky  day,  it  is 
at  once  killed.  Trial  by  ordeal,  b\'  taking  a  nauseating  drink,  is  also 
practiced,  as  we  have  seen  it  among  the  negro  tribes  of  Western  Africa. 
Among  the  Hovas,  however,  the  savage  custom  has  disappeared.  The 
step  may  be  considered  in  the  light  of  a  measure  taken  to  preserve  the 
kingdom  itself;  for  it  was  computed  that  by  the  ravages  of  the  so-called 


BURMXC;    OK    THF:    idols.  20I 

"'tangena"  a  fiftieth  part  of  its  population  had  been  killed;  that  three 
thousand  people  were  annually  sacrified  upon  the  altar  of  this  all-jjcrvad- 
ing  superstition. 

THE   BENEFIT  OF  "NO  ROADS." 

There  probably  never  was  a  state  whose  natural  defenses  were  so 
impregnable  as  this  one  of  the  Hovas.  From  the  sea  coast  to  their 
very  capital,  whether  you  adxance  from  the  north,  south,  east  or  west, 
the  country  consists  of  lofty  terraces  or  natural  fortifications.  Dense 
forests  also  cover  the  land,  and  as  if  to  make  their  position  more  secure, 
with  all  their  advance  in  modern  civilization,  they  have  persistently  refused 
to  build  passable  roads  from  the  coast  to  the  interior.  Mere  paths  run 
around  noble  hills,  through  valleys  and  woods,  and  skirt  great  rice 
swamps  to  the  queen's  province  ;  yet  they  are  wide  enough  to  accomo- 
date the  Tankays,  who  inhabit  a  jjlain  which  occupies  the  second  ridge 
of  terraces  (when  they  are  at  home)  ;  but  they  have  been  conquered  by 
the  Hovas  and  brought  into  the  service  of  transporting  government 
goods  to  all  points  of  the  kingdom. 

The  universal  mode  of  personal  conveyance  is  by  the  palanquin, 
which  is  a  frame  work  borne  on  the  shoulders  of  men,  fixed  up  with 
various  conveniences  proportionate  to  the  length  of  journey  to  be  under- 
taken. The  traveller  is  carried  over  the  country  at  a  brisk  dog-trot,  the 
tearers  shifting  their  burden  from  one  shoulder  to  the  other  without 
stopping,  or  taking  an  extra  breath.  As  for  horses  in  such  a  country, 
they  would  be  useless,  and  with  the  e.xception  of  a  few  employed  by  the 
military  at  the  capital  upon  the  occasion  of  a  review  of  troops,  they 
may  be  said  not  to  exist  in  Madagascar.  A  wheeled  vehicle  of  any  de- 
scription is  also  unknown. 

Thus  Imerina  is  intrenched,  suffering  only  an  occasional  attack  of 
the  .Sakalavas  upon  her  cattle  who  are  in  charge  of  the  domestic  slaves 
of  the  nobility,  who  pasture  them  in  the  rich  valleys,  lower  hills  and  open 
plains  below. 

WONDERFUL  EMBANKMENTS. 

But  the  great  bulwark  of  the  Hovas,  as  a  people,  is  their  rice.  Its 
tall  green  reeds  cover  hundreds  of  square  miles  along  the  rivers  and 
streams,  and  from  the  broad  fields  spring  countless  pretty  hamlets 
and  villages.  In  many  of  the  most  fertile  rice  districts  the  land  is 
divided  into  "  hetia"  or  holdings,  and  the  villages  are  perched  thickly  on 
the  terraces  of  the  hills  above. 

A  remarkable  geological  formation  has  been  the  means  of  retaining 


202  I'ANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

the  waters  of  the  rivers  which,  4,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  fer- 
tilize these  vast  tracts  of  country  and  sustain  the  lives  of  over  a  million 
people.  If  some 'barrier  were  not  interposed  they  would  rush  with  resist- 
less force  toward  the  ocean,  ploughintr  up  the  red  clay  hills  into  deep 
valleys  and  making  level  plains,  loamy  soil  and  vast  fields  of  rice  an 
impossibility.  This  natural  dam  is  formed  by  a  reef  of  hard  gneiss,  on 
the  western  side  of  Imcrina,  where  the  Ikopa  river  would  otherwise  leap 
unimpeded  to  the  terraces  and  the  ocean  far  below.  Its  Avaters  are 
retained  at  a  certain  height,  fertilizing  the  plains  on  either  side,  which 
were  formed  and  held  in  their  mountain  fastnesses  by  the  interposition 
of  these  adamant  barriers. 

A  similar  reef  of  rocks  stays  the  waters  of  two  other  streams  which 
overlook  the  richest  rice  fields  of  Madagascar.  This  natural  protection, 
in  addition  to  the  artificial  embankments  of  the  river  Ikopa,  constructed 
nearly  200  years  ago  by  one  of  the  energetic  kings  of  Madagascar,  has 
made  the  plain  of  Imerina  what  it  is.  Each  side  of  the  stream  for  many 
miles  is  skillfully  inclosed,  and  through  innumerable  sluices  its  waters 
are  conducted  by  canals  to  thousands  of  rice  fields.  The  works  would 
be  creditable  to  a  civil  engineer  of  modern  times,  but  so  rapid  is  the  cur- 
rent of  the  river  during  the  rainy  season  that  the  greatest  care  is  taken 
to  detect  any  weakness  in  the  embankments.  The  whole  population  of 
the  plain  are  sometimes  summoned  at  a  moment's  notice  to  assist  in 
stopping  a  gap  and  preserving  their  rice  fields  from   inundation. 

RICE  CULTURE. 

But  it  should  not  be  imagined  for  a  moment  that  all  the  airricultu- 
rist  has  to  do  is  to  Hood  his  field  from  the  river  and  then  turn  upon  the 
rich  soil  his  herd  of  cattle,  driving  them  round  and  round  to  mash  it  into 
soft  mud  —  a  very  lazy  kind  of  plowing  for  the  benefit  of  the  prolific 
rice  plant.  These  terraces  which  we  have  seen  descending  in  all  direc- 
tions, from  the  kingdom  of  Imerina  to  the  sea,  although  not  watered 
directly  by  the  streams  and  rivers,  are  clothed  by  the  ingenuity  of  an 
industrious  people  with  the  fresh  green  of  the  young  rice  plant  and  the 
golden  harvest  of  maturity ;  the  streams  and  rivers  are  tapped,  the 
waters  are  drawn  from  one  level  to  another  through  long  channels  and 
spread  upon  hundreds  of  fields  which  would  otherwise  be  mere  pasture 
land  over  which  herds  of  cattle  would  wander  at  will.  The  rice  is  usu- 
ally sown  inthe  valleys,  which  run  down  to  the  plains,  a  series  of  ter- 
races being  formed  and  so  protected  that  the  earth  and  seed  will  not  be 
washed  away. 


AUSTRALIA 


RICE    CULTURE.  205 

When  the  plants  are  about  six  inches  high,  the  business  of  trans- 
planting begins.  All  are  engaged  in  this  work —  the  slaves,  male  and 
female,  in  preparing  the  ground  and  bringing  the  plants,  ami  the  owner 
and  his  wife  and  family  in  superintending  the  operations.  The  young 
plants  are  tied  in  small  bundles,  and  being  brought  to  the  rice  fields  in 
the  plain,  which  have  been  flooded  to  the  depth  of  a  few  inches,  they  are 
fixed  in  soft  soil,  one  by  one,  but  with  astonishing  rapidit)'.  When  har- 
vest time  comes  the  plains  are  yellow  with  grain,  which  is  still  growing  in 
water,  now  kept  standing  to  the  depth  of  a  foot  or  more.  The  men  wade 
into  the  water  and  cut  the  rice  with  large  straight-bladed  knives,  after 
which  they  pile  it  into  small  canoes  and  bring  it  to  dry  land.  There 
the  women  receive  it,  lay  it  out  on  the  ground  to  dry  and  then  thresh 
out  the  grain  on  large  pieces  of  .stone  or  a  surface  of  prepared  clay. 
After  being  further  dried  the  rice  is  stored  in  a  round  pit  dug  in  the 
hard  clay  soil.  This  has  been  the  custom  from  time  immemorial,  and 
the  consequence  is  that  it  is  the  height  of  folly  for  one  not  acquainted 
with  the  ground  to  commence  to  build  upon  a  plain  an)-where  in  the 
kingdom  without  first  making  a  thorough  search  for  concealed  rice  pits. 
Until  the  next  planting  comes  round,  the  long-horned  Madagascan  cat- 
tle, with  their  camel-like  humps,  monopolize  the  fields. 

MADAGASCAR  MARKETS. 

The  manufactures,  as  they  are  exhibited  at  the  markets,  held  in 
the  towns  of  the  provinces,  are  somewhat  primitive,  although  in  some 
districts  cotton  and  silk  are  woven  into  handsome  fabrics,  and  elegrant 
carpets  are  made.  As  a  rule  they  consist  of  lambas  made  of  rofia  fibre ; 
coarse  but  strong  iron  spades,  spade  handles,  timber  rafters,  clumsy 
window  shutters  with  the  hinge  pin  projecting  above  and  below,  wooden 
spoons,  leaf  plates,  grass  baskets  and  earthen  plates,  hinges,  cocks,  pin- 
cers, hatchets,  choppers,  hammers  and  trowels,  all  of  native  work.  Boots 
and  shoes  are  neatly  made,  but  the  sole-leather  is  badly  tanned. 

A  would-be  purchaser  of  food  at  one  of  these  markets  would  find 
that  about  the  following  scale  of  prices  prevailed  :  Beef,  two  cents  per 
pound  ;  pineapples,  five  for  a  cent ;  potatoes,  twelve  cents  a  bushel ; 
eggs,  a  cent  apiece  ;  a  large  turke\',  eighteen  cents  ;  a  fat  fowl,  three 
cents  ;  a  bushel  of  maize,  five  cents,  and  rice,  nothing  to  speak  of.  Wages 
also  are  the  same  as  rice ;  so  that  the  cheapness  of  provisions  cuts  little 
figure  in  the  poor  Madagascan's  life. 

This  market  system  is  a  prominent  feature  in  the  social  life  of  the 
Madagascan.      The  markets   are  usually   held  weekly,  but   in  the  large 


204  PANORAMA    OK    NATIONS. 

towns  do  not  frequently  fall  upon  the  same  day,  so  that  if  the  queen  or 
governor,  or  any  functionary  or  personage  of  lesser  degree,  has  any  mat- 
ter which  he  wishes  to  bring  before  the  people,  he  makes  proclamation 
in  the  market  place.  Here  is  the  rendezvous  of  merchants,  politicians, 
gossip-mongers,  buyers  and  sellers,  and  it  is  a  good  place  to  see  all 
grades  of  life.  In  the  days  of  the  persecutions  those  who  were  convicted 
■of  Christianity  were  exposed  in  chains  every  market  day  for  months 
together  as  the  surest  way  of  heaping  upon  them  the  greatest  torrent  of 
abuse  in  the  most  public  manner.  At  the  capital  and  in  the  large  towns 
the  markets  are  divided  into  departments.  From  the  timber  or  wood 
market  can  be  selected  every  portion  of  a  house  from  the  framework  or 
flooring  of  the  more  modern,  to  the  rushes  or  bamboo  used  in  the  con- 
struction of  huts.  Then  there  are  the  provision  stall  and  the  manufac- 
turing department.    . 

A  CONQUERED  RICE  PROVINCE. 

One  of  the  rice  swamps,  which  has  become  so  justly  celebrated, 
covers  an  area  of  over  si.x  hundred  square  miles.  This  is  in  the  pro- 
vince of  Sihanaka,  which  has  become  subject  to  the  Hovas,  though  the 
resistance  was  brave.  It  is  a  vast  basin  set  down  in  the  midst  of  high 
hills,  having  a  clear  lake  and  this  immense  rice  field  in  the  center.  The 
.Sihanakas  made  their  last  stand  on  an  island  in  the  lake,  and  though  the 
king  of  the  Hovas  was  armed  with  cannon  and  muskets,  their  defense 
was  so  determined  and  the  rain  fell  in  such  torrents  that,  for  the  time, 
he  abandoned  the  assault  ;  or  rather  his  soldiers  Hed,  and  the  leader  of 
the  flight,  according  to  military  custom,  was  burned  to  death.  Evi- 
dence? vet  remain,  in  the  shape  of  old  fortresses  and  the  "Prince's 
Town,"  that  the  people  were  at  one  time  warlike  and  independent. 

Although  they  have  deserted  their  fortresses  for  the  fertile  plains, 
and  enjoy  their  rice  and  gravy  in  security,  one  of  their  first  inquiries  of 
a  stranger  is  in  regard  to  the  cannon  which  g-uards  the  stockade  of  the 
towns  occupied  by  their  Hova  rulers.  This  people  belong  to  the  great 
tribe  of  Betsimasarakas,  who  inhabit  the  eastern  portions  of  the  island, 
and  next  to  the  Hovas  are  the  fairest  natives  of  Madagascar;  but  they 
are  sadly  addicted  to  rum,  made  from  the  sugar  cane  which  they  grow, 
and  little  sheds  containing  their  stills  are  conspicuous  deformities  of  the 
landscape.  The  larger  towns  of  the  people  are  laid  out  with  great  reg- 
ularity ;  the  houses,  however,  being  built  mostly  of  light  wood  and  reeds, 
so  that  destructive  fires  are  of  frequent  occurrence.  Outside  of  many 
of  them  are  largfe  enclosures  for  the  m-eat  cattle  herds  which  abound  in 


A    CONQUERED    RICE    PROVINCE.  205, 

the  districts.  The  houses  are  neat  within,  and  are  usually  built  on  the 
same  plan  as  are  those  of  the  Hovas.  The  Hova  house  has  one  post 
at  each  end  and  one  in  the  center.  It  has  a  door  and  a  window  on  the 
west  side,  and  the  bedstead  is  fixed  in  the  northeast  corner.  In  the 
northwest  corner  is  the  hearth,  with  a  two-storied  frame  for  the  cookint,^ 
pots.  The  house  of  the  Betsimasarakas,  on  the  other  hand,  has  three 
carved  posts  in  the  center  and  one  at  each  end ;  there  are  two  doors  on 
the  west  side  and  a  window  in  the  northeast  ;  the  bedstead  is  in  the 
southeast  corner  and  the  hearth  and  saucepan  frame  are  fixed,  immov- 
able, in  the  southwest.     The  floor  also  is  nicely  covered  with  mats. 

HOUSES  AND  CLOTHES. 

The  majority  of  houses  in  the  country  are  made  of  the  bright  red 
earth,  wliicli  constitutes  all  of  the  rising  ground,  and  sometimes  of  the 
blue  and  ochre-tinted  soils  found  in  the  level  rice  plains.  Large  clay 
houses  are  often  built  by  the  wealthy  classes,  tinted  with  various  colored 
earths,  with  verandas  around  them,  windows  and  doors  partly  of  glass, 
and  the  inside  finished  in  hard  wood,  beautifully  arranged  as  to  color 
and  pattern.  The  central  room  is  lofty,  and  often  has  a  light  gallery 
running  around  it,  giving  access  to  the  chambers  at  each  end. 

The  dwelling  houses  of  the  better  class  of  old-school  Madagascans 
are  built  of  wood  and  firmly  joined  together,  although  nails  are  not 
used.  They  are  oblong  and  invarialjly  placed  north  and  south.  They 
have  verandas  but  no  chimney  places,  although  in  the  highlands  fires 
are  often  required  in  the  evening.  The  owner's  rank  is  indicated  by 
ornamented  poles  at  the  gables,  the  roof  being  covered  with  rushes  and 
risin"-  to  a  ridiculous  height.  Little  difference  is  made  between  the 
size  of  the  window  and  the  door;  in  fact,  in  the  Malagasy  language,  the 
word  is  the  same  for  both  door  and  window.  Among  the  Betsileos,  who 
are  a  tribe  to  the  south  of  the  Hovas,  but  subject  to  them,  the  door 
sill  is  so  high  above  the  ground  that  a  post  is  erected  before  it  upon 
which  the  visitor  must  carefully  mount  and  twist  himself  over. 

Once  inside,  he  is  made  to  feel  at  home ;  for  the  Madagascan  is 
hospitable  if  nothing  else.  Whenever  a  stranger  enters  a  village  every 
one  vies  in  generosity.  One  will  bring  him  a  mess  of  rice  and  grease, 
another  a  boiled  fowl  or  a  piece  of  beef,  and  still  another  may  appear 
with  a  dish  of  cooked  locusts  or  silkworm  chrysales.  If  b.e  is  near  the 
coast  oysters  will  not  even  be  denied  him.  But  if  he  has  wandered  into 
the  land  of  the  Sakalavas.  the  "  tall  cats,"  he  will  have  to  content  him- 
self with  such    a  simole  diet   as   maize,    arrowroot.    \ams,   and    a   few 


2o6 


PANfJKA.MA    (Jl-     NATIONS. 


g|P!imi!ip^^ 


European  vegetables.  Should  he  be  addicted  to  tobacco,  he  will  dis- 
cover to  his  disgust  that  he  will  not  be  offered  "  a  smoke,"  except  he  fill 
his  reed  pipe  with  hemp  ;  but  he  will  be  invited  to  take  into  his  mouth 
a  disagreeable  mixture  of  tobacco  and  herbs,  which  is  used  as  snuff. 

Whether  in  the  street  or  in  the  house,  he  will  observe  men,  women 
and  children  all  wearing  the  lamba,  or  mantle.  From  the  queen  to  the 
herdsman,    it   is  a  garment    universally    worn.      It  is   thrown    over  the 

shoulders ;  with  the  men 
depending  more  to  the  left, 
and  with  the  women  to  the 
right. 

The  queen's  exclusive 
lamba  is  of  scarlet  broad- 
cloth. She  alone,  also,  is 
allowed  to  sit  under  a  scarlet 
umbrella.  This  latter  seems 
to  be  a  relic  of  the  old  days 
of  supesstition,  when  the 
Hovas  believed  that  when 
their  god,  the  king,  was  un- 
der his  red  umbrella,  he  was 
feeding  upon  air,  which,  in- 
deed,was  the  chief  of  his  diet. 
The  lamba  characterizes 
the  ]\Iadagascan,  and  its 
quality  and  dimensions  vary 
with  his  circumstances.  It 
may  be  of  cotton,  silk  or 
broadcloth  ;  or,  if  he  is  a 
slave,  it  is  made  from  the 
A  MADAGAscAN  LADY.  I^ark  of  the  bauaua  tree.     A 

large  straw  hat,  with  a  black  velvet  band,  is  commonly  worn  by  the 
men.  The  general  style  of  the  lady's  head-dress  is  to  divide  the  hair 
into  twenty  or  twenty-four  sections,  each  of  which,  in  turn,  is  divided 
into  a  number  of  tails  which  are  plaited  together  and  tied  with  a  bow. 
The  "court"  costume,  however,  of  both  sexes  has  been  English  for  some 
fifteen  years,  this  being  a  regulation  which  the  queen  strongly  urged. 

THE  QUEEN  APPEARS. 

The  life  of  the  Madagascan  is  shown  at  its  best  in  his  intercourse 
with  her  majesty,  of  whom  he  is  proud,  notwithstanding  her  large  stand- 


THE    QUEEN    APPEAKS.  20/ 

ing  army  and  her  handsome  palace  and  residence,  for  which  he  is 
obHged  to  pay.  Her  city  guard  are  dressed  in  white  and  in  native  cos- 
tume. When  she  goes  forth  to  visit  one  of  her  provinces— Betsileo,  to 
the  south,  for  instance  —  the  regular  troops  are  dressed  in  the  red  coats 
of  the  English  infantry,  with  trousers  having  pink  and  white  stripes,  and 
with  "  Brown  Bess"  as  their  weapon  ;  the  young  men  are  attired  ih  rifle 
green  and  carry  the  Snider  rifle.  Upon  her  return  she  is  saluted  with 
the  Armstron<r  i/un. 

Taking  her  wa\'  to  the  south  the  queen  passes  through  a  region  of 
villages  and  pine-apple  fields,  and  in  sight  of  the  Ankarat  mountains, 
the  loftiest  in  Madagascar.  One  of  its  highest  peaks,  despite  the  civil- 
izing influence  of  her  reign,  is  thought  by  the  villagers  of  the  plains  to 
be  the  home  of  some  ruling  power,  and  in  times  of  pestilence  and 
peril,  they  ascend  the  modest  elevations  near  by  and  offer  up  fowls  in 
sacrifice. 

Over  hills  of  granite  and  gneiss,  past  the  tombs  of  ancient  kings  and 
rocky  fortresses,  now  deserted  ;  along  fertile  valleys  and  fields  of  rice  on 
plains  and  mountain  terraces,  the  queen  journeys  towards  her  principal 
province  of  Betsileo,  which  is  also  the  home  of  a  distinct  people. 

The  Betsileos  are  darker  in  complexion  than  the  Hovas.  They  are 
modest  and  unassuming  but  hardy  in  war,  as  the  predecessors  of  the 
queen  found  to  their  cost,  and  there  is  yet  a  little  kingdom  of  a  few 
thousand  people  right  in  the  center  of  her  dominion  which  still  boasts 
its  independence.  The  stronghold  of  its  chief  is  a  lofty  rock  upon  which 
is  a  strong  fortress,  which  is  accessible  only  by  ropes  from  above,  while 
a  short  distance  away  is  a  massive  mountain,  which  is  surrounded  with 
such  gloom  and  mystery  that  it  is  claimed  by  some  of  the  natives  to  be 
the  entrance  to  the  Madagascan  Hades.  Upon  its  summit  is  said  to  be 
a  large  village  of  ghostly  houses  occupied  by  spirits  who  celebrate  any 
noteworthy  event,  such  as  the  arrival  of  the  queen  at  a  provincial  town, 
by  a  salvo  of  ghostly  artillery.  The  matter  has  been  looked  into  by 
those  who  are  skeptical  of  the  ghost  theory ;  they  report  that  in  the 
mountain  is  a  great  cave,  and  that  when  the  wind  is  high  and  blowing 
from  certain  directions,  a  booming  noise  is  produced  in  its  vast  depths, 
not  unlike  the  report  of  muffled,  heavy  ordnance. 

As  the  queen,  with  her  body  guard,  at  length  approaches  the  capi- 
tal of  the  province,  the  residence  of  her  governor,  she  is  obliged  to  pass 
over  a  long  wooden  bridge,  resting  on  twenty-six  stone  piers,  which  spans 
the  shallow  bed  of  a  wide  river.  She  is  in  the  midst  of  lofty  hills,  and 
two  broad  valleys  stretch  away  on  either  hand,  on  whose  floor-like  bot- 
tom she  can  count  no  less  than  eighty  hamlets.     Slowly  winding  over  a 


208  TANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

Steep  ascent  she  and  her  retinue  look  across  a  deep  valley  and  see  her 
provincial  capital  crowning  a  solitary  hill.  The  houses  are  arranged  in 
groups,  and  below  them,  as  walls  of  fortification,  are  planted  thick 
hedges  of  the  prickly  pear.  At  the  very  summit  of  the  hill  is  the  gov- 
ernment stockade,  while  at  its  very  base  is  the  town  market. 

When  the  scarlet  tent  of  the  queen  is  pitched  on  a  picturesque 
knoll  near  the  capital  and  the  scarlet  umbrella  is  elevated  over  her  head, 
denoting  that  she  has  appeared  in  public,  the  capital  is  in  an  uproar. 
She  with  the  officers  of  government  are  seated  on  a  platform,  while 
clustered  around  are  the  tents  of  her  officers  and  troops  and  those  of 
the  Betsileo  tribes  who  have  marched  from  a  distance.  Those  who  have 
gathered  to  welcome  her  are  packed  in  front  of  the  platform,  her  guards, 
immediately  surrounding  it.  The  lambas  are  of  all  shades  and  sizes, 
and  the  head-dresses  of  the  women  range  from  the  huge  piles  of  the 
Hova  and  Betsileo  belles  to  the  plain  style  of  the  American  or  English 
matron. 

When  the  queen  arises  to  speak,  the  vast  assembly  salutes  her  with 
one  accord.  And  what  is  the  occasion  of  all  this  excitement  ?  The  day 
before  there  has  been  an  examination  of  the  Betsileo  schools  and  the 
queen  is  about  to  address  the  people  on  the  subject  of  education.  When 
this  is  a  topic  which  is  kept  before  our  eyes  and  dinned  into  our  ears 
from  infancy  to  old  age,  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  realize  the  eagerness 
with  which  every  idea  relating  to  it  is  seized  upon  and  digested  by  this 
intelligent  people  of  Madagascar. 

The  introduction  is  long  and  circuitous,  but  the  style  of  her  address, 
delivered  in  a  clear  and  distinct  voice,  and  the  earnestness  of  her  plea, 
may  be  inferred  from  this  short  extract  : 

"  You  are  a  father  and  mother  to  me  ;  having  you  I  have  all.  And 
if  you  confide  in  me,  you  have  a  father  and  a  mother  in  me.  Is  it  not  so, 
()  ye  under  heaven?"  To  which  with  a  deep  voice  the  people  reply: 
"  It  is  so."  The  queen  continues  :  "  My  days  in  the  south  are  now  few, 
for  I  am  about  to  go  up  to  Imerina;  therefore,  I  will  say  a  word  about 
the  schools,  and  I  say  to  you  all  here  in  Betsileo,  cause  your  children  to 
attend  the  schools.  My  desire  is  that  whether  high  or  low,  whether 
sons  of  the  nobles,  or  sons  of  the  judges,  or  sons  of  the  officers,  or  sons 
of  the  centurions,  let  all  your  sons  and  let  all  your  daughters  attend  the 
schools  and  become  lovers  of  wisdom."  The  prime  minister  then,  in  the 
queen's  name,  addresses  the  assembly  on  the  subject  of  usury  and  says: 
"  Thus  saith  the  queen  ;  all  the  usury  exacted  b\'  the  llovas  from  the 
Betsileo  is  remitted,  and  only  the  original  debt  shall  remain."  .Such  sen- 
timents as  these  are  promulgated  in  far-away  Madaga'^car  !  For  this  is 
no  fancy  sketch. 


THE  <jl;ki;.\  atpears.  209 

The  reception  of  the  queen  upon  her  return  to  the  capital  is 
attended  with  much  ceremony  The  roadway  approaching  it  is  lined  for 
nearly  a  mile  with  double  rows  of  soldiers,  and  when  her  majesty  enters 
her  capital,  surrounded  by  her  "  red-coats  "  and  officers  in  gorgeous  uni- 
forms, she  finds  nearly  the  whole  tribe  of  Hovas  there  to  receive  her.  As 
the  retinue  draws  near  the  groups  of  women  and  children  who  are  closest 
to  her  majesty  commence  a  low  chant.  They  are  recounting  her  titles 
and  glorious  descent  and  murmuring  in  an  undertone  :  "  May  you  live 
long,  sovereign  lady,  not  suffering  affliction.  May  you  equal  in  length  of 
days  the  entire  people." 

Finally,  reaching  an  open  plot  of  ground,  she  descends  from  her 
palanquin  and  is  conducted  by  her  prime  minister  to  a  seat  placed  in  the 
center  of  her  "assembly  ground."  Near  the  seat  is  a  bare,  blue  rock  — 
the  sacred  stone  upon  which  she  is  careful  to  step  and  give  thanks  for 
being  allowed  to  re-enter  her  city  in  peace  and  safety.  Within  this  open 
space  are  gathered  an  immense  assembly  —  officers  on  foot  and  horse- 
back, ladies  of  the  court  in  English  dress,  singing  women,  servants  and 
slaves  with  loaded  palanquins  or  guarding  the  baggage  of  masters  and 
mistresses,  a  band  of  native  musicians,  etc.,  etc.,  all  garlanded  and  deco- 
rated with  brilliant  flowers. 

After  receiving  the  congratulations  of  her  people  the  queen  is  car- 
ried in  another  palanquin  to  the  royal  palace.  This  is  one  of  a  dozen 
palaces,  situated  in  a  great  court-yard,  in  which  also  are  the  tombs  of  all 
the  reigning  members  of  her  family.  The  queen's  own  palace  is  not  as 
large  as  many,  being  about  the  size  of  a  comfortable  dwelling  house,  and 
its  body  is  composed  of  thick,  upright  pieces  of  dark-red  wood.  It  is  in 
the  shape  of  a  Greek  cross,  the  north  and  south  sides  being  filled  out 
with  a  highly-ornamented  veranda. 

Like  all  works  done  for  the  sovereign,  the  building  of  her  palace  is 
a  species  of  tax  imposed  upon  her  subjects.  Material  and  labor  are 
furnished  without  pay,  the  only  return  made  in  former  days  being  the 
royal  grant  that  for  three  days  previous  to  the  opening  of  the  palace, 
any  crime  could  be  committed  without  meeting  with  punishment.  This 
reward  for  the  people's  sacrifice  has  now  been  withdrawn,  so  that  they 
not  only  have  to  donate  the  palace,  but  to  behave  themselves  when  it  is 
completed,  as  well  as  to  present  their  sovereign  with  substantial  tokens 
of  their  allegiance  when  their  work  has  been  pronounced  good.  This 
presentation  takes  place  in  the  palace  and  is  conducted  through  the 
queen's  relatives,  the  prime  minister  and  the  head  men  of  the  tribes.  So 
we  leave  the  queen  of  Madagascar  safe  in  her  palace,    and     cross     the 

14 


2IO  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

Indian  Ocean  to  the  Eastern  islands,  which  are  being  possessed  by 
Europeans  and  Asiatics.  What  native  kingdoms  remain  lack  coales- 
cence, being  similar  to  those  of  Eastern  and  Western  Africa.  Although 
the  Malayans  of  the  Eastern  seas  retreat  to  the  interior  of  their  islands, 
they  organize  no  such  governments  as  that  over  which  the  Queen  of 
Madagascar  presides.  They  invite  no  European  artisans  and  officers  to 
instruct  them  in  the  industries  and  in  war.  No  such  Christian  revival 
sweeps  through  their  ranks  as  stormed  the  Hovas  of  Madagascar,  No 
picturesque  towns  and  fertile  rice  swamps,  supporting  tens  of  thousands 
of  people,  and  imposing  works  of  engineering  skill,  representing  past 
and  present  ability,  present  themselves  nearly  two  hundred  miles  from 
the  coast,  as  they  do  in  Madagascar. 

Instead,  the  Eastern  Malayans  are  either  cannibals  who  hunt  for 
heads  as  boys  do  for  marbles — simply  wild-cats  and  tigers,  who  make 
their  own  weapons — or  they  are  farmers,  fishermen  and  traders,  under 
control  of  stronger  people.  There  are  wrecks  of  powerful  native  king- 
doms scattered  from  ocean  to  ocean  and  there  are  many  evidences  of 
great  natural  and  acquired  ability  in  commerce  and  government,  but  the 
kingdom  of  Madagascar  is  the  most  striking  living  example  of  high 
development  among  the  Malayans — and  the  wonderful  consideration  is 
that  it  seems  the  result  of  self-development. 


BORNEO   MALAYANS. 


ORNEO  and  Celebes  form  the  natural  center  of  the  East 
Indian  Archipelago  and  it  is  easily  conceived,  as  ethnologists 
have  been  led  to  believe,  that  from  this  locality  occurred  the 
great  emigration  of  the  Polynesians  eastward.  It  may  be,  as 
has  been  pointed  out  by  various  eastern  travelers,  that  Java, 
Sumatra  and  Borneo  were  formerly  connected ;  that  they 
formed,  at  the  time  of  the  emigration,  with  the  Philippines  the 
Formosa  and  Japanese  Islands,  part  of  one  great  continent. 
Their  fauna  is  similar,  and  ocean  soundings  have  proven  that 
the  three  islands,  at  least,  all  stand  on  a  plateau  covered  by  a 
shallow  sea,  and  have  determined  where  the  basins  of  the  Pacific  and 
the  Indian  oceans  really  begin. 

Borneo  almost  attains  the  dignity  of  a  continent,  its  area  being 
more  than  250,000  square  miles.  Its  surface  may  be  described  as  a 
central  group  of  mountains,  surrounded  by  an  immense  forest,  which, 
in  turn  is  belted  by  wide  alluvial  plains  edged  with  mangrove  swamps 
and  inundated  land,  the  whole  country  being  cut  up  by  great  rivers 
which  creep  from  the  moderately  elevated  interior  to  the  sea.  The 
plains  are  devoted  to  the  cultivation  of  rice,  and  the  forests  and  banks 
of  the  rivers  harbor  a  noteworthy  interior  tribe  known  as  the  Dyaks. 

THE    DYAKS. 

A  Borneo  forest  is  only  equalled  in  grandeur  and  beauty  by  that 
of  South  America.  First  comes  the  bamboo,  that  gigantic  grass,  which 
the  Dyak  uses  for  his  house,  bridge,  drinking  vessels,  mats,  tables,  bed- 
steads, mast  and  sail.  The  thickets  tower  above  his  house  and  stretch 
far  back  from  the  river's  bank.  Tropical  flowers  and  fruit  are  massed 
together  along  its  margin.  Cinnamon  and  sugar-cane,  palms  and  the 
great  gutta-percha  tree  are  growing  in  brotherly  profusion.  The  grace- 
ful vases  of  the  pitcher  plant  hang  from  every  shrub  and  bush.  Orchids 
and  ferns,   creepers  and   bushropes   interlace  affectionately.     Aromatic 


21: 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIUNS 


odors  fill  the  air,  wafted  from  exudiiii/  laurels  and  bloomintr  flow- 
ers.  One  is  almost  oppressed  with  this  luxuriousness  and  sighs  for 
an  unobstructed  ray  of  light  and  a  fresh  breath  of  air.  The  panther, 
the  tiger,  the  crocodile  and  the  orang-outang,  with  all  the  lesser  tribe 
of  monkeys ;  also  tropical  birds,  butterflies,  insects — everything  which 
can  be  imagined  as  grand,  beautiful,  gorgeous  or  hideous  in  animal 
or  vegetable  life  may,  generally  speaking,  be  found  in  a  Borneo  forest. 
Into  all  this  bewildering  mass  of  diversified  life  comes  the  Bornean 
hurricane.      Conceive  the  ruin  as  the  monster  strides  alone. 

The  Dyaks  seem 
ip3^^;  to  be  an  aboriginal  peo- 
jile  who  are  neither 
Malayans  nor  Papuans. 
They  are  known  as 
"head-hunters,"  from 
the  fact  that  the  people 
are  as  proud  of  the 
number  of  heads  which 
they  cut  off  as  the  In- 
dian is  of  his  scalps.  A 
young  man  cannot 
=  marry  until  he  has  pre- 
sented his  intended  with 
conclusive  proofs  that 
he  is  the  hero  of  at 
least  one  head.  The 
hideous  trophy,  with 
tufts  of  grass  in  the  ears 
and  shells  in  the  eyes  is, 
in  fact,  hung  upon  the 
"head-house,"  a  hall  or 
ft\N  council  chamber  (which 
is  also  used  as  a  guest 
house)  which  is  found 
in  every  Dyak  village  in 
the  interior.  A  sword 
or  knife,  a  shield  of  hard 
wood  and  a  spear,  are  the  weapons  of  the  small  but  wiry  Dyak,  who  is 
generally  fighting  the  neighboring  tribe.  These  wars  have  led  to  the 
custom  of  "head-hunting,"  which  has  now  become  a  part  of  the  social 
fabric.      Members  of  the  same  tribe  are  sociable  and  peaceable  and  to 


A  HEAD-HUNTER. 


THE    DVAKS.  213 

see  them  engaged  in  friendly  feats  of  strength  and  sl<ill,   it  is  hard  to 
reaHze  their  cruelty. 

The  dress  differs  with  the  tribe,  but  the  staple  article  is  a  wrapper 
of  cotton  cloth  around  the  loins.  Some  Dyaks  are  attired  in  tiger  skins, 
with  handsome  head-dresses  of  monkey's  skins  and  pheasant  plumes. 
Others  are  tattooed  like  a  veritable  New  Zealander.  It  is  customary 
for  several  families  to  live  torether  in  a  larsre  bamboo  hut.  It  is  some- 
times  two  hundred  feet  in  length  and  proportionately  wide,  being  raised 
on  posts.  Throughout,  it  is  made  of  bamboo — w'alls,  roof,  floor,  par- 
titions. Strips  split  from  large  bamboos  form  the  floor,  which,  when 
covered  with  a  mat  makes  an  elastic  and  easy  bed  or  seat.  The  bamboo 
floor  is  very  easy  to  the  bare  feet,  also.  With  constant  tramping  to  and 
fro,  and  the  dail\'  smoking  it  gets,  the  interior  of  a  native  hut  finally 
attains  a  color  and  polish  which  the  lover  of  a  meerschaum  pipe  might 
envy. 

There  are  mountain  Dyaks  and  sea-coast  Dyaks,  the  former  being 
the  real  head-hunters.  Let  a  birth, a  death  or  a  marriage  take  place  in 
this  o-reat  hut  and  immediatelv  a  man  will  start  out  for  the  head  of  an 
enemy  w^ith  which  to  celebrate.  Having  slain  his  foe,  the  body  is 
decapitated  and  the  brains  removed.  The  head  is  then  placed  over  a 
fire,  and  in  the  process  of  smoking  and  drying  the  muscles  hideously 
contract.  Often  the  teeth  are  taken  out  of  the  skull  and  strung  on  a 
wire  w^hich  becomes  the  hero's  necklace.  Customs  similar  to  these 
prevail  among  the  Alfoers,  of  the  Moluccas,  the  interior  Papuan  tribes. 

The  free  Dyaks,  or  those  of  the  interior,  who  have  not  fallen  under 
the  Malayan  yoke,  are  described  as  "honest,  kindly  and  reserved,"  and 
as  living  a  comparatively  joyous  life.  They  raise  rice,  maize,  tobacco 
and  sago,  and  with  the  rattans  and  oils  which  they  gather  they  are  able 
to  obtain  brass,  glass  beads,  salt,  red  cloth  and  other  articles  which  they 
value  more  highly  than  gold. 

Some  of  the  most  thickly-peopled  districts  of  Central  Borneo  lie 
in  the  upper  basins  of  the  great  rivers,  which  are  rich  In  gold  deposits. 
When  the  precious  dust  is  discovered  at  the  bottom  of  the  river  a  small 
raft  supplied  with  a  gate  or  railing  which  can  be  let  down  into  the  water, 
is  poled  to  the  spot.  The  gate  is  then  low^ered  so  as  to  form  both  an 
anchor  and  a  ladder,  and  both  men  and  women  dive  under  water  with 
wooden  platters  and  proceed  to  sift  out  the  gold  dust.     . 

MARRIAGES  AND    FUNERALS. 

Among  the  Dyaks  polygamy  is  allowed,  although  it  is  uncommon. 
They  do  not  intermarry  with  other  people  ;  or  rather,  those  who  do  are 


214  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

no  longer  regarded  as  Dyaks.  The  natives  are  superstitious,  and  have 
their  dancing  priestesses,  who  heal  the  sick,  exorcise  evil  spirits  and  con- 
duct the  souls  of  the  dead  to  their  abiding  place.  These  are  profes- 
sional duties  among  some  of  the  tribes  ;  among  others  they  are  assumed 
by  the  wives  and  daughters  of  well-to-do  natives.  Being  carried  into 
the  outer  air,  the  corpse  is  denuded  of  flesh,  the  bones  burned  and  the 
ashes  placed  in  urns  which  are  deposited  in  "  the  house  of  the  dead." 
Buffaloes,  wild  hogs  and  even  human  beings  are  sacrificed  at  a  funeral. 
The  case  is  mentioned  of  a  chief  who,  upon  the  occasion  of  his  wife's 
death,  deposited  in  her  coffin  eight  suits  of  clothing  and  all  her  orna- 
ments. Immediately  after  she  expired,  he  immolated  a  slave;  three 
other  slaves  when  her  corpse  was  removed  from  his  house ;  and  after 
the  body  was  burned,  eight  slaves,  sixty  hogs  and  two  buffaloes  were 
put  to  death.  Among  the  wealthier  Dyaks  it  is  customary  for  the  sur- 
vivor, whether  widow  or  widower,  to  remain  seated  in  the  house  for  a 
certain  length  of  time,  the  period  varying  from  one  or  two,  to  half  a 
dozen  months.  When  a  tribe  has  concluded  a  treaty  of  peace  or  alli- 
ance with  another,  the  warriors  assemble,  human  sacrifices  are  offered, 
and  amulets  and  fetiches  are  dipped  in  blood,  which  is  also  sprinkled  over 
all  parts  of  their  bodies. 

OTHER  PEOPLE  AND  KINGDOMS. 

Living  with  the  Dyaks  are  the  Bughis,  a  commercial  people  from 
Celebes,  who  are  both  traders  and  pirates.  They  really  control  the 
internal  trade  of  Borneo,  as  do  the  Malayans,  the  Dutch  and  the  British 
the  export.  In  the  deepest  woods  and  solitudes,  in  caves  and  upon 
trees,  dwell  the  naked,  savage  Negritos  or  Papuans,  who  are  also  found 
in  the  Philippine  Islands.  The  Chinese  immigrants  to  the  number  of 
250,000  form  an  independent  commonwealth  on  the  western  coast,  occu- 
pying themselves  with  trade  and  working  the  gold  mines.  All  around 
the  island  lying  upon  the  coasts  are  native  kingdoms  governed  by  princes 
and  sultans  without  number.  The  most  important  of  these  is  the 
Malayan  kingdom  of  Bruni,  whose  sultan  has  many  rajahs  under  him. 
Its  capital  contains  20,000  people.  Part  of  the  houses  are  built  on  rafts 
and  part  on  stakes,  and  canals  pass  through  the  town  in  all  directions. 
The  kingdom  has  quite  a  trade  with  Singapore. 

The  Dutch  predominate  as  a  foreign  power,  except  on  the  western 
coast,  where  the  English  are  in  the  ascendant.  For  300  miles  on  the 
northwestern  coast  stretch  the  dependencies  of  Sarawak,  a  state  or  col- 
ony which  was  founded  by  Sir  James  Brooke  and  governed  by  him  for 
many  years   as    chief.      For  quelling   an   insurrection  of  independent 


OTHER    PEOPLE    AND    KINGDOMS. 


215 


Dyaks  with  his  picked  English  soldiers  and  sailors  he  was  appointed 
governor  of  this  district  by  the  sultan  of  Borneo  or  Bruni.  Within  his 
territory  he  found  specimens  of  every  tribe  and  race  which  inhabit  the 
great  island,  and  with  that  material  to  work  with  succeeded  in  almost 
suppressing  piracy  in  the  Indian  Archipelago,  besides  welding  the  many 
fragments  into  a  compact  state.  Since  his  retirerhent  from  the  govern- 
orship, however,  the  English  government  has  refused  to  annex  it  to  the 
British  Empire. 


SUMATRA  MALAYANS. 

UMATRA  is  divided  between  tlie  Dutcli  and  several  brisk 
native  states,  the  most  important  of  which  are  the  kingdom 
of  Siak,  on  the  eastern  coast,  and  that  of  Acheen,  on  the  north- 
'•^^?vWii(^  western.  The  Dutch  possessions  are  chiefly  on  the  western 
coast.  The  inhabitants  are  mostly  ^Iala)ans  of  a  pronounced 
type,  and  so  wedded  to  their  islands  that  they  scarcely  ever 
venture  to  the  continent.  To  the  north  the  inhabitants  seem 
to  have  much  of  the  nature  of  the  Hindus,  and  are  distin- 
guished for  their  size  and  warlike  propensities.  The  Chinese 
are  numerous  on  the  eastern  coast.  This  portion  of  the 
island  is  level  and  watered  by  several  large  rivers,  while  the  western  por- 
tion is  mountainous  and  t^randly  beautiful.  Along  the  southwestern 
coast  the  mountains  rise  abruptly  from  the  shore,  the  ranges  in  all  parts 
of  the  island  being  broken  b\-  both  lateral  and  longitudinal  valleys. 
The  interior  has  been  little  explored,  notwithstanding  which  a  beautiful 
valley  about  a  hundred  miles  in  length,  stretching  up  to  the  foot  of  a 
mountain  has  been  fixed  upon  by  some  as  the  original  home  of  the  Malay- 
an race  after  it  had  been  driven  from  the  continent  by  the  Aryans  or 
emiofrated  from  the  now  submertred  continent  of  Lemuria,  south  of  Hin- 
dustan. , 

A  ONCE  GREAT   KINGDOM. 


The  interior,  including  the  once  powerful  kingdom  of  Menangka- 
bou  is  governed  by  the  resident  of  Upper  Pedang,  a  Dutch  official.  Two 
miles  west  of  their  fort.  Van  de  Capellen,  is  Pagaruyong,  now  a  small 
village,  but  in  ancient  times  the  capital  of  that  great  Mala}an  kingdom. 
The  word  Menangkabau  signifies  in  Javanese  "the  victory  of  the  buf- 
falo," and  tills,  with  traditional  testimony,  seems  to  point  to  the  kingdom 
as  a  product  of  Javanese  activity,  for  it  is  known  that  the  national  sport 
of  the  natives  of  Java  is  to  pit  a  buffalo  against  a  tiger,  and  it  is  there- 
fore supposed  that  they  thus  commemorated  one  of  their  popular  insti- 
tutions. 

216 


A    ONCE    CKKAT    KI.NdDOM.  21/ 

A  legend  represents  the  founders  of  the  empire  to  be  two  of  Noah's 
"forty  companions"  who  escaped  with  him,  the  ark  resting  on  the 
mountain  near  Palembanii-.  Remains  of  the  ancient  skill  of  the  Men- 
angkabaus  is  still  seen  in  their  manufacture  of  gold  and  silver  ornaments. 
Until  forbidden  by  the  Dutch  government,  they  also  made  sword  blades, 
cannon,  powder  and  matchlocks,  which  they  sold  to  the  more  warlike 
Acheens,  at  the  northern  end  of  the  island.  The  early  Portuguese  nav- 
igators often  mention  these  cannon  in  terms  of  considerable  respect. 
Their  matchlocks  were  made  by  winding  a  flat  bar  of  iron  around  a  cir- 
cular rod  and  welding  it  together.  They  used  native  iron  which  they 
mined,  smelted  and  forged  themselves. 

Another  important  state  of  the  Menangkabau  kingdom  was  the 
country  of  the  "  Thirteen  Confederate  Towns,"  which  were  banded 
together  for  mutual  protection  and  surrounded  b\-  stockades  and  bam- 
boo hedges ;  notwithstanding  which  the  confederacy  was  subdued  by 
the  Dutch  and  the  country  parcelled  up  into  districts,  as  were  all  other 
portions  of  the  kingdom. 

NATURAL  AND  POLITICAL  DIVISIONS. 

The  extreme  south  and  east  coasts  form  the  Lampong  districts. 
The  natives  are  of  middle  stature,  pleasant  and  lazy,  in  striking  contrast 
to  the  Acheenese.  Caste  prevails,  and  they  are  loose  Mohammedans. 
The  Lampongs  are  polygamists,  and  buy  their  wives  from  relatives.  It 
is  also  customary  for  several  families  to  live  under  the  same  roof,  as  with 
the  Papuans  of  New  Guinea. 

North  of  the  Lampongs  is  the  residency  of  Palembang,  with  the 
kingdom  of  Djambi,  which  has  been  ruled  over  by  a  native  prince  under 
Dutch  control. 

Above  Palembang,  on  the  eastern  coast,  are  Siak  and  several  other 
minor  states.  Then  comes  the  most  powerful  of  the  native  states, 
Acheen,  in  the  north. 

The  kingdom  of  Acheen  has  an  area  of  over  2,000  square  miles, 
with  a  population  variously  given  at  from  450,000  to  2,000,000.  The 
natives  are  not  onl)-  powerful  bodih-but  intellectually,  although  they  are 
cunning,  proud  and  blood-thirsty.  The)-  are  simple  in  their  habits  but 
slaves  to  opium. 

VILLAGE  AND   HOME   LIFE. 

The  native  villages  are  scattered  throughout  the  island  and  cast 
much  in  the  same  mold.      The  plank  or  bamboo  houses  are  raised  about 


2IO  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

six  feet  from  the  ground,  with  high  roofs  and  overhanging  eaves,  posts 
quaintly  carved,  furnished  with  mats  and  often  surrounded  by  a  lofty 
fence.  Cocoa-nut  trees  give  their  pleasant  green  to  add  variety  to  the 
scene.  Most  of  the  villages,  also,  have  a  market  building  with  a  cres- 
cent-shaped roof,  the  horns  pointing  upward. 

The  Dutch  government  have,  in  many  ways,  taken  the  native  cus- 
toms as  the  ground-work  of  their  own  laws  ;  so  that  within  their  domain, 
brides  are  still  purchased  as  they  have  been  of  old.  That  is,  supposing 
a  marriage  between  Malayans  takes  place,  the  parents  cannot  legally 
recover  from  the  groom  more  that  twenty  guilders,  or  eight  Mexican 
dollars.     The  young  man  may  pay  as  much  more  as  he  likes,  but  it  is 


-^^P&^- 


A  VILLAGE  >L\RKET  HOUSE. 

said  that  this  is  considered  so  large  a  sum  that  most  of  the  females  who 
are  below  par  in  personal  charms  are  single.  Since  the  same  sum  must 
be  paid  for  any  kind  of  a  bride,  the  Mala\an  evidently  has  determined 
to  take  his  pick.  It  sometimes  happens  that  the  father  chooses  a  hus- 
band for  his  daughter  and  the  happy  couple  are  taken  with  him  to  live, 
but  are  considered  as  servants  until  the  young  Malayan  can  pay  a 
specified  sum. 

The  costume  of  the  women  consists  of  a  turban,  one  end  hanging 
down  and  ornamented  with  imitations  of  leaves  ami  fruit,  wrought  with 
gold  thread.  The  upper  portion  of  the  body  is  clothed  in  a  shawl-like 
garment,   over  which  is  wound  a  piece  of  calico  about  a  jard  long,  the 


VILLAGE    AND    HOME    LIFE.  219 

two  ends  being  twisted  together  at  the  right  hip.  They  also  are  in  the 
habit  of  distending  the  lobe  of  the  ear  by  inserting  in  the  hole  an  elastic 
leaf,  the  tendency  of  which  is  to  unroll.  A  saucer-shaped  ornament  with 
a  groove  in  its  rim  is  then  put  into  the  ear,  and  when  the  work  of  exten- 
sion is  complete  the  opening  is  almost  large  enough  for  the  wearer  to 
pass  one  of  her  hands  through.  The  lobe  of  the  ear  at  last  becomes 
nothing  but  a  thin  loop  of  flesh,  barely  attached  to  the  head.  The  men 
are  not  guilty  of  such  a  fashion,  although  it  is  observed  in  all  the 
Chinese  and  Japanese  images  of  Buddha  that  he  himse'f  was  addicted 
to  the  foolish  practice. 

When  on  the  hunt,  the  natives  are  accustomed  to  dig  pits  of  the 
exact  form  of  the  rhinoceros  so  that  when  he  falls  into  them  he  is  unable 
to  gain  a  foothold  on  their  slippery  sides.  Some  of  them  are  bold 
enough  to  hamstring  an  elephant  by  springing  up  behind  him,  as  he  is 
walking  and  partly  sliding  down  a  steep  hill,  and  dealing  him  a  heavy 
blow  with  a  cleaver. 

CANNIBALS  AND  MECHANICS. 

Partly  within  and  partly  without  the  Dutch  possessions  are  a  singu- 
lar people,  their  tribes  united  into  a  kind  of  confederacy.  Those  of  the 
interior  are  independent  of  all  foreign  rule.  The  Battas  are  Malayans, 
but  they  have  invented  a  language  and  alphabet  of  their  own.  They 
write  upon  pieces  of  young  bamboo,  a  couple  of  inches  in  diameter  and 
six  inches  long,  their  pen  being  often  a  blunt  needle.  As  spoken  by  the 
various  branches  of  this  tribe  the  language  differs  only  to  the  degree  of 
dialects,  and  it  may  therefore  be  considered  a  unit. 

And  yet,  despite  this  evidence  of  civilization,  where  the  Dutch 
government  has  no  dominion  the  Battas  are  cannibals.  The  Dutch 
governor,  not  long  ago,  was  assured  by  a  native  chief  that  he  had  eaten 
human  flesh  between  thirty  and  forty  times,  and  that  he  had  never 
tasted  anything  that  he  had  relished  half  as  well.  The  supply  of  flesh 
is  obtained  according  to  law  ;  for  the  penalty  of  being  convicted  of 
adultery,  midnight  robbery,  or  a  treacherous  attack  on  any  house, 
village  or  person,  is  to  be  cut  up  alive.  To  this  list  of  crimes,  thus 
punishable,  some  investigators  add  that  of  intermarrying  in  the  same 
tribe.      Prisoners  of  war  are  cut  up,  also. 

The  chiefs  of  this  fierce  people,  all  of  whom  were  once  cannibals, 
present  quite  a  royal  appearance,  being  ornamented  with  various  golden 
devices,  which  the  natives  make  themselves.  The  head-dress  is  a  short 
turban,  the  two  ends  hanging  down  in  front ;  to  these  are  attached  cir- 


220 


I'ANDRAMA    (.)!■■    NATIONS. 


cular  or  diamond-shaped  pieces  of  gold.  Their  short  jackets  are  trimmed 
with  bands  of  gold  or  silver  and  their  belts  are  adorned  with  flowers  and 
scrolls  worked  with  gold  thread. 

The  tools  employed  by  the  Malayan    artists  to  bring  out  really  fine 
effects  are   a  flat  stone,  a  hammer  and  two  or  three  laro-e  blunt  awls 
Flowers,  leaves,  fruits  and  even  models  of  houses  are  brought  into  relief 

by   beating    the    gold    out 

>*.  j™?,  IB  "III  LL!._   •:¥ ■ ■■■"■■"■ " T" ' ■■ 


into  thin  sheets  of  the 
desired  form  and  then  mak- 
1  ng  a  corresponding  groove 
on  the  opposite  or  inner 
side. 

Upon  a  high  cliff,  which 
rises  perpendicularly  from 
a  stretch  of  low  ground 
bordering  the  bay  of 
Pedang,  and  which  is  on 
the  ocean  declivity  of  the 
momitains  which  sweep 
around  parallel  to  the  shore, 
is  the  "Devil's  Dwelling" 
lllf'    '  '   ^""^"^    7#f  1^^ '''^^^'' ''J     — ^°     ^^^^     natives     firmly 

iiSftlfii,#.-^lli,iMi  ^'"'■-       The  .ay  to    i„ 

summit    lies    through     the 

territory  of  the  Battas  and 
over  the  rough  rocks  of 
mountain  torrents.  Few 
coast  Malayans  are  fool- 
hardy enough  to  venture  a 
visit  to  the  "  Devil's  Dwell- 
ing;" for  stories  are  told 
of  the  fiendish  character  of 
the  mountainous  tribes 
which  make  even  their  cool 
The  tales  are  brought  to  the  outside  world  by  missionaries 
who  have  braved  these  horrors,  and  report  that  among  themselves  the  Bat- 
tas show  the  same  cruelty  as  they  do  toward  their  enemies.  There  was  a 
Batta,  it  is  said,  who  had  been  guilty  of  stealing  an  article  of  small  value. 
He  was  seized,  his  extended  arms  fastened  to  a  bamboo,  his  chin  propped 
with  a  sharpened  stick,  and  bound  fast  to  a  tree.  The  native  who  had 
lost  the  article  was  then  ordered  by  the  chief  to  advance  with  a  knife 


A  BATTA. 


blood  run  c( 


CAXXIKAI.S    AND    .MECHANICS.  22  1 

and  cut  from  the  helpless  man  whatever  portion  of  the  body  he  desired. 
This  he  did,  the  chief  took  next  choice  and  the  members  of  the  tribe 
completed  the  butchery. 

Says  an  authority:  "The  parts  that  are  esteemed  the  greatest 
delicacies  are  the  palms  of  the  hands,  and,  after  them,  the  eyes.  As 
soon  as  a  piece  is  cut  out  it  is  dipped,  still  warm  and  steaming,  in 
'sambal,' a  common  condiment  composed  of  red  or  Chili  peppers  and 
a  few  grains  of  coarse  salt,  ground  up  between  two  flat  stones."  Canni- 
balism is  reported  to  have  originated  among  these  people  in  this  wise. 
One  of  their  chiefs  once  committed  a  great  crime,  for  which  they  agreed 
he  should  suffer  death,  but  he  was  so  powerful  that  no  particular  person 
would  be  held  responsible  for  his  punishment.  Finally,  he  was  killed 
and  the  responsibility  was  divided  by  each  one  eating  a  piece  of  his 
body.  Having  once  tasted  of  human  t]esh,  like  lions,  they  all  became 
man-eaters,  agreeing  that  the  ne-ct  of  their  number  who  merited  capital 
punishment  should  go  the  way  of  their  former  rajah. 

The  villages  of  the  Battas  usuallv  consist  of  a  sinfrle  street.  The 
women  wear  a  garment  which  falls  from  the  waist  to  the  knee,  and  the 
young  ones  have  the  odd  custom  of  wearing  from  fifteen  to  twenty  iron 
rings  in  each  ear  and  as  many  more  on  their  arms  above  the  wrisL 
Goitre  is  very  common  among  these  mountainous  people,  who  are 
unaccustomed  to  the  use  of  salt,  which  is  said  to  prevent,  or  at  least 
stay  the  progress  of  the  disease.  It  is  said  to  seldom  or  never  appear 
among  those  Malayans  who  have  lived  on  the  sea-coast  for  several  gen- 
erations. 

A  Batta  grave  consists  of  a  rectangular  mound  with  a  wooden 
image  of  a  horse's  head  on  one  end  and  part  of  a  horse's  tail  fastened 
to  the  other,  the  mound  forming  his  body.  The  image  of  a  nude  man 
or  woman  is  placed  on  each  of  the  four  corners  and  over  all  is  a  rude 
roof  supported  on  four  posts.  A  fence  of  sticks,  four  feet  high,  from 
which  fly  small  flags  of  white  cloth,  surrounds  the  whole  structure. 

AN  ENGINEERING  FEAT. 

The  ingenuity  of  the  Malayan  is  forcibly  shown  in  the  construction 
of  several  suspension  bridges  made  of  rattan.  One  of  them  in  the  Rau 
Valley,  in  the  country  of  the  Battas,  is  thrown  over  a  mountain  torrent, 
at  a  height  of  about  125  feet,  having  for  its  middle  support  the  tops  of 
some  tall  trees  which  grow  from  a  small  and  rocky  island  Its  total 
length  is  375  feet.  Three  large  rattans  are  first  stretched  across,  the 
narrow  strips  of  board  which  forni  the  floor  being  fastened  by  common 
rattan.     The  cords  of  the  bridge  come  from  either  bank,  passing  above 


22: 


I'ANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


the  branches  of  high  camphor  trees,  and  support  the  structure  accord- 
ing to  the  principles  of  a  suspension  bridge.  It  is  not  all  that  it  should 
be  as  to  stability ;  for  the  native  who  crosses  upon  it  is  liable  to  be 
pitched  upon  the  rocks  below  if  he  should  lose  his  balance  and  attempt 
to  steady  himself  by  la\'ing  his  hand  upon  the  sides.  If  the  bridge  gets 
to  swinging  too  much,  the  only  thing  to  do  is  to  stop  until  the  motion 
is  stayed. 


e^^^^ 


THE   JAVANESE. 

HE  natives  of  Java  are  among'  the  most  industrious  and  inge- 
nious of  the  Malayan  tribes.     As  their  island  has  been  called 
the  Cuba  of  the   East,   so  the   Javanese  are  superior  to  any 
other  people  of  Asia,  except  the  Chinese  and  the  Japanese,  as 
skillful  agriculturists.     Their  coffee  plantations,   among  the 
finest  in  the  world,  are  situated  at  an  elevation   of  2,000  feet 
I       and  upward,  but  are  conducted  principally  b)-   the  Dutch  gov- 
ernment.      The 
native  modes  of    M 
obtaining  wealth 

from  the  soil    are   crude    ^ 

enough,  but  the  industry    ^: 

of  the  people,  their  dense    g: 

population     and    manual    w: 

dexterity,   added    to  the    ^ 

energy    of    the    colonial 

government,    have     en- 
abled them    to    distance 

all  Malayan  competitors. 

A  Javanese  plow  is  made 

with  a  single  handle,  with 

an  iron  share  which  only 

cuts   into    the    ground    a 

few  inches.     The  buffalo 

is  guided  with  the  unoc- 
cupied hand. 


\^^^^^M 


A  JAVANESE  PLOW. 


RICE  AND    SUGAR  CANE. 


Rice  and  sugar  cane  are  the  principal  products  of  the  Javanese 
agriculturist.  When  one  sees  rice  districts  which  stretch  away  to  the 
horizon  on  either  hand,  he  is  filled  with  wonder  at  that  human  patience 
which  supports  the  native,  who  according  to- the  dictates  of  his  religion, 


224 


I'ANdkA.MA    UF    .NATIONS. 


must  gather  these  immense  harvests  Ijlade  by  blade.  One  by  one  the 
ripened  blades  are  clipped  off  near  the  top,  the  bottom  being  left  to 
enrich  the  soil.  After  the  harvest  has  been  gathered  the  ground  is 
broken  up  with  a  spade,  hoe  or  plow,  and  harrowed  with  a  rake,  water 
beinLT  let  into  the  field  through  artificial  dikes.  Thouyh  ineenious,  as 
we  have  seen,  the  Javanese  have  never  invented  a  water-wheel,  or  other 
aooaratus  for  tloodiu''-  their  fields. 

The  Malayan's  field  is  often  assailed  by  huge  flocks  of  birds.      His 
method  of  frightening  them  away  is  similar  to   that   which    we  have 


A  NATIVE  "RIG." 


noticed  as  being  in  vogue  on  the  African  grain  coast.  He  erects  a 
bamboo  house,  placed  on  long  poles,  and  from  this  watch-tower  run 
rows  of  stakes  to  all  parts  of  the  field.  These  are  connected  by  strings 
in  such  a  way  that  he  can  vibrate  the  sticks  and  frighten  awa)'  the  pests 
in  any  particular  part  of  the  field  which  he  desires.  Land  that  is 
planted  to  sugar  cane  is  quickly  exhausted,  as  the  Malayan  farmer 
never  thinks  of  manuring  his  field;  consequently  two-thirds  of  a  planta- 
tion are  devoted  to  rice,  which  plan  supplies  the  laborers  with  food  and 


RICK    AND    SUGAR    CANE. 


225 


keeps  the  ground  fresh.  When  cut  the  sugar  cane  is  bound  into  bun- 
dles containing  about  twenty-f.ve  stalks  each,  which  are  then  hauled  to 
the  long,  low  white  factor)'  buildings  in  clunTs)-,  two-wheeled  carts. 
After  the  sugar  has  been  extracted  from  the  cane,  a  mixture  of  clay 
and  water  is  poured  over  it.  The  water  thus  impregnated,  filters 
through  the  brown  sugar,  and  washes  the  crystals  white.  'This  process 
is  said  to  have  been  suggested  by  the  birds,  it  having  been  .noticed 
that,  wht-n  they  stepped  upon  the  brown  sugar  with  their  muddy  feet, 
those  places  which  were  touched  became  white.  The  inference  was 
thus  drawn  that  there  was  some  chemical  affinity  between  the  sugar 
md  the  clay.  After  the  sugar  has  been  extracted,  the  molasses  which 
drains  off  is  fermented  with  rice,  palm  oil  is  added,  and  the  result  is  an 
intoxicating  drink  called  arrak,  which  is  very  popular  with  all  the  natives 
of  the  Archipelago.  The  liquor  is  even  shipped  to  Sweden  and  Nor- 
A?ay,  where  its  effects  are  not  so  destructive  as  in  warmer  climates. 

BUFFALO  VS.   EUROPEAN. 


"  A  piece  of 
iai.d,  a  bamboo 
hut  and  a  buffalo 
and  cart  "would 
be  the  usual  way 
in  which  a  poor 
Javanese  would 
list  his  property. 
In  both  their 
plows  and  carts 
the  animals  are 
led   or  d  r  i  v  (i  n 


sinel' 


Th( 


A  JAVANESE  HDUSB. 


,^jy.  ine 
reins  pass  idiro' 
the  buffalo's  nos- 
trils, and  art  at- 
tached to  hi;;  horns.  .\nd  so  the  Malayans,  with  their  house-like  carts, 
go  ploddmg  along,  stopping  now  and  then,  if  it  is  warm  and  the  jour- 
ney is  long,  to  allow  their  bovine  friend  a  chance  to  wallow  in  one 
of  the  artificial  ponds  which  are  constructed  for  his  benefit  by  the  road- 
side. The  Malayan  buffalo,  thinly  covered  with  hair,  is  larger  than  the 
American  species  and  usually  so  docile  with  the  natives  that  children 
can  drive  him  ;  but  for  some  reason  he  has  an  unconquerable  aversion 


226 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


to  Europeans,  which  he  manifests  by  breathing  heavily  throu^li  the 
nose;  and  when  he  so  expresses  himself  it  is  well  for  the  European  to 
get  away,  since  a  buffalo  is  more  than  a  match  for  a  ti^er. 

HOUSES  AND    PEOPLE. 

In  some  of  the   interior  villages  the  houses  are  built  with  special 
reference  to  the  ravages  of  the  tigers.     They  are  placed  on  posts  twelve 

or  fifteen  feet  high,  a  ladder  leading  up  to  a 
landing  which  is  inclosed  by  a  strong  fence  and 
a  gate.  The  natives  keep  hens,  and  except 
for  the  tigers,  would  have  dogs.  The  ordi- 
nary dwellings  of  the  people  are  built  of  a  rough 
frame  of  timber,  thatched  with  grass  or  palm 
leaves,  and  with  walls  and  partitions  of  split 
bamboo. 

The  Malayan  uses  the  oil  of  the  cocoa- 
nut  for  lighting  purposes,  and  he  is  a  faithful 
illuminator.  His  common  lamp  is  nothing  but 
a  glass  tumbler,  in  which  floats  a  small  quan- 
tity of  oil  upon  considerable  water,  and  in  the 
oil  are  two  small  splints  that  support  a  piece 
of  pith  for  a  wick. 

SPORTS. 

The  Javanese  seem  to  be  the  only  tribe 
of  Malayans  who  do  not  systematically  gamble. 
Their  passion  is  cock-fighting,  and  the  vice  has 
even  taken  such  a  hold  upon  their  language 
that  "  there  is  one  specific  name  for  cock-fight- 
ing', one  for  the  natural  and  one  for  the  artificial 
spur  of  the  cock,  two  names  for  the  comb, 
three  for  crowing,  two  for  a  cock-pit  and  one 
for  a  professional  cock-fighter." 
Music  is  a  passion  with  the  Malayan,  and  especially  the  Javanese, 
who  have  arrived  at  really  a  high  degree  of  perfection  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  their  instruments.  They  have  their  kromo,  or  series  of  gongs 
set  in  some  kind  of  a  framework  and  struck  with  sticks  which  are  coated 
with  gum  to  deaden  the  sound  ;  the  gambang,  consisting  of  wooden 
or  brass  bars  placed  over  a  trough  and  struck  with  knobbed  sticks  ;  their 
flutes  and  triangles.      The  Javanese  have  about  two  dozen  musical  instru- 


A  JAVANESE  FORK. 


SPORTS. 


227 


ments  of  various  kinds.  On  the  Peninsula  of  Malacca  a  bamboo  thirty 
or  forty  feet  long  has  its  partitions  removed  and  holes  cut  in  the  sides, 
after  which  it  is  placed  upright  in  a  tree  for  the  breezes  to  play  upon.  The 
notes  which  proceed  from  this  unique  instrument  vary,  of  course,  with  the 
strength  of  the  wind,  but  they  are  extremely  sweet  and  weird. 

FEMALE  FASHIONS. 
Unmarried  females  wear  silver  on  their  forearms  and  broad  bands 

■JsSaa"     — —    -    --■-■— 


A  JAVANESE  LOOM. 

of  that  metal  on  their  wrists.  Large  rings  made  of  hollow  tubes  are 
even  worn,  so  as  to  cover  both  arms  from  the  wrists  to  the  elbows,  or  sil- 
ver chains  on  the  neck  and  less  hideous  ear  ornaments  than  those 
above  noticed. 


228  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

Young  girls  ofter  wear  a  lace  garment  bespangled  with  thin  pieces 
of  silver,  combing  their  hair  back  and  fastening  it  in  a  knot  behind  ;  in 
this  are  stuck  long,  flexible  pins  that  rapidly  vibrate  when  they  dance  or 
are  in  continual  motion.  They  stain  their  lips  a  dull  red  and  some  of 
them  bang  their  hair.  Their  dance  consists  of  slowly  twisting  the 
body  and  shifting  its  weight  from  heel  to  toe,  and  vice  versa.  The  dance 
is  accompanied  by  a  song  and  lightly  beating  upon  a  number  of  small 
gongs. 

.     REMAINS  OF  ANXIENT   RELIGIONS. 

Near  the  northern  coast  of  Java  is  a  mount  famed  in  Javanese 
mythology  and  history.  It  resembles  a  native  boat  or  prau  turned 
upside  down,  and  is  therefore  known  as  Mount  Prau.  Upon  its  sum- 
mit was  the  supposed  residence  of  the  gods  and  demigods.  The  ruins 
of  temples  and  metal  images  of  their  divinities,  some  of  them  nearly 
covered  with  lava,  indicate  that  it  was  very  holy  ground. 

Near  the  very  center  of  the  island  stands  a  pyramid  loo  feet  high, 
which  has  been  constructed  from  a  natural  hill-top,  terraced  and  adorned 
with  many  images  of  Buddha,  which  are  set  into  niches.  At  the  summit 
of  the  pyramid,  which  consisted  of  quite  an  area,  is  a  mighty  dome- 
-shaped  building  surrounded  by  seventy-two  smaller  ones.  One  of  the 
most  imposing  groups  of  temples  in  the  East,  even  in  their  deca)',  is  that 
of  the  Thousand  Temples.  They  are  really  less  than  a  third  of  this 
number,  built  on  terraces,  a  large  central  building  overlooking  all  the 
rest,  and  the  entire  group  forming  a  quadrangle  540x510  feet,  exactly 
facing  the  cardinal  points.  These  mighty  ruins  are  less  than  eighty 
miles  apart,  and  furnish  astounding  evidences  of  a  great  civilizat'on 
which  existed  before  Brahmanism  and  Buddhism  were  expelled  by 
Mohammedanism. 

The  Javanese  are  as  far  advanced  toward  rational  worship,  perhaps, 
as  any  branch  of  the  Malayan  race.  But,  even  among  them,  old  customs 
and  superstitions  stubbornly  refuse  to  die  and  give  place  to  new  ones. 
In  the  southern  part  of  the  island  is  an  active  volcano  which  rises  7,500 
feet  above  the  sea  and  boasts  one  of  the  largest  craters  in  the  world  — 
three  and  a  half  by  four  and  a  half  miles  from  rim  to  rim.  "  Its 
bottom  is  a  level  floor  of  sand,  which  in  some  places  is  drifted  by  the 
wind  like  the  sea,  and  is  properly  named  in  Malay  the  Sandy  Sea. 
P>om  the  sandy  floor  rise  four  cones,  where  the  eruptive  force  has  suc- 
cessively found  vent  for  a  time,  the  greatest  being  evidently  the  oldest, 
and  the  smallest  the  present  active  Bromo  or  Brama,  from  the  Sanscrit 
Brama,  the    god  of  fire.     On  these  Tenger  Mountains  (among  which 


REMAINS    OF    ANCIENT    RELIGIONS.  229 

is  the  volcano)  live  a  peculiar  people  who  speak  a  dialect  of  the  Javan- 
ese, and,  despite  the  zealous  efforts  of  the  Mohammedan  priests,  still 
retain  their  ancient  Hindu  religion." 

In  the  islands  of  Bali  and  Lombok,  south  of  Java,  the  Hindu  relig- 
ion also  flourishes,  with  its  invariable  accompaniment  of  caste.  First 
come  the  j)riests,  then,  in  order,  the  soldiers,  merchants  and  common 
laborers.  The  women  frequently  stab  themselves  as  sacrifices  to  their 
religion,  and  their  bodies  are  afterwards  burned.  The  princes  them- 
selves often  require  such  sacrifices. 

These  people  and  those  of  adjacent  districts  make  an  annual  pil- 
crrimao-e  to  the  .Sandv  Sea.  They  sijread  themselves  over  its  barren 
surface,  some  of  them  erecting  rough  stands  for  the  sale  of  amulets, 
charms,  volcanic  stones  and  provisions  ;  some  are  eating,  singing,  laugh- 
ing ;  some  are  praying  ;  a  compact  line  of  young  priests  have  before 
them  boxes  of  myrrh,  aloes  and  other  spices  which  they  are  selling  for 
offerings ;  at  right  angles  to  them  is  a  line  of  older  priests;  old  men  and 
women,  children  in  arms  are  there  in  the  sandy  basin  of  the  great  crater, 
the  earth  groaning  beneath  them  and  the  pit  in  the  center  sending  forth 
its  sulphurous  smoke  and  vapors. 

Finally,  the  offerings  are  all  laid  upon  bamboo  stands  and  sprinkled 
by  the  priests  with  holy  water,  prayers  are  offered  up,  and  the  oldest 
rises  and  exclaims,  his  companions  joining  in  chorus:  "  Forward,  for- 
ward to  the  Bromo  !  "  The  whole  multitude  hasten  toward  the  vol- 
cano, many  stopping  on  the  way  to  pray.  Arriving  at  the  summit,  with 
the  priests  in  advance,  the  people  again  present  their  offerings  to  their 
religious  teachers,  who  bless  the  trinkets  a  second  time  and  then  hurl 
them  into  the  brimstone  pit.  As  the)-  disappear  down  the  crater  each 
person  repeats  some  prayer  or  wish  —  and  so  both  the  volcano  and  the 
people  are  blessed.  After  the  exercises  the  participants  descend  from 
the  mountain  to  engage  in  games  and  pastimes,  have  a  grand,  good 
time,  and  depart  for  their  homes. 

THE  TIMORESE. 

The  Timor  Islands  are  a  group  which  lie  southeast  of  Java  and 
stretch  toward  Australia.  They  seem  to  be  a  bond  of  union  between 
the  vegetable  and  the  animal  life  of  the  Archipelago,  Australia  and 
Polynesia.  Especially  is  there  found  a  most  perplexing  combination  of 
humankind.  Malayans,  Chinese,  Papuans,  Portuguese,  Dutch,  Polyne- 
sians and  Australians  appear  in  such  various  degrees  of  mixture  that  it 
is  hard  to  tell  where  you  are  from  an  ethnological  point  of  view. 


230  I'AXOkAMA    OK    NATIONS. 

In  the  second  island  from  Java,  however,-  Lombok,  the  Malay- 
ans have  made  themselves  famous,  as  they  did  in  Sumatra,  for  their  skill 
in  manufacturing  y;uns.  The  manufacturer  establishes  his  works  in 
an  open  shed,  his  apparatus  consisting  of  a  mud  forge,  bamboo  bellows, 
a  piece  of  iron  imbedded  in  the  ground  for  an  anvil,  a  vise  fastened  to 
the  stump  of  a  tree  and  a  few  files  and  hammers. 

Although  but  300  miles  in  length  and  in  40  breadth,  Timor  is 
divided  between  the  Dutch  and  Portuguese.  It  is  surrounded  by  rocks 
and  coral  reefs,  and  is  a  great  fishing  ground  for  trepang,  the  fish,  or 
sea-cucumbers,  which  the  Chinese  so  esteem.  The  natives  are  assisted 
by  the  Bughis  or  Macassars  in  this  industry,  the  plan  being  either  to 
spear  the  fish  one  by  one  or  dive  for  them.  After  the  fishermen  have 
landed  their  cargoes  another  squad  or  company  proceed  to  split  open 
the  cucumbers  and  clean  them,  after  which  they  are  plunged  into  iron 
pans  filled  with  boiling  salt  water  and  arranged  outside  the  long  smoking 
and  drying  sheds.  This  process  requires  from  eight  to  ten  hours,  when 
the  trepang  are  taken  within,  spread  on  a  platform  of  bamboos  running 
through  the  shed  at  the  height  of  the  eaves.  The  ground  having  been 
excavated  two  or  three  feet  below  the  outside  level,  the  fire  can  be 
kindled  without  danger  of  igniting  the  bamboo  w^alls. 

The  bees  of  Timor  furnish  the  natives  also  with  employment,  the 
wax  being  an  important  export.  Their  honey-combs,  which  are  not 
unlike  a  bee-hive  in  shape  and  three  or  four  feet  in  diameter,  are 
attached  to  the  under  side  of  branches  of  very  lofty  trees.  The  bee 
hunter  works  his  way  up  the  trunk  of  the  tree  by  means  of  his  feet, 
and  a  small  flexible  creeper,  which  he  grasps  in  each  hand  and  uses  as  a 
counter-force.  He  is  armed  with  a  torch,  a  knife  tied  to  a  stout  creeper 
and  a  thin  cord  ;  when  he  has  worked  his  way  up  so  as  to  be  within 
proper  distance,  he  proceeds  first  to  smoke  out  the  swarm  and  after- 
ward to  slice  off  the  honey-coml)  and  lower  it  to  his  companions.  Not- 
withstanding his  body  is  partially  protected,  he  is  sometimes  terribly 
stung. 

The  Timorese  are  believers  in  the  system  of  "  tabu."  Gardens  and 
farms  are  protected  from  trespass  by  a  native  priest  or  chief,  who  per- 
haps sticks  a  few  palm  leaves  outside  to  indicate  that  the  ground  is  sacred 
or  guarded  by  the  "  pomali."  The  propensity  of  the  natives  is  toward 
theft,  and  some  play  upon  their  superstitions  is  said  to  be  necessary  for 
the  security  of  any  kind  of  property.  One  trick  of  theirs,  in  this  connec- 
tion, is  to  seize  upon  the  person  of  an  unprotected  native,  if  he  is  of 
another  tribe,  and  retain  him  as  a  slave. 

The  Timorese  seem  to  be  of  mixed   Malayan   and    Papuan   blood, 


THE    TIMORESE 


231 


and  are  taller  and  more  striking-  than  those  of  pure  blood.  The  Malay- 
ans proper  show  no  traits  peculiar  to  this  island.  Their  women  dye 
their  lips  with  the  betel  and  dress  the  same  as  in  the  islands  further 
north.  Their  huts  are  of  the  common  bamboo  style,  thatched  with 
Ijalm  leaves,  but  are  level  with  the    ground. 

THE  COMMERCIAL  TRIBES. 


From  Celebes,  east  of  Borneo,  go  out  the  most  enterprising  traders 
and  navigators  of  the  seas.  Their  boats  average  forty  or  fifty  tons  bur- 
den, and  some  of  them  are  twice  as  large.  In  these  junk-like  praus 
they  visit  every  island  of  the  Archipel- 
ago as  far  as  Australia  to  barter 
the  natives  ;  in  what  manner  wi 
told  when  we  come  to  speak 
natives  of  New  Guinea,  whc 
among  their  most  profitable 
customers.  The  Rughis  and 
the  Macassars  of  Celebes  are 
what  the  Malayans  formerly 
were  as  a  people  —  restless, 
daring  navigators.  The  form- 
er have  a  literature  as  well  as  a 
commerce  of  their  own,  and 
the  latter  claim  <i 
divine  origin,  hav- 
ing a  tradition  that 
a  goddess  cam 
down  from  heaven 
to  marry  their  fore- 
father,  a  mighty  a  malavan  prau. 

chief.  From  Sumatra  or  China  direct  the  Macassarswere  introduced  to 
cannon  and  gunpowder,  and  with  their  improved  arms  and  good  swords, 
they  were  able  to  spread  their  Mohammedanism  over  nearly  the  whole 
of  the  island.  Their  attempt  to  subjugate  the  Moluccas  resulted  in 
the  defeat  of  their  ;oo  vessels  and  20,000  warriors  by  the  Dutch.  The 
Bughis  then  assumed  the  lead  by  becoming  tributaries  of  the  Nether- 
lands government,  and  have  since  retained  it.  The  other  natives  of  the 
island  are  the  Minahassas,  who  are  a  powerfully-built  people,  sometimes 
approaching  the  Europeans  in  complexion.  Intellectually  they  are  infe- 
rior to  the  Bughis  and  Macassars. 


'"'^sSS*. 


232 


r.WORA.MA    UK    NATION'S. 

THE   PHILIPPINE   ISLANDERS. 


Of  the  4,000,000  natives  who  inhabit  the  1,200  islands  which  com- 
pose the  group,  one-cpiarter  are  governed  by  native  princes.  Luzon, 
the  largest  of  the  number,  is  to  the  north  and  has  a  population  of 
2,500,000.  The  greater  part  of  the  island  is  governed  by  the  Sultan 
of  Mindanao,  who,  with  his  minor  chiefs,  can  bring  an  army  of  100,000 
men  into  the  field.      Far  to  the  south  are  the  Sooloo  Islands,  which  are 

also  governed  by  a 
native  sultan.  The 
inhaljitants  are 
brave  and  extreme- 
ly warlike.  Their 
warriors,  in  fact, are 
considered  the 
fiercest  and  best 
disciplined  of  all 
of  the  Malayan 
tribes.  Sooloo, 
the  capital  of  the 
kingdom,  situated 
on  the  island  by 
that  name,  extends 
out  into  the  ocean, 
its  houses  being 
built  in  rows  and 
far  enough  apart 
to  admit  the  pass- 
age between  them 
o  f  a  man-of-war. 
The  town  is  also 
defended  b)'  t  w  o 
strong  batteries, 
and  is  designated 
the  Algiers  of  the 
East.  The  amusements  of  the  Sooloos  partake  of  their  warlike  dis- 
position, their  principal  sport  being  cock-fighting.  The  natives  not  only 
build  canoes  but  ships  of  considerable  tonnage. 

The  Tagals  and  Bisayers  are  the  most  numerous  native  races, 
dwelling  in  the  cities  and  cultivating  fields  of  rice,  wheat,  maize  and 
plantations  of  sugar-cane,  cotton,  tobacco  and  coffee  on  the   lowlands. 


A  NATIVE  OF  LUZOX. 


THE    PHILirriNK    ISLANDERS. 


-oo 


The  industrial  occupations  of  tlie  natives,  says  an  Eastern  tourist, 
include  a  verj' ingenious  method  of  working  in  horn,  the  manufacture  of 
gold  and  silver  chains,  of  cigar 
cases,  and  fine  hats  in  various 
vegetable  fibres,  of  beautifully 
colored  mats  embroidered  with 
gold  and  silver,  the  dressing 
and  varnishing  of  leather,  ship- 
bii.'hling  arl  coioh-building. 
Tsie  manufac'.ure  of  -ig^rs 
gives  employment  to  a  taige 
number  of  hands.  The  con 
age  of  the  Philippines  is  he 
in  good  repute.  The  te.\ti 
productions  are  said  to  be  fift\ 
two  in  number;  from  the  dcli 
cate  and  costl)'  shawls  and 
handkerchiefs  made  from  the 
fibre  of  pine-apple  leaves  called  j 
pinas,  and  sold  at  the  rate  of- 
one  or  two  ounces  of  eok 
apiece,  down  to  coarse  cotton 
and  stout  sacking,  wrought 
from  the  fibre  of  the  abaca 
and  gomuti  palms.  As  seen 
in  the  illustration,  their  dress, 
of  home  manufacture,  is  de- 
cidedly picturesque  and  becoming, 
tish  grace  which  quite  sets  off  the  dusk\-  l)tauty. 


HOME  MANUFACTURES. 


and  worn  with  a  wild  sort  of  coquet- 


234 


PANORAMA    UF    XATIUNS. 


POLYNESIAN'  WEAPONS. 


j._Ha\viian  Ax.    2.— Carvrd  Club  from  Tahiti.    3,  4.— Hammers  from  the  Friendly  Islands.     5.  — K:iife  from  Easter 
Island.    6. — Boar's  Tusk— A  War  Ornament. 


THE   POLYNESIANS. 

HE  Society,  Marquesas,  Hawaiian,  Feejee,  Samoa,  Friendly 
and  Caroline  Islands  are  the  best  known  localities  where 
good  specimens  of  this  muscular,  warlike,  cannibalistic 
race  may  be  found.  They  differ  somewhat  in  personal 
appearance,  although  as  a  rule  they  are  above  the  average 
height,  symmetrically  built^ — in  fact,  superb  specimens  of 
physical  manhood. 

THE  FEEJEE  CANNIBALS. 


The  group  takes  its  name  from  the  island  to  the  windward,  and  its 
people  have  acquired  a  decidedly  unenviable  reputation  as  possessing 
all  the  worst  characteristics  of  the  blood-thirsty  savage.  They  are 
described  as  tall,  sleek  and  portly,  with  stout  limbs  and  short  necks, 
with  bushy  hair  joined  to  a  round  beard  to  which  mustaches  are  often 
added.  The  men  dress  in  a  sort  of  sash  of  white,  brown  or  figured 
cloth,  using  generally  about  six  yards,  though  a  wealthy  man  will  wear 
one  nearly  one  hundred  yards  long.  The  women  usually  wear  their 
hair  short,  or  done  up  in  little  twisted  bits,  that  hang  down  like  pieces 
of  string ;  occasionally  they  go  to  the  other  extreme  and  dress  the  hair 
in  huge  and  grotesque  forms. 

The  men  do  not  tattoo  their  bodies  but  paint  them,  especially 
their  faces,  which  they  ornament  with  blotches,  bars  and  stripes  of  red 
and  black.  .Some  of  them  only  cover  the  forehead  with  a  shiny  black 
paint.  They  particularly  pride  themselves  on  the  huge  boar's  tusk 
which  hangs  from  the  neck  and  falls  over  the  breast.  The  Feejeeans 
make  a  business  of  catching  young  boars  and  knocking  out  the  front 
teeth  of  the  upper  jaw  so  that  a  free  field  may  be  given  for  the  tusks 
to  grow.  The  nearer  the  tusks  approach  to  a  circle  the  more  beautiful 
they  are  considered.  The  native  man  of  any  standing  wears  a  gauze- 
like turban. 

Both  sexes  paint  their  bodies  and  besmear  them   with  oil,  besides 


236 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


wearing  enormous  ear  ornaments.  In  former  times  neither  sex  wore 
any  clothing-  to  speak  of,  but  now  near  the  settlements,  in  addition  to 
the  garments  which  extend  from  the  waist  to  the  knees  the  women  are 
attiretl  in  a  little  loose  jacket.  Women  are  tattooed,  but  onl)'  on  parts 
of  the  body  which  are  covered. 

HIGH-TONED    SOCIETY. 


A  native  chief  squats  upon  the  ground,    '. 
his  person   is  sacred  and  often   lielieved   to 
ground  and  works  otherwise  with  his  hands, 

is  chanted   b\- 


necuuar 


anguage  wliich 


A  FEEJEE  CHIEF. 


ike  a  common  Feejee,  but 
be  divine.  He  tills  the 
but  he  must  be  addressed 
his  subjects.  They  must 
approach  him  crouched  or 
creeping  and  even  worm 
their  way  over  the  floor 
of  his  house.  It  would  be 
as  much  as  one's  life  is 
worth  to  cross  him  from 
behind.  When  at  sea 
the  canoe  is  required  to 
pass  the  chief's  boat  on 
the  inside.  If  a  chief 
stumbles  or  falls,  his  at- 
tendants must  do  the  same. 
A  dreadfully  amus- 
ing story  is  told  of  one 
of  these  grim  old  chiefs, 
who  boasted,  no  doubt, 
of  the  number  of  persons 
he  had  eaten,  but  did  not 
relish  the  idea  of  beino- 
made   into  meat 


himself. 


He  was  out  at  sea  one  day  with  a  number  of  his  warriors  when  their 
great  canoe  capsized.  For  some  reason  they  were  unable  to  right  it 
and  struck  out  for  the  shore  with  the  sharks  after  them.  Thereupon 
the  chief  called  upon  his  two-score  of  warriors  to  protect  his  .sacred 
carcass  by  forming  a  circle  round  him.  The  body  of  swimmers  then 
moved  on  toward  the  shore,  and  as  often  as  one  common  warrior  was 
snapped  up  b)-  the  tigers  of  the  ocean  the  gap  was  heroically  closed ; 
and  so  the  person  of  the  chief  was  not  reached,  although  he  left 
behind  all  but  half  a  dozen  of  his  brave  liodv-guard.      One  should  not 


HIGII-TU.NKD    SOCIETY. 


237 


recklessly  make  light  of  the  loss  of  human  life,  but  surely  this  strangely 
true  occurrence,  which  is  said  to  have  happened  only  a  few  years 
ago,  is  a  wonderful  combination  of  humor  and  pathos.  This  is  but 
illustrative  of  the  value  whicli  the  people,  and  particularly  the  chiefs, 
place  upon  human  life. 

CANNIBALS  AND    BAKALOS. 


The  Feejeeans  are,  in  fact,  cannibals  from  choice,  and  not  from 
motives  of  revenge.  They  like  the  taste  of  the  human  body,  which 
they  call  long  pig.  European.;,  however,  who  go  among  them  are 
partially  reassured  when  they  learn  that  the  native?  little  relishes  the 
flesh  of  a  white  man.  as  it  is  usually  tainted  with  tobacco  and  other 
distasteful  things.  They  pre- 
fer the  flesh  of  women  to  1 
that  of  men  ;   notwithstand- . 


ing   which,    they 


wil 


not 


allow   the    female    a    single  $-^'^-~ 
taste  of  human  flesh.     This^ 
custom  seems  more  horrible  ^i4-, 
when  one  is  told    that    the 
Feejeean,  who  has  not  been 
civilized,    does    not   confine 
his  appetite  to  his  enemies, 
but  will  look  upon  a  villager, 
or  (if  he  is  a  chief)  upon  a 
member    of    his     tribe,     as 
though  he  were  an  English- 
man looking  over  a  head  of 
beef.     Fat  widows  especially 
are  the  chief  objects  of  his 
pursuit  ami  of  all   portions  of  the  human  body  he  considers  the  thick 
of  the  arm  the  choicest. 

The  phrase  long  pig  is  not  a  white  man's  joke,  but  is  an  actual 
expression  of  Feejeean  vernacular.  Pork,  or  real  pig,  is  called  by 
the  natives  puaka  dina ;  a  human  body  puaka  balava,  or  long  pig. 
Neither  is  eaten  raw  but  is  stewed  in  their  large  earthen  pots,  with  a 
variety  of  savory  herbs.  .Some  of  the  skipper's  stories  are  told  in 
the  past  tense,  the  incidents  having  occurred  in  years  gone  by  before 
chese  cannibals  had  been  touched  by  any  sort  of  humanity  from  the 
outer  world  —  for  instance  :     "  If  a  man  was  to  be  cooked  whole,  they 


A  CHIEF'S  HOUSE. 


238 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


would  paint  and  decorate  his  face  as  though  he  were  ahve,  and  one  of 
the  chief  persons  of  the  place  would  stand  by  the  corpse,  which  was 
placed  in  a  sitting  position,  and  talk  in  a  mocking  strain  to  it  for  some 
time,  when  it  would  be  handed  over  to  the  cooks,  who  prepared  it  and 
placed  it  in  the  oven,  filling  the  inside  of  the  body  with  hot  stones,  so 
that  it  would  be  well  cooked  all  thrnu''h." 


A  FEEJEE  CANN'IBAL. 


After  a  battle  the  victors  would  cook  and  eat  man)-  of  the  slain  at 

.once;  others  were  dragged  to  their  temples  and  offered  to  their  gods, 

the  priests  getting  a  large  share  of  the  victims.      Occasionally  a  prisoner 

would  be  bound  and  placed  in  an  oven,  or  be  forced  to  eat  a  portion  of 

his  own  body. 

The  most    famous  cannibals    kept   a  record  of   the    bakalos    they 
had  devoured,  the   number  often  running  into  the  hundreds  ;  and  even 


CANNIBALS    AND    BARALOS. 


'-39 


at  the  present  time  it  is  not  phenomenal  to  meet  a  Feejee  brave  who 
boasts  of  having  eaten  his  man.  On  one  of  the  islands  there  used  to 
be  a  regular  arena,  around  which  were  stone  seats  for  the  spectators  and 
in  the  middle  of  which  was  a  huge  bowlder.  Two  stalwart  natives 
seized  the  bound  victim,  each  taking  hold  of  an  arm  and  leg,  and  rush- 
ing to  the  bowlder  they  dashed  his  brains  out,  the  spectators  shouting 
their  applause.  The  time  was  when  "  no  important  business  could  be 
commenced  without  slaying  one  or  two  human  beings  as  a  fitting  inau- 
guration. Was  a  canoe  to  be  built,  then  a  man  must  be  slain  for  the  lay- 
ing of  its  keel ;  and,  if  possible,  were  the  builder  a  very  great  chief,  a 
fresh  man  for  every  new  timber  that  was  added.  More  were  to  be  used 
at  its  launching  as  rollers  to  aid  its  passage  to  the  sea,  and  others  were 


POLYNESIAN  BEAUTIES. 


slain  to  wash  its  deck  with  blood  and  to  furnish  a  feast  of  human  flesh 
considered  so  desirable  on  such  occasions;  and  after  it  was  afloat,  still 
more  victims  were  required  at  the  first  taking  down  of  the  mast." 

When  a  chief,  or  other  great  man,  feels  a  (jreat  cravingf  come  o\er 
him  for  some  plump  woman  or  child,  he  says  that  his  back  tooth  aches 
and  that  only  human  flesh  can  cure  it.  The  stories  which  these  old  skip- 
pers tell,  who  have  sailed  in  cannibal  waters  for  years,  are  enough  to  make 
one  have  a  continual  procession  of  nightmares.  As  intimated,  the 
natives  call  the  human  body  to  be  eaten  the  bakalo,  and  the  tale  goes 
that  when  the  chief  gets  hold  of  a  particularly  choice  bakalo  he  reserves 
it  for  himself  entire,  merely  cooking  the  flesh  from  time  to  time  so  that 


240 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


it  will  not  become  quite  putrid.  Those  who  die  a  natural  death  are  not 
eaten,  but  if  a  luscious  native  should  be  killed  in  one  of  their  many  broils 
and  be  gotten  safely  under  ground,  his  relatives  will  have  to  watch  his 


a 
z 

u 

a 
-J 

J 

-J 

> 


^ititiBiiBJia'iiiiWii'gfi'i 


^rave  closely  in  order  to  scare  away  the  ghouls  who  come  after  the  body. 
There  is  little  doubt  but  that  the  Feejeeans,  as  a  people,  are  still  canni- 
bals of  an  uncompromising  nature,  but  exactly  to  what  extent  they  par- 
take of  puaka  balava  cannot  be  ascertained  l)y  li\ing  man. 


SOCIETY,     IIK.H     AM)    LOW. 


241 


SOCIETY,  HIGH  AND  LOW. 

Feejeean  society  is  divided  into  castes  or  grades,  viz.:  (i ),  lyings 
and  queens ;  (2),  chiefs  of  large  districts  or  islands ;  (3),  chiefs  of 
towns,  priests  and  ambassadors  ;  (4),  distinguished  warriors  of  low  birth, 
chiefs  of  the  carpenters,  and  chiefs  of  the  turtle  catchers  ;  (5),  common 
people  ;  (6),  slaves  of  war.  When  a  chief  dies  the  order  of  succession 
is  his  next  brother,  his  eldest  son  or  his  eldest  nephew.  His  dignity  is 
fixed  by  the  number  of  wives  he  has,  and  his  sister's  son  is  even  a  person 
of  greater  importance  than  his  nephew  on  his  brother's  side  ;  for  he  may 
claim  anything  except  the  chief's  own  wives  and  home,  though  he  reside 
in  another  district.  He  is 
sacred,  or  taboo.  A  chief 
may  protect  anything  with  a 
tal)oo,  from  the  life  of  one 
of  his  great  men  to  a  favorite 
boar.  The  fact  that  such 
sacredness  has  been  imposed 
upon  anything  by  chief  or 
priest  is  indicated  by  certain 
marks  which  the  natives  un- 
derstand. Cocoa-palms  and, 
in  fact,  whole  crops  are  some- 
times thus  protected.  Cer- 
tain actions  or  habits  ma)' 
also  be  tabooed  ;  for  instance^ 
women  may  paint  with  red 
and  other  colors,  but  black 
is    strictly     taboo    to    them. 

As  with  most  of  the 
lower  orrades  in  savacre  life,  the  deofree  of  crime  is  fixed  b\-  the  rank  o. 
the  offender  and  of  his  -victim.  OfYenses  against  chastity,  however, 
witchcraft,  incendiarism  and  infringement  of  a  taboo,  are  usually  visited 
with  death,  the  executing  instrument  being  a  musket,  noose  or  club. 
Disrespect  to  a  chief  and  treason  are  inexcusable,  although  in  these 
cases  it  sometimes  happens  that  father  will  suffer  for  son,  or  friend  for 
friend,  it  seeming  to  make  little  difference  to  these  blood-thirsty  people 
who  dies  so  long  as  a  life  is  sacrificed. 

Europeans  who  have  been  cured  of  serious  complaints  by  native  doc- 
tors, or  old  women,  have  great  stories  to  tell  of  the  wonderful  knowledge 
they  possess  of  the  uses  of  herbs.     The  old  women,  they  say,  take   you 

16 


A  CIVILIZED  GIRL. 


242 


PANORAMA    U1-'    NATIONS. 


in  hand  and  bring  you  dtjcoctions  and  infusions  of  leaves,  which  tliey 
make  you  drink,  whilst  the)'  sla.id  by  to  see  that  you  save  none  of  the 
leaves  and  so  learn  their  secrets.  If  they  send  you  medicines,  the  leaves 
they  consist  of  are  always  chewed  or  pounded  out  of  shape.  Their 
knowledge  of  poisons  is  great  and  is  extensively  used  by  chiefs  for 
political  purposes.  The  operation  of  some  of  the  poisons  is  slow  though 
fatal,  so  that  the  relatives  of  the  deceased  do  not  at  the  time  suspect  the 
stranger,  who  has  so  ingratiated  himself  that  they  have  given  the  health 
of  the  victim  into  his  care. 

As  would   be  inferred  from  the  disposition  of  the  Feejeean,  he  is  a 
warrior  by  nature.      He   usually  goes  armed  with  a  musket,  battle-axe, 


WOMF.X  OF  TONGA. 

club,  bow,  spear  or  sling.  His  club  is  an  Irishman's  shillalah,  which  he 
throws  with  deadly  precision  ;  and  palisades  and  breastworks  adorn  his 
mountain  strongholds. 

THb:  TONGESE. 

These  people,  the  natives  of  the  Tonga,  or  Friendly  Islands,  have 
nearly  all  been  Christianized  and  ci\ilized  to  some  extent,  being 
governed  by  one  chief  called  King  George.  They  are  thus  able  to  con- 
centrate theirfprces,  and  JKueeN'en  [ilantecl  colonies  on  the  Feejee  Islands 
in  spite  of  the  opposition  of  their  neighbors.  In  former  times  the  Tonga 
Islands  were  governed  by  a  spiritual  chief,  who  claimed  descent  from  the 
gods.     He  was  called  the  "Tut  Tonga" — chief  of  Tonga.     For  more 


THE    TUNGESE.  243 

than  half  a  century  the  kintj  has  usurped  his  authority,  akhough 
the  office  and  the  spiritual  chief  still  exist  in  a  shadowy  way.  He  has 
his  house,  into  which,  uninvited.  King  George  cannot  enter,  and  when 
he  comes  within,  as  a  mark  of  res[)ect,  he  must  seat  himself  at  once.  To 
stand  before  him  would  be  an  insult.  The  very  name  of  Tonga-tabu, 
which  has  been  given  to  the  Tonga,  or  Friendly  Islands,  originated  from 
the  fact  that  the  principal  island  was  the  residence  of  the  Tui-Tonga-, 
hence  Tonga-tabu,  or  sacred  Tonga.  We  commence  also  to  get  at 
the  significance  of  the  English  word  taboo. 

ROYAL  REFORMS. 

The  Tongese  have  been  enthusiastically  described  as  being  blessed 
with  a  delightful  color,  very  much  resembling  a  cup  of  good  coffee 
with  a  great  deal  of  rich  cream  in  it.  The  people,  especially  the 
women,  have  dark  and  lustrous  eyes.  Their  dress  consists  of  a  cloth 
fastened  round  the  waist  which  hangs  below  the  knees.  Some  time  ago 
the  king,  who  has  been  brought  under  the  influence  of  missionaries  and 
European  ideas,  attempted  to  enforce  a  law  that  the  men  should  wear 
regular  shirts  and  trousers  of  fabric,  in  place  of  the  native  "vala,"or 
waist-cloth  similar  to  that  worn  by  the  women.  This  threatened  to  put 
a  stop  to  the  important  industry  of  manufacturing  "tappa"  (native 
cloth ),  besides  being  distaseful  to  them.  The  law  was  therefore  repealed. 
Although  it  was  expected  that  the  women  would  support  the  dress 
reform,  the  pinafore  in  which  they  often  appear  when  before  Europeans 
is  cast  off  upon  every  possible  occasion  and  pretext. 

In  some  of  the  larger  towns,  where  churches  have  been  established 
and  European  ideas  reign  supreme,  the  native  women  appear  in  public 
with  bonnets  and  hats  trimmed  with  feathers  and  flowers.  They  used 
to  go  bareheaded,  or  garlanded  with  wreaths  and  natural  flowers,  as 
many  of  the  Tongese  do  at  the  present  time.  The  climate  of  the 
islands  is  very  hot,  and  there  was  nothing  immodest  in  the  old  fashions; 
the  men,  however,  have  carried  the  day  for  comfort.  It  would  seem 
that  the  king  has  a  tremendous  itching  for  making  laws.  Both  men  and 
women  smoke.  King  George  conceived  that  it  would  be  more  proper 
that  women  should  eschew  the  little,  fragrant,  native  cigarette ;  a  decree 
which  was  promulgated  to  that  effect  caused  such  a  hubbub  that  the 
royal  legislator  allowed  its  repeal.  King  George,  furthermore,  prohib- 
ited the  men  of  his  islands  from  indulging  in  the  time-honored  custoia 
of  tattooing  themselves  ;  but  a  lusty  young  brave — who  is  a  correct  judge 
of  beauty — is  seen  occasionally  sneaking  over  to  a  neighboring  island  of 


244 


PANOKA.MA    OF    NATIONS 


the  Samoan  group  and  undergoing-  the  operation,  which  sets  oft'  his  soft, 
brown  skin  to  such  advantage. 

HOME    MANUFACTURES. 

The  Tongese,  in  common  with  ah  the  Polynesians,  are  extremely 
fond  of  kava,  a  drink  made  from  the  root  of  a  species  of  pepper.  The 
dry  root  is  pounded  between  two  stones,  until  enough  material  is  ready 
for  the  large  wooden  bowl,  which  is  placed  before  the  compounder, 
whose  operations  have  attracted  to  the  house  quite  a  companj-.      The 


TONGESE  BRAmED  WORK. 

powder  is  placed  in  this  vessel  and  a  cocoa-nut  shell  full  of  water  is 
poured  on  to  it,  after  which  the  operator  squeezes  the  mass  to  a  pul]). 
grinding  it  between  his  palms  until  his  temples  throb,  that  he  may  get 
all  the  good  out  of  it.  Water  is  being  added  constantly.  The  stuff  is 
then  strained  through  a  bundle  of  fibrous  material,  and  the  particles  t)f 
dried  root  thrown  aside,  after  which  the  kava  is  served  in  half  cocoa- 
nut  shells.  Inexperienced  drinkers  insist  that  the  liquid  tastes  more  like 
soap-suds  than  anything  else,  although  constant  practice  is  said  to  over- 
come the  delusion.      A  native  drink,  which  anv  one  minht  api)reciate,  is 


IIUMK    MANUFACTURES.  245 

made  by  squeezing  the  juice  of  partly  ripened  oranges  into  a  quantity 
of  cocoa-nut  milk,  flavored  slightly  with  capsicum. 

Tonga  women  are  skillful  manufacturers  of  the  gnatoo,  or  cloth 
made  from  the  white  mulberry,  which  goes  into  the  valas  of  both  sexes, 
their  blankets  and  curtains.  The  outer  bark  of  the  tree  is  useless,  the 
white  inner  bark  being  rolled  up  and  soaked  in  water.  This  is  then 
placed  upon  the  squared  side  of  a  piece  of  palm  wood,  and  the  women 
beat  out  the  pulpy  strips  with  wooden  mallets  into  a  firm  piece  of  cloth. 
Long,  narrow  pieces  are  joined  with  arrowroot  and  then  btiaten  together, 
so  that  very  large  pieces  are  made,  sometimes  nearly  one  hundred  feet 
square.  After  l^eing  beaten  a  week  or  two  the  cloth  is  stretched  and 
painted  with  odd  patterns.  The  stamping  process  is  this:  Onto  a  large 
piece  of  bark  tlu:y  fasten  round  thin  twigs  in  the  desired  pattern,  which 
they  place  under  the  unpainted  cloth  antl  upon  which  they  press  in  order 
to  get  a  slight  marking.  This  is  then  painted  with  darker  stamps.  The 
colors  are  fixed  by  heat.  The  cheerful  dispositions  of  the  women  are 
never  more  clearly  brought  out  than  by  catching  a  glimpse  of  them  at 
their  work.  Sometimes  several  of  them  will  be  working  away  at  one 
log,  and,  not  satisfied  with  the  noise  they  themselves  make,  they  will  get 
boys  to  come  and  hammer  away  at  the  end  of  the  trunk  and  beat  time 
to  their  labors.  Some  of  the  braided  work  of  these  women  is  also  very 
fine. 

THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 

The  old  religion  of  the  Tongese  consisted  in  a  belief  in  good, 
mischievous  and  evil  gods,  and  in  the  immortality  of  the  souls  of  nobles 
and  chiefs.  Their  heaven  was  on  a  large  island  northwest  of  Tonga, 
called  Bolutu.  Human  virtue  consisted  in  paying  respect  to  the  gods, 
nobles  and  aged  persons  ;  in  defending  one's  rights  ;  in  honor,  justice, 
patriotism,  friendship,  modesty,  fidelity,  chastity,  filial  love,  patience,  and 
religious  observances.  When  the  Europeans  first  came  among  them 
one  of  their  sayings  was,  "as  selfish  as  a  Papalagi."  Their  burial  grounds 
are  carefully  tended,  being  sanded  and  kept  clear  of  weeds.  All 
the  tombs  are  beautified  and  marked  with  a  layer  of  small  black  stones, 
bright  shells  and  coral.  In  some  islands  of  the  group,  says  a  traveller, 
where  no  stones  are  found,  the  mourners  of  the  lately  dead  repair 
to  the  volcanoes,  Koa  or  Tofao,  where,  amidst  the  very  smoke  that 
arises  from  the  living  fires  at  the  summit,  they  seek  these  pebbles  for 
their  graves.  When  pagans,  the  natives  were  devoted  to  war.  They 
offered  human  sacrifices,  and  cut  off  their  little  fingers  and  toes  as  pro- 
pitiatory offerings  to  the  gods.     As  stated,  the  nobles  went  to  heaven 


246 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


on  the  island  of   Bolutu,  but  the  poor  people  remained  in  the  world  to 
feed  upon  ants  and  lizards. 

There  may  be  some  basis  of  truth  in  the  following  regarding^  the 
royal  guard,  which  is  told  l)y  an  English  tourist,  for  since  the  islands  have 
fallen  under  the  influence  of  the  missionaries,  most  of  the  martial  spirit 
of  the  people  has  disappeared:  "On. Sundays  the  old  king  generally 
goes  to  church,  and  it  is  then  one  of  the  occasions  upon  which  the  body- 
guard appears.  He  has  two  men  wlio  are  dressed  up  in  some  ridiculous 
red  uniform,  and  these,  on  .Sundays,  stand  at  his  gate  and  present  arms 
in  the  most  proper  manner  as  the  king  goes  out.  But  the  instant  he 
has  passed  through,  the  royal  guard  have  to  turn  and  run  as  fast  as  ever 
they  can,  by  a  back  way  to  the  church  door,  where,  l)reathless  but  grave, 

t  h  e  y  present  arms 
again  upon  his  Maj- 
est)'s  entrance. 
Some  time  ago  the 
king  was  out  in  the 
country,  where  there 
was  some  shght  dis- 
fTection  among  the 
inhal)itants,  who  had 
nt)t  shown  their  loy- 
alt)'  by  moving  the 
wooden  barriers 
which  are  erected  at 
the  entrance  of  the 
towns  to  keep  out 
the  pigs.  At  the 
sight  of  this  obstruc- 
tion his  Majesty  was  incensed  and  forthwith  ordered  his  guard  to 
charge  the  barricade.  This  they  instantly  did,  with  the  only  result  of 
completely  doubling  up  their  bayonets  and  having  to  come  home  again 
with  their  weapons  over  their  shoulders,  twisted  into  semicircles,  for 
all  the  world  like  a  part)-  of  reapers." 

It  may  be  addeil  to  the  above,  in  all  seriousness,  that  King 
George  himself  is  a  constant  preacher,  and  when  in  the  pulpit  is 
impressive  and  earnest.  Under  his  honest,  though  often  somewhat 
over-zealous  rule,  the  Tongese  are  making  greater  improvements  than 
any  other  of  the  Polynesian  islanders.  Several  printing  presses  have 
already  been  put  in  operation,  with  his  hearty  sanction.  Many  of  the 
women   can   sew,  and  a  great  number  of    the   natives  have  learned  to 


N,'\TIVE  FASHION. 


THE    OLD    AM)     i'HK    NEW. 


247 


read  aiul  write,   both   in   their  native  tongue  and  in    English.      A  few 
have  even  been   taught  arithmetic  and  geograi)hy. 

THE  SAMOANS. 

The  Sanioans  are  a  race  of  warriors  who  have  no  such  mildly  civil- 
ized ideas  as  the  Tongese.  For  many  years  the  people  have  engaged  in 
civil  strife.  They  were  governed  by  one  d\nasty  for  generations  untold, 
but  finally  the  islands  were  invaded  ])y  the  Tongese  and  a  great  warrior 
barely  saved  them  from  being  overrun  by  the  enemy.  His  descendants 
and  the  descendants  of  the  old  royal  family  have  been  fighting  for  con- 
trol of  the  whole  group  of  islands  ever  since. 

Furthermore,  this 
state  of  affairs  suits  the 
tribal  character.  So  that 
now  and  then  the  adhe- 
rents of  the  ancient  cause 
will  surprise  a  village  of 
the  new,  or  the  king's 
party,  and  cutting  off  as 
many  masculine  heads  as 
they  can  reach,  they  will 
rush  to  their  canoes  with 
them  and  paddle  back  to 
their  island,  or  return  to 
their  camp  and  present 
their  trophies  to  their  chief. 
If  the  raid  has  been  more 
successful  than  usual,  and 
besides  committing  such 
deviltries  they  have  been 
able  to  cut  down  the  palms 
and  bread-fruit  trees  of 
the  rival  village,  there  is 
great  rejoicing;  the  heads  are  heaped  into  the  middle  of  the  public  square 
and  every  man  of  the  attacking  party  has  become  a  hero.  It  frequently 
happens,  however,  that  these  raids  are  rendered  harmless  through  the 
efforts  of  the  women,  who  have  friends  and  relatives  in  both  the  new  and 
the  old  parties,  and  who  therefore  give  timely  warning  of  the  premeditated 
attacks.  The  old  party  is  distinguished  from  the  new  by  a  piece  of  red 
material  which  is  twisted  in  the  long  hair  of  each  warrior;  his  enemies 
wear  a  white  cockade.      The  king's  party  seem  to  have  adopted  the  most 


A  SA.MOAN  (HRL. 


24S 


PANORAMA    OK    NATIONS. 


advanced  notions  of  warfare  ana  have  in  their  possession  not  only  a 
number  of  magnificent  native  canoes,  but  quite  a  number  of  stands  of 
modern    firearms  nml   a  stanch   httle  schooner  which    they  point  to  as 


OF  THK  KIXG'S  PARTY. 

I  fortress   whicli    is  deemed   almost 


their  man  ot    war.       The)'   jjossess 

impregnable,  and  their  warriors  \vh(-n  on   parade  are  often   richl) 

formed. 


uni- 


A    TATTOOED    WARRIOR.  249 

A  TATTOOED  WARRIOR. 

The  Samoan  warrior  is  a  sight  to  behold,  as  a  tattooed  being.  Both 
front  and  back  are  covered  with  the  most  intricate  desig-ns,  so  that  the 
man  looks  as  if  he  were  clothed  in  a  delicate  garment  of  red,  blue  and 
brown.  It  takes  several  months  for  the  whole  process  to  be  completed 
—  and  months  of  torture  they  must  be.  At  about  the  age  of  seventeen 
the  young  men  are  taken  in  hand  by  the  professional  artist  who  first 
lightly  traces  the  designs  upon  the  skin.  He  then  takes  a  bone  instru- 
ment with  very  fine  teeth  which  are  covered  with  coloring  matter,  places 
it  upon  the  body  and  drives  the  teeth  through  the  skin  with  a  mallet. 
The  tattooer  has  instruments  of  different  degrees  of  fineness  and  the 
precision  of  his  work  is  simply  marvelous.  The  decorations  begin  below 
the  knee  and  completely  cover  the  thighs,  back  and  front.  All  the 
designs  are  connected  by  narrow  stripes  running  from  the  spine  around 

The    women    mostly   cut        c//  --  —^ ^^tf^^":^— —"""-"' 

their    hair    short,   althoug-h  it      '     '"  "'" 
is  sometimes  left  to  grow  in  a  v.^\vi  protector, 

bushy  mat.  It  is  curly  and  elastic,  and  generally  decorated  with  floAvers. 
Both  sexes,  in  fact,  appear  to  be  passionately  fond  of  flowers.  Hair, 
neck,  waist  and  every  conceivable  portion  of  the  female  body  is  liable 
to  be  ornamented  with  separate  gems  or  wreaths;  while  the  men  often 
stick  a  flower  jauntily  behind  the  ear  or  fasten  the  petals  to  the  cheek. 
This  simple  love  of  flowers  is  also  noticed  among  other  Polynesians. 

The  dress  is  much  the  same  as  the  Tongese.  The  men  average 
about  five  feet  in  height,  are  erect  and  proud  in  their  bearing  and  have 
straight  and  well  rounded  limbs;  the  women  are  generally  slight  in 
figure,  symmetrical,  and  easy  and  graceful  in  their  movements.  The 
nose  is  usually  straight  and  the  mouth  large  with  full  lips. 

HOUSES  AND  MATS. 

A  Samoan  house  is  a  picture  set  in  a  wreath  of  flowers.  The 
bread-fruit  tree  is  used  in  its  construction  and  the  thatching  is  of  wild 
sugar  cane.     The  house  is  as  clean  as  a  white  sheet  of  paper,  with  its 


250  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

floor  of  loose  pebbles  and  its  surrounding  pavement  of  stones.  Air  is 
allowed  to  freely  enter,  but  the  sunlight  is  excluded,  as  the  roof  comes 
down  to  within  a  few  feet  of  the  ground  at  the  eaves.  Many  mats  upon 
the  floor,  curtains  of  native  cloth,  wooden  pillows  and  a  chest,  with  a 
specially  large  mat  which  is  kept  among  the  rafters  for  the  visitor,  about 
include  the  furnishings.  The  cooking  for  the  household  is  done  outside, 
which  is  another  source  of  comfort  in  the  hot  weather.  Samoa  is  a  land 
of  freshness  —  houses,  flowers,  people  are  all  fresh,  or  happy,  hospitable 
and  clean.  One  is  apt  to  sink  into  a  sort  of  stupor  during  the  hot  sea- 
son, however,  or  be  taken  with  what  the  native  calls  "mat  fever"- — be 
unable  to  leave  your  mat  —  for  it  is  like  one  continuous  Turkish   bath. 

Speaking  of  the  mat  —  it  plays  a  most  important  part  in  the  life  of 
a  Somoan,  though  not  always  fresh.  When  a  tribe  goes  to  war  the 
first  thing  to  be  done  is  to  place  the  mats  in  safety,  and  they  are  always 
considered  the  most  valuable  portion  of  the  booty  ;  and  some  of  them 
are  truly  superb.  Like  wine,  also,  age  enhances  their  value.  Mats 
which  have  been  used  by  chiefs  or  have  been  in  royal  families  for  a  cen- 
tury or  two  are  necessarily  somewhat  soiled  but  are  priceless  treasures. 
A  bride's  dower  would  be  considered  scandalously  incomplete  \vithout 
a  number  of  ancient  family  mats. 

Polygamy  is  practiced,  but  two  wives  seldom  live  in  the  same  house. 
Women  also  are  considered  the  equals  of  men,  and  both  sexes  join  in 
the  family  labors. 

In  the  ancient  religion  of  the  Samoan,  less  homage  was  paid  to 
their  one  great  god  than  to  their  minor  gods  of  war.  They  had  also 
gods  of  earthquakes,  lightning,  rain  and  hurricanes,  and  they  worshiped 
carved  blocks  of  wood  erected  to  the  memor\-  of  deceased  chiefs  and 
warriors.  Christianity  is  now  dominant,  and  most  of  the  adult  popula- 
tion can  read  and  write. 

TIHITIAN  IDOLS. 

The  natives  of  the  Society  Islands  have  adopted  European  habits 
and  costumes.  They  are  above  middle  height,  vigorous  and  graceful 
in  bearing,  with  a  bold  and  open  expression  of  countenance.  They 
were  formerly  great  worshipers  of  idols.  Below  are  some  of  the  objects 
of  their  former  adoration,  these  particular  idols  being  idols  of  the 
Tihitians. 

WAR  CHARMS. 

The  Manjuesans  are  among  the  least  civilized  of  all  the  Polyne- 


NEW    ZEALAND. 


WAR    CHARMS. 


asr 


sians.  They  fight  each  other  like  wild  beasts,  having  neither  govern- 
ment nor  acknowledged  leaders.  They  have  no  religion,  but  are  grossly 
superstitious,  being  firm  believers  in  amulets  and  charms  and  fetiches, 
relying  upon  them  particularly  as  protections  and  good  influences  in 
war.  These  superstitions  and  the  system  of  tabu  seem  to  be  about 
all  that  lifts  them  above  animal  life.  The  tabooed  or  privileged  classes- 
are  the  "atnas,"  who  are  considered  as  superior  beings;  soothsayers,  or 


C^i^-~      '—  " 


NATIVE  IDOLS. 


fetich  men  ;  priests  and  surgeons ;  secular  rulers  and  war  chiefs.  Serv- 
ants, dancers  and  workmen  are  not  tabooed.  Women  choose  their 
husbands  and  divorce  them  at  will.  They  appear  almost  white,  and,  like 
the  men,  are  easy  in  their  bearing;  their  complexion  is  in  reality  a  light 
copper  color,  but  they  rub  themselves  with  the  root  of  the  papaw  tree 
and  produce  the  desired  effect. 

The    Marquesans  are  cannibals  onl\-  when  they  wish    to  revenge 


252 


PANORAMA    VV    NATIONS. 


themselves  upon  the  body  of  an  enemy.  Their  habitual  food  is  vege- 
tables, with  a  highly  intoxicating  native  drink,  which  is  made  by  chewing 
up  a  kind  of  root  and  spewing  the  pulp,  with  the  accompanying  saliva, 
into  a  vessel  where  the  mess  is  allowed  to  ferment.  They  make  a  coarse 
cloth  out  of  the  bark  of  the  mulberrj-  tree  with  which  they  scantily  cover 
themselves,  and  live  in  small  thatched  huts  erected  on  stone  platforms. 
In  similar  houses  they  bury  the  dead. 


THE  HAWAIIANS. 

The  Hawaiian  (or  Sandwich)  Islands  are  the  most  northerly  group 
of  Polynesia,  and  the  twelve  islands  constitute  a  kingdom  governed  by 
a  native.  The  framework  of  the  constitution  was  prepared  by  Chief 
Justice  Lee,  of  the   United  States,  and  many  Americans  hold   (govern- 

ment  positions. 
The  great  wealth 
of  the  islands  is 
in  sugar,  much  of 
which  is  exported 
to  Australia. 
The  Hawaiians 
are  noblyformed, 
are  good  fisher- 
men, horsemen 
and  sailors  and 
are  capable  of 
WAR  AMULETS.  Considerable    in- 

tellectual elevation.  The  government,  as  somewhat  modified  from  its 
original  republicanism,  consists  of  a  king,  a  privy  council  (composed  of 
four  governors  of  the  large  islands  and  four  ministers),  and  a  parliament, 
which  is  formed  by  a  house  of  fourteen  nobles  (of  whom  six  are  whites) 
and  twenty-eight  representatives  (of  whom  seven  are  whites).  Then  there 
is  the  judicial  department,  police  and  the  other  officials.  The  king's 
salary  is  $22,500.  A  voter  must  read  and  write,  pay  his  taxes  and  have  an 
income  of  $75  a  year.  It  is  said  that  comparatively  few  adults  are  disquali- 
fied, and  that  some  of  the  natives  show  considerable  proficiency  in  arith- 
metic, geometry  and  music.  The  English  language  is  not  taught  to  any 
great  extent.  The  natives  are  very  liberal  in  their  support  of  churches,, 
being  naturally  yielding  and  good-natured,  though  it  is  asserted  that  there 
is  a  tendency  to  subside  into  the  habits  of  barbarism,  and  that  native 
superstitions  are  with  difficulty  kept  in  check.     But  life  and  property 


THE     HAW  AilA.NS. 


253 


are  as  secure  as  anywhere  in  the  wurkl  and  capital  offences  are  extremely 
rare.  But  the  people  are  rapidly  decreasing;  for  the  diseases  which 
the  whites  brought  among  them  are  especiall)-  fatal.  The  introduc- 
tion of  clothes,  with  their  utter  carelessness  about  dampness  and 
ventilation,  their  discontinuance  of  native  and  athletic  sports  —  in 
short,  the  wonderfully  rapid  transformation  from  savage  to  civilized 
habits  has  had  a  lamentable  effect  in  thinning  out  the  population.  The 
half-caste  population,  however,  is  increasing  rapidly,  marriages  between 
Chinese,  Americans  and  the  native  women  becoming  more  and  more  the 
fashion. 

THE  NEW  ZEALANDERS. 

The  Maoris,  the  primitive  inhabitants  of  New  Zealand,  are  doomed 
to  early  extinction.      Before  the  introduction   of  Christian  it)-  they  were 


TATTOOED  MAORIS. 

the  most  prolific  tattooers  in  the  universe,  every  inch  of  face  and  body 
being  traced  with  some  line  of  beauty;  and  many  who  have  adopted  the 
European  dress  and  customs  are  still  left  with  the  indelible  marks  of 
their  heathen  life  upon  them.  Since  the  introduction  of  a  new  order  of 
things  the  Maoris  have  abandoned  their  fortified  villages,  situated  on  the 
summits  of  hieh  hHls,  and  now  live  in  open  towns  and  farm  houses, 
having  no  longer  any  fear  of  being  seized  and  eaten  by  some  fierce  rival 
tribe. 


254 


PAXUKAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


Nearly  every  superstition,  passion  and  vice  which  attach  to  the  mosi 
dense  savagery  were  formerl)-  traits  of  the  Maoris.  Caste,  the  tabu, 
sorcery,  revenge,  license  except  to  the  married,  cruelty  to  the  wife,  etc., 
etc.,  were  established  among  them.  A  revengeful  spirit  was  considered 
the  basis  of  an  admirable  character;  so  much  so  that  after  the  priest  had 
baptized  the  month-old  infant  he  forced  little  pebbles  down  its  throat  to 
make  its  heart  hard. 

Now  all  these  things  are  changed.  The  natives  have  good  houses, 
and  good  clothes,  possess  flocks  and  herds ;  the  majority  of  them  can 
read  and  write,  and  belong  to  Christian  churches  ;  but,  from  the  same  gen- 
eral causes  which  are  thinning  out  the  Hawaiians  the  Maoris  are  rapidly 
following  in  the  footsteps  of  the  extinct  Tasmanians.  Their  traditions 
place  their  original  home  among  the  Samoan  or  Navigator  Islands,  the 
emigration  taking  place  some  time  in  the  fourteenth  century,  on  account 
of  civil  war.  After  a  voyage  of  three  thousand  miles,  the  eight  hundred 
adventurers,  in  their  twenty  large  canoes,  stepped  upon  the  uninhabited 
island  which  their  descendants  have  since  called  home, 


THE  PAPUANS. 

RACE  CHARACTERISTICS. 

IE  one  peculiarity  of  this  race  is  their  hair.  It  is  supposed 
that  the  Aryans  drove  the  Papuans  from  the  continent,  and 
that  the  refugees  formerly  occupied  the  islands  of  the  Pacific 
and  Indian  oceans;  that  some  strong  race  forced  the  Malay- 
ans, also,  out  of  Asia,  who  in  turn  crowded  the  Papuans 
entirely  off  of  certain  islands,  or  away  from  the  coasts  into  the 
mountainous  interior.  Even  then,  the  one  peculiarity  of  the 
Papuans  was  their  hair,  and  they  were  known  by  the  Malayans 
as  the  papuvah,  or  crisp-haired  people.  The  Malayan  term 
for  crisp  hair  is  "rambut  pua-pua,"  which  explains  the  deriva- 
tion of  the  name  more  satisfactorily. 

The  hair  does  not  spread  over  the  entire  head,  but  appears  in  small 
tufts,  which,  if  allowed  to  grow,  form  spiral  ringlets.  The  civilized  tribes 
are  apt  to  keep  the  hair  cropped,  the  tufts  then  appearing  in  little  knobs, 
about  the  size  of  peas,  distributed  over  the  scalp  with  ridiculous  regular- 
ity. Among  the  coast  tribes  of  Papua,  or  New  Guinea,  the  spiral 
ringlets  grow  to  be  so  long  that  they  are  combed  out  with  a  pronged 
bamboo  stick  into  a  great  bushy  mop.  These  tribes  are  called  "  mop- 
headed  Papuans."  The  bamboo  comb  or  stick,  one  end  of  which  is 
forked  and  the  other  pointed,  is  elaborately  carv^ed  at  times  and  is  stuck 
obliquely  into  the  hair.  A  strip  of  colored  calico  is  fastened  to  the 
upper  end,  which  hangs  from  it  like  a  flag.  The  women  do  not  wear 
this  ornament. 

When  the  hair  has  grown  to  the  length  of  a  foot  or  more  the  Papu- 
ans also  cut  it  off  close  to  the  head,  and  make  a  wig  of  it  by  inserting 
the  ends  of  the  ringlets  into  skullcaps  formed  of  matting.  .Some  of  the 
less-known  tribes  plait  the  ringlets  over  the  crown  of  the  head,  where 
they  form  a  thick  ridge. 

The  faces  of  the  Papuans  are  also  covered  with  a  crisp,  tufted  hair. 
The  breasts  and  shoulders  of  the  men  are  liberally  supplied,  the  tufts 
growing  further  apart,    however,    than    those    on    the  head    and    face. 

255 


2^6 


PANORAMA    OF    NATJ'^NS. 


Otherwise  the  Papuans  are  rather  of  the  negio  type,  with  long  and  thin 
legs,  large  hands  and  feet,  wide  nostrils  and  thick  lips,  receding  fore- 
heads and  a  turbid  color  to  tht  white  of  the  eye.  Their  general  color  is 
a  chocolate,  sometimes  closely  approaching  to  black.  A  disease  of  a 
leprous  nature  is  very  prevalent  among  all  the  coast  tribes  of  the  Archi- 
pelago, especially  of  Papua.  It  gives  the  skin  a  white  tint  which 
by  some  has  been  considered  the  natural  color.  The  color  is  more 
noticeable  from  the  fact  that  the  prevailing  shade  is  this  dark  brown. 

As  to  stature,  it  varies  greatly  with  different  tribes. 
Within  the  space  of  a  hundred   miles  on   the  south- 
western coast  of  New  Guinea  are  found  tribes 
whose  people  average  as  large   as   Europeans,        <^^^l->->vsi  5^i' 
and  others  who  are  generally  pigmies.     The 
Papuan    has    been    described,   however,   as     ,:7-^;*?f«-![Jij;* 'v^il 
one  who  excels  the   Malayan  and  equals       jl 
the  European.      The  men  are,  as  a  rule,    ^\ 
more  comely  than  the  women,  although 
the  latter,  when  young,  have  some- 
times beautiful  eyes,  clear,  white        '<i^^.' 


and  regular  teeth,  happy-look- 
ing,   laughing    faces,    and 
round  well-formed  limbs. 
Those  who  come  in  con- 
tact   with     Europeans 
soon  lose  their  bash  ful- 
ness,  but    retain  their 
modest)-.       The    more ' 
diminutive     Papuans 
have  usually  come  un- 
der the   notice  of  the 
outside  world,  as  they 
have   been  brought  to 
many  of    the    trading 

settlements    of  the  wigs  and  head  ornaments. 

Archipelago  to  serve  as  domestics  and  slaves.  They  are  kindly  treated, 
well  fed,  and  soon  counteract  the  impression  that  ugliness  is  a  rule 
which  the  race  never  violates. 

The  larger  types  of  Papuans,  both  men  and  women,  are  more  apt 
to  be  disproportionately  large  above  the  waist,  _with  the  characteristics 
of  the  negro  below.  Where  the  people  have  been  brought  up  in  the 
families  of  European  settlers  on  the  Archipelago,  and  have  escaped  the 


THE    PAPUANS.  257 

exposure  of  savage  life,  their  si<in  accjuires  a  delicate  tint  or  glow.  As 
with  the  negroes,  their  skin  is  naturally  thinner  than  that  of  the  Euro- 
peans, and  when  it  is  not  burned  or  weather-beaten  the  red  of  the  blood 
faintly  glows  through  the  transparent  covering.  The  sight  is  so  charm- 
ing that  even  the  undemonstrative  Malayan  speaks  of  it  as  sweet 
black,  it  being  also  not  uncommon  among  that  brown-skinned  people. 

MENTAL  CONTRASTS. 

The  contrast  between  the  Malayan,  with  his  lithe,  smooth-skinned 
body  and  his  long  face,  and  the  Papuan  is  further  heightened  when  one 
becomes  acquainted  with  his  mental  traits.  "The  Malayan  is  cold,  quiet, 
undemonstrative  and  bashful ;  the  Papuan,  impetuous,  excitable,  warm- 
tempered  and  noisy.  The  former,  grave  and  dignified,  seldom  laughs  ; 
the  latter  is  merry  and  laughter-loving ;  the  one  conceals,  the  other  dis- 
plays his  emotions."  The  Papuan  is  impatient  of  restraint,  independent 
and  stubborn,  but  lacks  that  cool  power  of  organization  which  has 
enabled  the  Malayans  to  dispossess  him  of  the  choicest  spots  of  the 
Archipelago.  In  mental  character  and  physical  structure,  he  much 
resembles  the  Polynesian. 

Toward  any  who  attempt  to  settle  in  their  territory  the  Papuans 
evince  the  most  implacable  hatred,  which  fact,  with  their  lack  of  organiz- 
ing and  executive  force,  has  led  to  their  virtual  extermination  in  those 
islands  which  had  no  mountains  to  shelter  them  after  they  had  been 
driven  from  the  coast.  This  ferocity  of  character  disappears,  in  a  great 
measure,  when  they  even  become  slaves  to  the  Malayans;  for  then  they 
appear  cheerful  and  obedient  and  display  the  side  of  their  dispositions 
which  is  generally  seen  in  their  particular  home,  New  Guinea. 

DRESS  AND  ORNAMENTS. 

The  Papuans,  as  a  race,  are  not  in  love  with  clothing.  It  usually 
consists  of  a  girdle  of  bark,  leaves  or  coarse  cloth  around  the  loins;  with 
a  large  shell  which  covers  the  stomach  ;  but  they  profusely  decorate  and 
ornament  their  bodies.  They  cut  the  skin  of  the  shoulders,  breasts  and 
thighs  in  long  strips,  rubbing  into  the  wound  white  clay  so  that  the  flesh 
below  heals  in  the  form  of  high  ridges.  Careful  investigators  into  this 
matter  of  bodily  mutilation  ha\e  concluded  that  cautery  is  often  employed 
by  these  savage  tribes  as  a  cure  for  rheumatism,  with  which  they  are 
much  afflicted,  and  that  the  huge  cuts  on  the  arms  and  breasts  are 
made  to  prove  the  native's  bravery  under  physical  pain. 

The  nose  is  bored  and  a  roll  of  plantain  leaf  placed  in  the  hole.     The 

17 


258 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


leaf  is  elastic  and  the  orifice  is  gradually  enlarged,  so  that  when  any 
important  day  comes  round  the  Papuan  can  place  therein  the  thigh  bone 
of  a  large  bird  or  some  other  ornament.  Filing  the  front  teeth  to 
points;    dyeing    the    hair  a  red  or  flaxen  color  by  burnt    coral  mixed 

with    sea-water ; 

bindingthearms 

3    1 1  g  h  1 1  y    with 

J    plaited    rattans; 

:^    breast   fringes 

and    necklaces 

of  twisted  cord ; 

ear-rings  of  rat- 


A  PAPUAN  WARRIOR. 


tan,  worn  m  one 
ear;  smearing 
the  forehead, 
and  the  face  un- 
der the  nose  and 
around  the  chin 
with  red  clay 
and  mud,  are 
some  of  their 
m  a  n  y  customs 
which  they  im- 
agi  ne  beautify 
iheir  ungainly 
bodies.  There 
is  no  accounting 
for  taste,  for 
some  Papuans, 
who  perhaps 
find  nothing  else 
at  hand,  orna- 
ment the  neck, 
arms  and  waist 
with  bangles  of 
hosf's    teeth. 


The  Papuans  who  have  been  in  communication  with  the  Europeans 
of  the  inuian  Archipelago  and  with  the  civilized  Malayans  are,  however, 
well  housed  and  decently  clothed  ;  have  good  boats,  some  knowledge  of 
iron  and  agriculture,  and  have  domesticated  the  hog  and  the  dog.  The 
native  forge  consists  of  "  two  large  bamboos,  about  four  feet  long,  from 


DRESS    AND    ORNAMENTS. 


259 


which  the  air  is  expelled  by  means  of  two  pistons,  with  bunches  of 
feathers  at  the  end,  which  are  worked  like  those  of  hand  pumps ;  and  by 
raising  each  alternately,  a  constant  current  of  air  is  expelled  through  the 
orifices  at  the  bottom,  from  which  small  tubes  lead  to  the  fireplace. 
This  instrument  is  identical  with  the  bellows  in  use  among  the  brown 
races  of  the  Archipelago,  from  whom  it  may  have  been  borrowed.  A 
stone  serves  for  an  anvil ;  Ijut  the  natives  often  have  in  their  possession 
a  pig  of  iron  ballast,  or  a  piece  of  broken  anchor,  which  answers  the  pur- 
pose much  better." 

The  chiefs  of  the  northern  and  more  advanced  tribes  dress  in  the 
short  Malayan  drawers  and  a  loose  calico  coat,  with  a  handkerchief  for 


A  TEMPLE  ON  THE  COAST. 


a.  turban.  Perhaps,  however,  it  should  be  added  that,  when  not  in  the 
presence  of  strangers,  the  great  men  fall  back  upon  the  costume  of  the 
■common  members  of  their  tribe,  a  waist-cloth  of  the  bark  of  the  fig,  or 
the  paper  of  the  mulberry  tree  beaten  out  like  the  bark-cloth  of  the 
Polynesians.  These  people  also,  are  not  in  the  habit  of  covering  their 
bodies  with  great  ridges  or  welts,  but  are  satisfied  wnth  a  modest  style 
of  tattooing,  which  is  generally  performed  by  young  girls  with  sharp  fish- 
bones or  needles  and  soot.  This  work  is  often  executed  with  artistic 
skill,  the  men  beino-  favored  with  figures  of  crossed  swords  and  knife 
blades. 


26o  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

COAST  AND  MOUNTAIN  TRIBES. 

The  natives  of  New  Guinea  have  been  divided  by  some  writers 
into  Papuans  —  those  who  Hve  on  the  coast  —  and  Alfores,  the  interior 
or  mountainous  tribes.  The  habits  of  the  Alfores  are  Httle  known,  as 
it  is  extremely  dangerous  to  venture  into  their  country.  They  are  only 
seen  when  they  emerge  from  their  mountain  and  forest  retreats  bearing- 
with  them  to  the  coast  Masooi  bark,  nutmegs,  birds  of  paradise  and 
crown  pigeons,  which  they  barter  principally  for  ornaments.  To  these 
articles  several  tribes  add  sugar  cane  and  tobacco,  which  they  cultivate, 
but  they,  even,  never  build  their  houses  at  a  lower  level  than  looo  feet 
from  the  base  of  the  mountains.  A  more  satisfactory  explanation  of  the 
name  is  that  the  Portugese  term  Alforias  signifies  freedmen;  that  the 
root  fora  means  out  or  outside,  and  therefore  the  term  Alfores 
became  naturally  applied  to  the  independent  tribes  who  dwelt  beyond 
the  influence  of  their  coast  settlements."  The  mountainous  tribes  have 
never  acknowledged  any  rule  but  their  own,  but  the  coast  people  are 
governed  by  "rajahs"  and  other  chiefs  appointed  by  the  Dutch  govern- 
ment. 

When  the  Dutch  first  arrived  among  the  islands  of  the  Archipelago 
they  found  not  only  a  wild  people  inhabiting  the  mountains,  living  in 
trees,  fiehtinor  amone  themselves  and  eatinsj  each  other,  but  a  mari- 
time  people  who  showed  considerable  warlike  enterprise.  At  one  time  a 
number  of  the  sea-coast  tribes  combined  their  forces,  and,  collecting  their 
flotilla  of  more  than  a  hundred  boats,  spread  terror  among  the  fishermen 
of  the  Moluccas,  who  were  kidnapped  and  set  upon  with  particular  spite. 
One  of  the  most  powerful  of  the  Papuan  chiefs  was  the  rajah  of  Salwatty. 
Seduced,  finally,  by  the  bait  that  he  had  been  fully  pardoned  for  his 
offenses,  and  also  by  the  present  of  a  bag  of  Dutch  dollars,  he  fell  into 
the  toils  of  the  Dutch  Governor.  This,  with  other  energetic  steps 
taken  by  the  government  of  the  Netherlands,  seems  to  have  crushed  the 
power  of  the  Papuans  upon  the  seas  and  to  have  confined  it  to  an  occa- 
sional expedition  by  some  piratical  trilje. 

THE  GOVERNMENT. 

Each  tribe  has  its  own  chief,  who  acknowledges  a  nominal  alle- 
giance to  the  sultan  of  Tidore,  a  native  chief  who  has  been  given  that 
title  and  an  empty  fame  by  the  government  of  the  Netherlands;  but  the 
actual  control  of  a  tribe  is  with  a  council  of  elders,  the  chief  merely 
beinof  a  leader  in  war.      The  duties  of   the  elders  are  also  light,  for  the 


THE    GOVERNMENT.  261 

coast  tribes  are  noted  for  their  honesty  and  chastity.  They  have  no 
locks  to  their  doors,  and,  until  the  Europeans  traders  appeared,  ardent 
spirits  were  unknown  to  them. 

One  of  their  laws  is  to  the  effect  that  if  a  man  burns  down  his 
neighbor's  house,  he  becomes  a  slave.  If  he  wounds  anotlier  wil- 
fully he  must  give  him  a  slave.  If  he  steals,  he  must  restore  the 
property  and  add  a  bonus.  The  chiefs  seem  to  be  quite  democratic,  for 
they  often  marry  into  inferior  families  of  their  own  tribe,  paying  for  the 
wife  ten  slaves  or  a  just  equivalent.  The  slave  is,  in  fact,  the  standard 
of  value  in  the  western  parts  of  NewGuinea,  as  salt  is  in  Abyssinia,  or 
the  cow  among  the  Caffres  of  .South  Africa. 

The  mode  in  which  the  chieftainship  is  conferred  is  thus  described  : 
"When  one  of  the  native  chiefs  dies  information  of  the  event  is  conveyed 
to  the  sultan  by  one  of  the  relatives  of  the  deceased,  who,  at  the  same 
time,  takes  with  him  a  present  of  slaves  and  birds  of  paradise  as  a  token 
of  fealty.  This  person  is  generally  named  as  the  successor  of  the 
deceased  and  is  presented  with  a  yellow  kabaya  (calico  coat),  drawers 
and  handkerchief.  He  is  bound  to  pay  a  yearly  tax  to  the  sultan  of  a 
slave;  to  reinforce  the  hongi  (the  sultan's  ta.x-collecting  flotilla)  with 
three  vessels  and  to  furnish  it  with  provisions." 

THEIR  IDOL  AND  FETICHES. 

The  Papuans  of  Dory  (a  Dutch  station  on  the  northwestern  coast) 
consult,  but  do  not  worship,  an  idol,  with  a  very  large  head  coveretl  with 
a  handkerchief,  and  its  body  clad  in  calico  ;  with  a  long,  sharp  nose  and 
fierce-looking  teeth.  If  they  can  squat  before  this  figure,  whom  they 
call  Karwar,  and  place  the  matter  in  mind  before  him,  with  placid 
feelings,  the  omen  is  considered  propitious  ;  but  should  they  be  seized 
with  trepidation,  Karwar  has  decided  against  their  proposed  course 
of  action.  The  marriage  ceremony  consists  in  appearing  before  Kar- 
Avar,  or  sitting  down  in  front  of  him  ;  in  the  presentation  by  the  female 
to  the  man  of  her  choice,  of  some  tobacco  and  betel-leaf,  and  a  simple 
joining  of  hands.  Unimpressive  though  the  marriage  cermonies  are 
among  the  Papuans,  there  are  no  people  in  the  world,  in  the  savage  or 
semi-civilized  catalogue,  with  whom  the  contract  is  more  binding. 

The  Papuans  generally  are  fetich  worshipers,  and  have  their  fetich 
men  or  soothsayers,  as  do  the  Africans.  Reptiles  are  most  com- 
monly represented,  their  figures  dangling  from  the  roofs  of  the  houses  or 
standing  out  from  the  posts  as  ornamental  carvings.  Bits  of  bone, 
stones,  calico  or  wood  serve  as  charms  to  ward  off  evil  influences  and 
briu"'  luck. 


262 


PANORAMA    OF    XATIONS. 


THE  DUK-DUK  DANCERS. 


Their  ignorance  is  often  used  by  the  chiefs  as  a  means  by  which  to 
estabhsh  themselves  in  authority  and  extract  vahiables  from  the  people. 
One  of  these  overawing  and  tyrannical  institutions  is  found  in  New 
Britain,  east  of  Papua,  which  is  called  Duk-Duk  dancing.  By  the 
payment  of  a  small  sum  to  the  chief,  certain  men  are  allowed  to  attire 
themselves  in  all  sorts  of  fantastic  costumes,  impersonating  devils,  and 
"■oine  from  villaee  to  villaare  to  frig-hten  the  inhabitants  into  submission 

to  their  master's  laws, 
orpunish  thosecharged 
with  misconduct  dis- 
pleasing to  him,  by  ex- 
torting money  from 
them  or  oriving-  them 
bodily  chastisements. 
The  institution  is  also 
useful  in  subjecting  the 
women  and  children  to 
the  rule  of  the  hus- 
bands, as  to  be  threat- 
ened with  the  Duk-Duk 
dancers  is  next  to  a 
death  of  terror.  So, 
upon  their  approach, 
men,  women  and 
children  flee  to  their  huts  and  await  their  comino-  with  bated  breath. 


DANCING  FIENDS. 


FEEDING  THE  DEAD. 


With  some  of  the  tribes  in  the  islands  of  the  Archipelago  it  is 
customary,  three  or  four  days  after  a  man  dies,  for  his  relatives  to 
assemble  and  beat  to  pieces  his  gongs,  porcelain  ware  and  all  his  other 
property,  which  are  looked  upon  as  sacred  things,  not  to  be  polluted  by 
the  hands  of  the  living.  They  then  proceed  to  the  corpse,  which  has 
been  lying  on  a  mat,  its  decomposing  parts  covered  with  lime,  and  offer 
it  food.  W'hen  it  refuses  to  partake,  its  mouth  is  filled  with  eatables 
and  wine,  until  the  liquor  runs  from  the  body  and  spreads  over  the  floor. 
These  ceremonies  are  accompanied  with  violent  ravings  on  the  part  of 
those  assembled,  who  also  drink  quantities  of  arrak  as  well  as  native 
liquors,  and  beat  the  gongs  which  they  have  brought  with  them.  After 
the  body  has  been  placed  upon  the  bier  and  pieces  of  cluth  laid  upon  it^ 


FEEDING    THE    MEAD. 


263 


indicative  of  the  wealth  and  standing-  of  the  deceased,  the  porcelain 
dishes  are  placed  beneath  in  order  that  the  precious  drippings  from  the 
body  may  be  retained  and  treasured.  Soon  afterwards,  the  corpse  is 
brought  before  the  house,  arid,  being  supported  against  a  post,  attempts 
are  made  to  make  it  smoke  as  well  as  eat,  lighted  cigars  being  placed  in 
the  mouth.  At  length,  when  the  relatives  are  convinced  that  the  body 
is  really  a  corpse,  they  adorn  the  bier  with  flags  and  carry  it  to  the  forest. 
The  coffin,  Avhich  is  often  shaped  like  a  boat,  is  placed,  with  the  mortal 
remains,  upon  the  top  of  four  posts  ;  this  course  being  taken  as  a 
precaution  against  the  ravenous  appetites  of  the  wild  hogs.  It  is  said 
that  the  final  ceremony  consists  in  the  planting  of  a  tree  near  the  last  rest- 
resting  place  of  the  deceased,  which  is  taken  part  in  by  the  women  alone. 
Bodies  of  the  deceased  are  sometimes  wrapped  in  white  calico  and 


A  BOAT-SHAPED  COFFIN'. 


deposited  in  graves  four  or  five  feet  deep,  porcelain  dishes  being  placed 
under  the  ears.  These  dishes  are  obtained  from  the  Chinese  and  Cera- 
rnese  traders,  and  the  prices  given  for  them  are  sometimes  exorbitant. 
With  the  dishes  are  also  placed  arms  and  ornaments,  and  if  the  deceased 
is  the  head  of  a  family,  the  idol  Karwar,  who  represents  the  being  that 
brin;^s  life  and  causes  death,  is  brought  to  the  grave,  where  the  most 
awful  reproaches  are  heaped  upon  it.  A  roof  is  then  erected  over  it 
and  the  wooden  image,  less  than  two  feet  in  height,  is  left  to  neglect 
and  decay. 

WEAPONS  AND  BOATS. 


The  people  of  Ceram,  an  island  which  lies  to  the  northwest  of  New 


264  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

Guinea,  are  the  commercial  people  of  the  race.  To  them  come  the 
products  of  both  mountain  and  coast  Papuans,  such  as  pearls,  tortoise 
shells,  ebony,  resin  and  slaves.  Establishing  themselves  on  the  islands 
of  the  southwestern  coast,  they  give  in  exchange  hatchets,  rice,  ele- 
phants' tusks,  beads,  cotton,  knives,  earthen  and  porcelain  ware,  iron 
pans,  brass  gongs,  copper,  tobacco,  sago,  etc.  They  remain  upon  the 
islands  or  coast  four  or  five  months  upon  the  occasion  of  each  visit,  as 
the  produce  is  brought  in  very  slowly  b)-  the  mountaineers,  whom  they 
consider  very  valuable  customers.  The  barks  which  these  Papuans 
brino-  are  used  both  as  cosmetics  and  medicine  by  the  islanders  of  the 
Archipelago,  more  particularh- those  of  Java;  while  many  of  the  live 
cuckatoos  and  pigeons  eventually  reach  China,  India  and  Europe. 

The  natives  also  obtain  from  the  traders  the  klewang,  or  razor 
shaped  sword,  and  the  perang,  or  chopping-knife,  whose  blade  is  similar 
in  form.  The  latter  may  be  used  either  as  a  domestic  instrument  or  as 
a  weapon,  and  is  always  worn  in  a  sheath  at  the  waist.  The  arrows 
which  are  used  in  war  are  furnished  with  iron  heads,  but  are  never 
poisoned.  They  wield  a  club,  of  home  make,  about  four  feet  in  length 
thin  and  narrow  except  at  one  end,  which  is  covered  with  suggestive 
knobs  and  corners.  The  Papuans  also  have  a  long  gun  of  bamboo,  but 
it  is  merely  used  to  blow  dust  into  the  air,  as  a  signal  when  they  are 
hunting  or  on  the  war-path. 

The)-  have  their  bows  and  arrows,  and  harpoons  for  fishing,  and  an 
ino-enious  rattan  trap  so  constructed  that  the -victim  can  get  his  bait  only 
by  swimming  through  an  opening  of  the  elastic  sticks  Avhich  close 
behind  him.  The  bows  are  often  made  of  bamboo,  or  betel  wood,  with 
a  string  of  twisted  rattan.  A  species  of  flint  or  sharp  pebble,  lashed  to 
a  stick,  is  the  native  axe,  and  it  is  said  that  with  it  they  can  fell  the 
largest  trees. 

Their  boats  are  called  prahus,  or  praus,  and  some  of  them  are 
as  long  as  sixty  feet.  They  are  narrow,  botli  ends  being  flat  and  broad 
above.  The  Papuans  show  their  love  of  ornamentation  in  their  embel- 
lisliment,  many  of  them  being  handsomely  carved  or  decorated  witli 
piaster  figures.  Usually  the  rowers  stand.  Their  family  boats  ai.i 
covered  with  roofs  of  marsh  flags,  under  which  entire  families  are 
housed.  The  sail  is  made  of  matting  fixed  to  the  side  and  stern. 
Ordinary  canoes  are  small  and  light,  and  can  be  carried  by  two  men. 
Children  even  may  be  seen  carrying  their  tin)-  boats  to  and  front  the 
water.  As  a  rule  the  vessels  of  the  Papuans  are  very  narrow  and  unsafe 
for  long  voyages;  being  provided  with  ovitriggers,  however,  they  are 
safe  enough  for  home  use.  The  result  is  that  their  foreign  commerce 
is  chiefl\-  in  the  hands  of  the  Chinese. 


TREPANG    AND    PEARL    FISHING. 

TREPANG   AND    PEARL    FISHING. 


265 


The  Arru  (or  Arrou)  Islanders,  west  of  New  Guinea,  have  the 
usual  passion  for  ornaments  which  marks  the  Papuan,  one  of  their 
most  striking  fashions  consistlncj  of  twisting  their  lonor  hair  into  a  knob 
at  the  back  of  the  head  and  decorating  it  with  strings  of  beads,  which 
also  extend  from  both   ears  and    meet  over   the  forehead.     They  also 


;^^*5?'i>^'-  V 


IN  FULL  DRESb. 

wear  thmn  around  the  neck  and  over  the  breast,  brinsfine  a  string  or 
two  up  to  the  ear  from  which  they  sometimes  stretch  across  the  fore- 
head. Pieces  of  copper  and  tin,  or  a  marine  plant,  are  frequently 
drawn  through  the  lobes  of  the  ears.  Above  the  elbow  and  under  the 
knee  they  wear  bands  of  fine  plaited  cane,  in  which  various  leaves  are 
intertwined,  while  their  waist  cloths  are  made  of  brass  wire,  fine 
matting  and  pieces  of  calico. 


266  PANORAMxV    OF    NATIONS. 

The  Arruans  live  in  villages  containing  a  dozen  houses  or  more. 
They  cultivate  gardens  of  yams,  sweet  potatoes  and  plantains,  and 
shoot  fish  and  wild  hogs  with  iron-pointed  arrows.  In  order  to  obtain 
from  traders  the  weapons,  ornaments  and  households  utensils  which 
they  cannot  themselves  manufacture,  they  spend  four  or  five  months  of 
the  year  in  fishing  for  trepang  (they  are  called  "sea-cucumbers")  and 
diving  for  pearls.  This,  in  fact,  is  the  occupation  of  most  of  the 
Papuan  population  who  live  on  the  islands  adjacent  to  the  western 
coast  of  New  Guinea,  and  a  description  of  how  the  work  progresses 
among  one  tribe  will  apply  to  all  the  fishermen. 

There  is  a  certain  group  of  small  islands,  in  the  midst  of  which 
are  l)Oth  trepang  and  oyster  banks.  At  low  water,  often,  canoes  are 
not  even  required  to  reach  the  fishing  banks,  and  hundreds  of  men, 
women  and  children  start  from  their  island  homes,  wadintr  through  the 
ocean  toward  their  destination.  The  baskets  which  they  carry  on 
their  backs,  and  the  iron-pointed  sticks  in  their  hands,  tell  the  whole 
story  of  the  manner  in  which  they  capture  the  sluggish  trepang,  which 
lie  buried  in  the  sand,  their  feathered  tentacles  floating  above  and 
revealing  their  whereabouts.  The  cucumber-shaped  fish  vary  from 
eight  inches  to  two  feet  in  length.  In  deep  water  they  are  often  dived 
for,  but  the  larger  ones  are  speared  in  shallow  places. 

Both  Malayans  and  Papuans  scour  the  coasts  and  coral  reefs  of 
the  Archipelago  and  Northeastern  Australia  to  satisfy  the  insatiable 
ajDpetite  of  the  Chinese  for  this  luxury.  The  fish  are  afterwards  split 
down  one  side,  boiled,  pressed,  dried  and  smoked.  When  the  natives 
design  to  fish  at  a  certain  distance  they  load  their  families  upon  theii 
praus,  which  have  great  beams;  planks  which  project  forward  from 
the  bows  for  the  use  of  the  sailors;  high,  curved  sterns  ;  rush  sails,  which 
fold  up  like  fans  and  are  set  upon  bamboo  masts,  each  boat  being  pro- 
vided with  two  rudders  and  several  palm-leaf  huts. 

Before  the  pearl  divers  start  out  on  their  dangerous  trips  they  first 
receive  from  the  traders  an  advance  of  cloth,  elephant  tusks,  brass 
gongs,  porcelain  dishes,  etc.,  in  payment  for  the  oysters  which  they  agree 
to  furnish  at  a  certain  rate  per  hundred.  Once  at  the  oyster  bank,  the 
diver  proceeds  bravely  with  his  part  of  the  contract,  despite  the  possi- 
bilities of  ruptured  blood-vessels  and  ravenous  sharks,  and  the  trader  trusts 
to  fortune  that  the  small  black  oysters  which  he  brings  from  the  depths 
will  contain  a  generous  quantity  of  pearls. 

WAYS    OF    THE    TRADER. 
The    tusks    mentioned    above    are  used   bv  the    natives    at    their 


WAYS    OF    THE    TRADER.  267- 

funeral  ceremonies,  while  the  dishes  are  placed  upon  the  graves.  These 
articles  are  so  used  by  the  natives  of  Timorlaut,  Serwatty  and  other 
islands  between  Papua  and  Australia,  and  in  consequence  no  enterpris- 
ing trader  neglects  to  lay  in  a  goodly  supply  when  he  starts  out  on  his. 
usual  trips.  He  also  takes  with  him  cjuantities  of  palm  wine,  which  is 
an  adjunct  to  not  only  betrothal  and  marriage  feasts,  but  to  ordinary  life. 
Followino-  is  a  graphic  account  of  the  way  in  which  this  trading  is  some- 
times carried  on  :  "  When  the  boats  arrive  off  the  coasts  they  land  the 
articles  they  have  for  barter,  in  small  tjuantities  at  a  time,  on  the  beach, 
when  the  natives  immediately  come  down  with  the  produce  they  have 
for  sale  and  place  it  opposite  these  goods,  pointing  to  the  articles  or 
description  of  articles  they  wish  to  obtain  in  exchange.  The  trader 
then  makes  an  offer,  generally  very  small  at  first,  which  he  increases  by 
degrees  ;  if  not  accepted,  which  the  native  signifies  by  a  shake  of  the 
head,  should  the  trader  hesitate  a  moment  about  adding  more  to  his 
offer,  it  is  considered  sufficient  by  the  native — he  snatches  it  up  and 
darts  off  with  it  into  the  jungle,  leaving  his  own  goods  ;  or  should  he 
consider  it  too  little,  he  seizes  his  own  property  and  flies  off  with  equal 
haste,  never  returning  a  second  time  to  the  same  person."  More  gen- 
erally the  traders  remain  on  their  boats,  which  are  anchored  close  to 
the  land  and  push  their  goods  on  shore  in  a  small  canoe,  to  which  a  line 
is  attached  for  the  purpose  of  hauling  it  back,  when  the  goods  have 
been  removed  and  the  articles  given  in  exchange  have  been   deposited. 

SOCIAL  REGULATIONS. 

The  following  interesting  details  are  given  by  a  romantic  traveler, 
who  was  furthermore  much  impressed  with  the  delicacy  of  the  social 
relations  which  he  witnessed  among  a  Papuan  tribe  inhabiting  an 
island  off  the  coast  of  New  Guinea :  "  No  native  can  take  unto  himself 
a  wife  until  he  has  delivered  the  marriage  present.  This  is  not  usually 
all  paid  at  once,  but  by  instalments  during  several  years.  A  father  who 
has  many  daughters  becomes  a  rich  man  by  these  presents  which  he 
receives  on  their  marriage.  If  a  young  man  wishes  to  marry  and  is 
possessed  of  nothing,  it  often  occurs  that  he  makes  a  voyage  of  a  year's 
duration  among  the  other  islands.  Making  known  his  purpose,  he 
demands  contributions  from  those  he  visits,  to  enable  him  to  make  up 
the  instalment  of  goods  which  it  is  necessary  to  place  in  the  hands  of 
the  parents.  It  is  not  lawful  for  a  man  to  enter  the  house  of  a  neighbor 
during  his  absence,  and  if  anyone  offends  in  this  particular,  he  is  obliged 
to  pay  a  piece  of  cloth  or  some  other  goods  to  the  owner  of  the  house. 
The  sentence  is  passed  by  the  elders  who  openly  call  upon  the  offender 


268  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

to  pay  the  fine,  which  makes  him  so  ashamed  that  he  either  does  so  or 
immediately  leaves  the  village.  The  fine  is  called  pakul  dende  by  the 
natives.  Should  any  one  even  touch  the  wife  of  another  he  must  make 
a  large  atonement  for  the  offense.  They  pride  themselves  much  in  the 
possession  of  a  number  of  elephant's  tusks  and  brass  gongs ;  the  value 
of  the  first  being  determined  according  to  their  length  and  of  the  latter 
by  their  weight  and  circumference." 

PIRATES  AND  COAST  TRIBES. 

The  pirates  of  the  race  are  the  Papuans  of  the  Gulf  of  Onin,  or 
MacCluer's  Inlet,  on  the  western  coast.  They  are  not  in  the  habit  of 
ranging  the  coast  and  neighboring  islands  for  the  purpose  of  plundering 
the  boats  of  native  traders,  but  are  on  the  look-out  for  slaves,  whom  they 
sell  to  the  Ceramese  and  Chinese.  The  pirates  sally  out  in  their  fleets 
or  flotillas,  and  when  the  news  gets  abroad  there  is  a  general  stampeding 
of  the  coast  tribes  to  their  strongholds  and  the  interior  tribes  to  their 
mountain  homes.  This  creates  a  total  cessation  of  trade  and  a  season 
of  great  depression  in  legitimate  traffic. 

It  is  stated  that  the  country  of  the  Onins  has  not  been  exactly 
located ;  that  they  are  not  cruel  by  nature,  and  when  they  sally  out  in 
their  piratical  fleets  of  a  hundred  or  more  vessels,  the)'  are  moved  prin- 
cipally by  restlessness  and  a  desire  to  distinguish,  or  advertise  them- 
selves. They  are  really  considered  as  among  the  most  numerous  and 
powerful  of  the  Papuan  tribes,  and  probably  dwell  near  the  headwaters 
of  certain  streams  which  are  inaccessible  to  the  boats  of  the  traders, 
although  navigable  by  their  own  light  vessels.  They  erect  a  number  of 
houses  on  the  shores  of  the  inlet  which  serve  as  trading  stations  and  to 
which  they  annually  repair  to  receive  elephants'  tusks  and  porcelain 
dishes  in  exchange  for  their  own  goods. 

Early  travelers  to  New  Guinea,  when  nothing  even  was  known  of 
the  habits  of  the  coast  tribes,  became  convinced  that  they  had  discovered 
the  missing  link  when  they  witnessed  the  great  mangrove  forests,  which 
stretch  far  out  into  the  ocean,  black  with  human  beings,  who  were  dart- 
ing  hither  and  thither  among  the  branches  like  monkeys.  Later,  they 
discovered  that  the  coasts  were  lined  with  dense  forests  of  these  trees, 
whose  branches  firmly  interlaced  above,  while  l)elow  their  masses  of  roots 
opposed  a  breakwater  to  the  tide  and  gradually  new  land  was  formed. 
It  is  impossible  to  penetrate  this  solid  band  of  forest  and  jungle,  grow- 
ing out  of  the  sea;  and  as  the  natives  were  obliged  to  get  to  the  water 
in  order  to  obtain  their  food,  they  naturally  chose  the  highway  over- 
head, which  constant  travel  had  made  as  natural  to  them   as   Broadway 


PIRATES    AND    COAST    TRIIiES. 


269 


to  tlie  New  York  merchant.  Up  to  date,  these  Papuans  of  the  coast 
have  no  other  thoroughfare.  Since  the  early  voyagers  were  so  astounded 
at  the  sight,  European  soldiers  have  been  seen,  with  muskets  on  their 
shoulders,  steadily  making  their  way  over  these  same  mangrove  swamps 
and  forests. 

The  people  of  the  southwest  coasts  seem  to  combine  the  most  agree- 
able Papuan  traits,  though  even  they  can  number  only  up  to  ten,  and 
reckon  time  by  the  arrival  and  departure  of  the  traders;  the  traders,  in 
turn,  regulate  their  journeys  by  the  dry  and  rainy  seasons,  so  that, 
although  crude,  the  reckoning  is  not  altogether  inaccurate.      The  coasts 


A  s?:a  coast  house. 
are  lined  with  limestone  rocks,  containing  many  natural  caverns,  which 
serve  as  repositories  for  the  bones  of  their  dead.     The  natives  also  build 
tombs   near  their  huts,  where   the   bones  are  placed  after  the   bod\-  has 
remained  under  ground  for  a  year  or  two. 

The  houses  of  the  coast  tribes  are  generally  built  on  poles  or  piles, 
and  so  overhang  the  river  or  ocean  that  the  water  can  be  seen  through 
the  bamboo  canes  which  form  the  floor.  The  bodies  of  the  houses  are 
low,  but  they  have  very  high  roofs,  are  sometimes  over  one  hundred  feet, 
long  and  so  divided  into  apartments  as  to  accommodate  many  families, 
or  an  entire  tribe.  Each  familv  who  resides  in  the  building  has  its  own 
door  and  its  cooking-place,  at  which  plantains,  fish  and  turtle-eggs  are 


2']0  ■  PANURAMA    UF    NATIONS. 

prepared.  Bananas,  cocoa-nuts,  bread-fruit  and  oranges  also  add  materi- 
ally to  the  bill  of  fare.  Many  of  these  houses  extend,  on  their  pile 
foundations,  out  into  the  sea,  and  during  the  high  tides  the  water  rises  up 
to  their  floors.  The  end  nearest  to  the  sea  is  left  open  on  three  sides 
and  here  the  male  inhabitants  are  generally  to  be  found,  when  at  home, 
making  and  repairing  their  implements  and  fishing  gear,  or  lying  down 
smoking  tobacco.  Light  boxes  of  palm  leaves,  ornamented  with  shells, 
from  their  clothes  presses.  Then  there  are  the  hunting  and  fishing  gear, 
dishes  of  earthenware,  wooden  mortars  for  husking  rice  and  maize, 
sleeping  mats  and  pillows.  The  pillows  consist  of  round  blocks  of  wood, 
or  stools  handsomely  carved. 

Besides  their  good  houses,  which  are  connected  with  the  shore  by  a 
bridge,  many  villages  have  an  octagonal  temple,  ornamented  within  and 
without  with  figures  of  animals  and  various  representations.  Nothing 
is  known  of  their  religion,  if  they  have  one.  A  few  of  the  Papuan  tribes 
have  the  idea  that  life  and  death  are  in  the  hands  of  some  Supreme 
Being,  but  nothing  in  the  nature  of  worship  has  been  discovered.  One 
of  the  largest  of  these  heathen  temples  has  a  Dutch  flag  flying  from  its 
spire,  which  was  presented  to  the  natives  by  the  authorities  of  the 
Netherlands,  who  thus,  unknown  to  the  simple  Papuans,  have  received 
a  formal  acknowledgment  of  foreign  rule. 

TH'E    PHILIPPINE    NEGRITOS. 

A  tribe  of  Papuan  pigmies  scarcely  more  than  four  feet  in  height, 
but  well-formed  and  sprightly,  inhabit  the  mountainous  regions  of  the 
Philippine  Islands,  especially  the  ranges  of  Luzon,  the  largest  of  the 
group.  They  are  a  shade  or  two  lighter  than  the  true  negro,  and  are 
known  as  the  Ahetas  by  the  Malayans  of  the  villages  and  coasts. 
The  Spaniards  gave  them  the  name  which  has  most  closely  clung  to 
them.  There  are  no  people  of  the  Papuan  race,  not  even  the  Alfores 
of  New  Guinea,  who  evince  such  fierce  and  implacable  hatred  toward 
their  ancient  enemies,  the  Malayans,  and  the  world  generally.  Yet, 
strange  to  say,  when  the  Negrito  is  once  captured  and  domesticated, 
taken  fairly  away  from  his  mountain  and  forest  home  and  subjected  to 
good  food  and  kind  treatment,  he  becomes  cheerful  and  docile,  and, 
unlike  the  Australian,  his  attacks  of  homesickness  are  rare.  But  while 
a  savage  his  disposition  is  everjthing  which  that  name  implies. 

REVENGE    UPON    THE    MALAYANS. 
AYhen  a  warrior  of  a  tribe  dies,  it  is  customary  for  one  of  his  com- 


REVENGE    UPON    THE    MALAYANS.  2'J\ 

panions  to  present  himself  to  his  friends  and  the  parents  of  the 
deceased,  with  his  palm-wood  bow  in  his  hand  and  his  quiver  filled  with 
arrows  at  his  back,  and  swear  that  he  will  not  return  until  he  has  his 
revenge  upon  a  Malayan,  for  the  witchcraft  of  that  race  brought  death 
upon  their  hero.  He  promptly  starts  out  on  his  mission,  his  first  step 
being  to  climb  some  high  tree,  or  lurk  in  some  thicket,  in  order  to  dis- 
cover where  his  enemies  bathe,  or  the  brook  from  which  they  collect 
the  golden  sand.  His  arrows  are  poisoned,  so  that  a  wound  is  almost 
instantly  fatal.  It  first  produces  a  violent  thirst,  and  when  the  victim 
attempts  to  satisfy  his  longing  for  water  he  dies  at  once.  So  the 
Negrito  lurks,  waiting  for  his  victim,  and  when  he  has  shot  his  deadly 
arrow  to  its  mark  he  flies  back  to  his  mountain  friends,  and  the  death 
of  their  warrior  is  celebrated  in  songs,  dances  and  rejoicings  over  the 
fall  of  another  of  the  hated  race. 

HOMELESS  VAGABONDS. 

Although  the  habits  of  the  Negritos  have  been  hidden,  not  only 
by  their  unfriendly  dispositions,  but  by  the  thick  forests  of  their  moun- 
tain country,  two  or  three  Frenchmen,  with  the  finesse  of  that 
people,  have  penetrated  to  their  haunts  and  some  of  their  secrets. 
Homes  they  have  none,  but  wander  about  in  search  of  roots,  fruits, 
feathered  game,  deer,  wild  pigs  and  buffalo.  They  use  the  same 
poisoned  arrows  upon  wild  beasts  as  upon  the  Malayans,  cutting  away 
the  flesh  around  the  wound  and  just  scorching  the  meat  before  it  is 
eaten.  The  game  is  usually  devoured  on  the  spot,  as  they  do  not 
desire  to  be  burdened  with  any  unnecessary  weight  in  their  wanderings. 
They  live  together  in  tribes  of  fifty  or  sixty  members.  During  the 
day,  the  aged  and  Infirm  and  the  children  gather  round  a  large  fire, 
while  the  able-bodied  are  hunting  in  the -woods.  If  the  hunters  return 
with  sufificient  game  the  party  encamp  either  among  the  branches  of  the 
trees  or  upon  the  grass  ;  if  it  is  cold,  a  huge  fire  is  built,  and  men,  women 
and  children  roll  themselves  in  the  warm  ashes  preparatory  to  sleep. 
Such  an  exposed  and  irregular  life  has  the  effect  of  soon  destroying 
the  naturally  fair  outlines  of  their  bodies,  so  that  the  young  grow  old 
very  rapidly  and  the  old  are  hideous.  They  take  no  pains  even  with 
their  hair,  merely  twisting  it  into  a  sort  of  crown  or  round  mat.  Their 
clothing  is  a  belt  of  bark  about  eight  or  ten  inches  wide.  The  feature 
of  the  Negrito  which  is  most  striking  is  his  eye,  it  being  as  keen  as  an 
eagle's,  and  from  it  continually  shoots  a  yellow  glitter.  When  he 
speaks  he  chatters  like  an  ape  or  chirrups  like  a  bird — so  these  Frenchmen 
say  who  have  heard  him  talk.  His  language  consists  of  but  a  few  words. 


V-' 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


The  Negritos,  in  fact,  possess  little  to  boast  of,  their  accomplish- 
ments being  their  skill  in  climbing  and  with  their  weapons.  They  seize 
the  trunk  with  both  hands,  and,  using  the  feet  as  a  lever,  they  shoot  up 
like  monkeys.  They  are  as  swift  of  foot  as  their  arrows  in  the  air. 
Even  the  children  of  both  sexes,  while  their  parents  are  in  the  woods, 
are  practicing  with  their  tiny  bows  and  arrows.  Neither  is  their  sport 
entirely  useless,  for  more  than  one  diminutive  Negrito  brings  to  the 
camp-fire  a  plump  fish  which  he  has  shot  from  the  bank  of  a  stream. 
These  companies  of  hunters  to  which  we  have  referred  in  the  mountain 
forests  of  the  Philippines,  accompanied  by  one  or  two  little  dogs  of  a 
singular  breed,  which  aid  the  hunters  in  pursuing  the  prey  after  it  has 
been  wounded. 

Should  one  of  the  aged  persons  left  behind  be  taken  with  a  mortal 
illness,  it  is  not  a  part  of  their  code  that  he  should  be  buried  dead  ■ 
but  they  put  him  in  his  grave  as  expeditiously  as  possible,  and  then 
sally  forth,  with  lance  and  arrow,  to  slay — not  necessarily  a  Malayan  — 
but  anything  which  may  come  in  their  wa)',  whether  man,  stag,  wild 
hog  or  buffalo.  A  warrior's  death,  however,  must  be  avenged  with  the 
blood  of  a  Malayan.  When  thus  in  quest  of  an  expiatory  victim,  it  is 
said,  the)'  take  the  precaution  of  breaking  off  the  young  shoots  of  the 
shrubs,  as  they  pass  by,  and  leave  the  broken  ends  hanging  in  the 
direction  of  their  roots,  for  the  purpose  of  warning  neighbors  and 
travelers  to  shun  the  path  they  are  taking  ;  for  if  one  of  their  own 
people  should  come  across  the  avengers,  they  are  bound  to  kill  him. 
Their  code  demands  it.  Notwithstanding  this  apparently  heartless 
haste  in  burying  the  bodies  of  the  aged  before  the  breath  is  fairly  out 
of  them,  great  respect  is  shown  them  while  living,  the  native  assemblies 
being  always  governed  by  one  of  the  elders. 

The  Negritos  are  most  fickle  in  their  manner  of  worship,  bowing 
down  to  a  tree  or  a  rock  in  which  they  fancy  they  see  something 
mysterious  ;  but  only  for  a  day,  or  until  they  discover  something  else 
which  seems  more  worthy  of  their  homage.  They  revere  the  dead 
and  pay  them  a  sort  of  worship  by  decorating  their  graves,  for  many 
successive  years,  with  offerings  of  tobacco  or  betel.  The  Negritos, 
who  inhabit  some  of  the  smaller  islands  of  the  Philippines,  are  more 
mild  than  those  of  Luzon,  and  more  resemble  the  Alfores  of  the 
islands  further  south,  in  that  they  trade  with  the  Malayans  of  the  coast, 
exchanging  wax  and  deer's  horns  for  chopping-knives  and  tobacco. 

THE  EXTINCT  TASMANIANS. 
Tasmania,  (formerly  Van  Diemen's  land)  is  about  120  miles  south- 


THE    EXTIN'CT   TASMAXIANS,  273 

east  of  Australia,  and  in  1804  was  colonized  by  Great  Britain  as  a  con- 
vict station.  At  this  time  the  inhabitants  numbered  about  three  thou- 
sand. The  men  averaged  about  five  feet  in  height  and  the  women,  of 
course,  less.  Their  eyes  were  usually  dark  brown,  with  jet-black  pupils; 
hair  crisp  or  woolly;  forehead  high  and  narrow;  limbs  lean  and  muscular; 
feet  flat  and  turned  inward.  They  seldom  even  built  huts,  the  women 
being  merely  beasts  of  burden  as  they  moved  from  one  part  of  the  island 
to  the  other,  being  especially  charged  with  the  carrying  of  fire.  In 
summer  they  went  naked  ;  in  winter  covered  with  a  kangaroo  or  opossum 
skin.  These  animals,  with  shell  fish  and  a  prolific  fungus  which  grows 
near  the  roots  of  decayed  trees,  formed  their  chief  articles  of  diet. 

They  were  ignorant,  dirty  and  lazy  ;  but  knew  enough  to  rebel  w'th 
spear  and  waddy  when  their  women  and  their  hunting  grounds  were 
seized  upon  by  savage  convicts.  In  many  cases  their  revenge  was 
awful,  but  their  spears  and  short  wooden  clubs  were  powerless  against 
the  improved  firearms  of  the  settlers  who  were  now  obliged  to  shoot 
them  down  in  self-defence.  For  many  years  the  Black  War  continued, 
until  the  desperate  natives  were  reduced  to  a  few  hundred,  when  an 
attempt  was  made  by  means  of  a  cordon  extending  across  the  island, 
and  gradually  closing  in  toward  the  southeast,  to  drive  them  into 
Tasman's  peninsula.  But  the  wild  and  mountainous  condition  of  the 
country  rendered  the  attempt  ridiculously  futile,  and  the  great  expense 
which  the  colony  had  already  incurred  induced  it  to  adopt  a  pacific 
policy. 

A  builder,  named  Robinson,  and  a  resident  of  Hobart's  Town,  who 
was  well  acquainted  with  the  habits  and  language  of  the  aborigines,  took 
with  him  a  native  woman  as  truide,  and,  venturino-  unarmed  into  their 
very  midst,  so  worked  upon  their  better  natures  as  to  peaceably 
bring  the  210  men,  women  and  children  who  then  remained  into  that 
city ,  this  was  accomplished  only  after  many  months  of  patience  and 
self-denial.  This  was  in  1835.  From  Hobart's  Town,  the  capital,  they 
were  removed  to  Flinder's  Island,  after  Mr.  Robinson  d  labored  four 
or  five  years  more  in  their  behalf. 

In  1847  the  Tasmanians,  who  had  dwindled  to  forty-five,  were  again 
moved,  being  settled  in  the  vicinity  of  Hobart's  Town,  where,  notwith- 
standing they  continued  to  be  kindly  treated,  their  candle  of  life  flickered 
more  and  more.  No  children  were  born  among  them  for  many  years. 
In  1865  only  six  of  the  tribe  remained. 

Soon  afterwards  at  a  ball  given  at  Government  House,  Hobart's 
Town,  there  were  present  neatly  dressed  in  evening  costume  one  old 
man  and  three  old  w^omen,  all  that  remained  of  the  once-dreaded 
savages  of  Tasmania.  18 


2  74 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  TASMANIANS. 


THE    EXTINCT    TASMANIANS. 


2/5 


In  1874  this  one  old  woman  of  seventy-one  years,  Lidgiwidgi 
Tancaninni,  queen  of  the  Tasmanians,  was  the  last  surviving  native. 
Five  times  she  had  been  married,  and  each  time  to  a  king.  Living  in 
the  house  of  the  government  inspector,  she  was  known  and  pitied  by  all 
the  white  population  of  the  island,  being  called  Lalla  Rookh.  She 
received  a  small  pension  from  the  British  government.  But  kindness 
and  pity  could  not  keep  her  poor  paralytic  frame  from  the  grave,  and 
she  has  followed  her  people  and  the  great  silent  majority. 

THE  SEMANGS. 

Papuan  tribes  have  been  discovered  for  a  certainty  in  central  por- 
tions of  the  Malayan  Peninsula,  at  about  the  locality  of    the  island  of 


TWO  VIEWS  OF  THE  QUEEN. 

Penang,  and  extending  from  the  mountains  to  the  eastern  coast. 
They  are  becoming  more  and  more  timid,  as  years  go  by,  and  more 
difficult  of  access,  hiding  as  they  do  in  the  mountains  and  jungles 
and  only  venturing  forth  to  barter  with  the  Malayans  for  arms,  knives, 
tobacco  and  cloth.  They  bring  with  them  elephants'  tusks,  wax,  woods, 
gum  and  canes,  of  whose  value  they  know  little.  But  while  they  are 
often  imposed  upon  by  the  crafty  Malayans  they,  in  turn,  palm  off  upon 
their  more  civilized  neighbors  certain  herbs  and  shrubs  which  they 
pretend  are  sure  cures  for  headaches  and  other  complaints. 


276 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


The  Malayans  have  no  traditions  of  the  origin  of  these  Papuan 
tribes  and  designate  them  according  to  the  locahties  in  which  they  are 
found,  as  Semangs  of  the  plain,  of  the  hills  and  of  the  jungles.  The 
native  food  consists  of  birds,  rats,  monkeys,  rhinoceri  and  elephants, 
with  occasional  supplies  of  rice  or  salt  from  the  coast.  Small  game  they 
kill  with  the  sumpit,  a  blow  pipe  through  which  they  project  poisoned 
darts.  Although  they  occasionally  obtain  improved  weapons  they 
still  rely  upon  the  bow,  the  spear  and  native  ingenuity  for  their  principal 
supply  of  food.  They,  in  turn,  seldom  suffer  from  beasts  of  prey,  being 
protected,  as  much  as  anything,  by  their  sharp  eyes  and  wonderful 
dexterity  in  climbing  trees. 

Many  stories  are  told  of  their  coolness  and  ingenuity  in  the  capture 
of  the  elephant  and  the  rhinoceros,  two  of  which  will  serve  to  illustrate: 
A  party  which  seek  the  elephant  finally  spy  the  huge  beast  upon  a  hill. 

One  of  their  number  follows  him, 
being  armed  with  a  pointed  bamboo 
stick,  which  has  been  hardened  by 
fire  and  dipped  in  poison.  As  the 
elephant  slowly  descends  the  hill, 
lifting  his  great  feet  cautiously  from 
the  ground,  the  Semang  creeps  up 
behind  and  forces  his  stick  into  the 
sole  with  all  his  strength.  Con- 
stant practice  has  made  the  thrust 
so  effectual  as  usually  to  lame  the 
elephant  and  cause  him  to  fall. 
1  The  balance  of  the  party,  who  are 
,-  waiting  for  this,  rush  upon  the  beast 
with  their  spears  and  pointed  sticks, 
and,  dancing  around  like  madmen, 
thrusting  here  and  there,  soon  des- 
patch him.  The  natives  capture  the  rhinoceros  by  approaching  him 
while  he  is  peacefully  reposing  in  a  bed  of  soft  mud,  and,  by  building 
a  fire  over  him,  actually  harden  it  so  effectually  that  he  is  securely 
imprisoned  and  despatched  at  their  leisure.  His  snout  horn  is  carefully 
preserved  for  the  Malayans,  who  believe  possesses  medicinal  qualities.' 
The  Semangs  share  their  property  in  common,  being  also  governed 
by  chiefs.  They  are  said  to  worship  the  sun.  Their  plan  of  naming  chil- 
dren is  but  an  evidence  of  the  paucity  of  their  language,  curious  though 
it  is.  They  are  called  after  particular  trees  ;  if  a  child  is  born  under  or 
near  a  cocoa-nut,  or  any  tree  in  the  forest,  it  is  named  accordingly. 


A   NEW  IRELAND  BOY. 


THE   SEMANGS.  277 

It  has  been  asserted  by  intelligent  natives  of  Anam  that  woolly- 
haired  tribes  still  exist  in  the  mountains  which  are  situated  in  the 
eastern  part  of  Cochin  China.  They  are  considered  the  aborigines  of 
the  country,  and  have  been  described  as  ver)-  black  and  resembling  the 
Caff  res  of  Africa  in  their  general  features.  Toward  Central  India,  to 
the  northwest  of  the  Malay  Peninsula,  no 
one  claims  to  be  aware  of  the  existence  of 
any  natives  who  could  be  tortured  into  the 
semblance  of  Papuans. 

From  the  foregoing  it  is  evident  that  the 
race  is  found  in  its  greater  purity  in  New 
Guinea  and  in  the  Nigritoes  of  the  Philip- 
pines, whose  physical  and  mental  character- 
istics are  the  same  as  those  of  the  interior 
tribes  of  Papua,  the  Moluccas  and  other 
neighboring  islands  ;  that  the  blood  of  the 
race  is  sprinkled  from  Polynesia  to  the  Malay 
Peninsula,  and  from  the  lower  Archipelago 

^        il  ni    •!•         •  I.-I  1       ^1  n  A  NEW  IRELANDER. 

to  the    rnihppuies,    although   the    Papuans 

as  a  distinctive  people  have  been  confined  to  a  comparatively  small 
area.  They  have  mixed  with  the  Malayans,  with  the  Polynesians, 
and,  to  some  extent,  with  the  Australians.  An  example  of  the 
latter  combination  may  be  found  in  the  natives  of  New  Ireland, 
east  of  Papua.  Their  villages  and  their  canoes  are  neat  but  both 
small.  Dogs  and  pigs  are  their  only  large  animals,  and  the  turtle 
would  nearly  complete  the  list.  Dense  forests  of  huge  trees  cover 
the  lofty  hills  of  the  island  ;  the  fancy  woods  which  the  natives  obtain 
from  them  and  beautiful  shells  from  the  tortoises  form  their  chief  reli- 
ance in  trade.  These  New  Irelanders  are  chiefly  interesting,  however, 
as  the  connecting  link  between  races.  In  the  illustrations  of  the  two 
types  which  are  given,  it  will  be  observed  that  the  boy  has  more  of  the 
negro  blood  and  the  man  of  the  Australian  ;  in  fact  the  natives  of  the 
island  are  often  called  Australian  negroes. 

Tribes,  also,  so  closely  related  to  the  Australians  as  to  be  classed 
with  them  are  found  in  the  New  Hebrides  and  Solomon's  Islands,  east 
of  Papua,  as  in  New  Guinea  itself  There  is  every  probability  that  the 
spread  of  population  was  from  Papua  and  that  there  is  little  Malayan 
blood  in  the  composition  of  the  Australian.  The  islands  in  the  natural 
line  of  travel  from  Papua  to  Australia  are  inhabited  not  only  by  distinct 
types  of  both  Papuans  and  Malayans,  but  by  those  composite  tribes  who 
present  the  most  degraded    representatives    of  human  kind.     They  are 


278 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


filthy  in  the  extreme  and  evince  little  desire  or  aptitude  for  improve- 
ment. In  fact,  they  conform  to  the  general  law  that  the  best  foundations 
upon  which  to  build  characters  and  states  are  sharply  defined  race  char- 
acteristics. We  have  Malayan  and  negro  kingdoms,  with  strong  individ- 
ualities, but  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  a  powerful  nation  of  quadroons 
or  a  mixed  Chinese  and  English  race.  In  the  course  of  ages  the  giant 
may  evolve  by  the  intermixture  of  the  world's  families,  but  the  average 
experience  has  been  that  the  crossing  of  races  results  in  the  production 
of  a  weaker  type  than  either  of  the  originals. 


THE    AUSTRALIANS. 


P  TO  the  present  time  a  large  portion  of  the  central  regions  of 
Australia  has  not  been  explored.  It  is  hard  to  realize  that 
from  the  center  of  the  island  continent  one  could  travel  a 
thousand  miles  in  any  direction  without  reaching  the  sea 
coast.  And  yet  it  is  not  distance  alone  which  has  deterred 
the  bold  explorers  of  the  world  from  penetrating  every  nook 
of  the  unknown  interior.  So  far  as  is  known,  the  distressing 
spectacle  is  presented  of  over  a  million  square  miles  of  earth 
which  is  undrained  by  any  system  of  rivers  or  lakes.  The 
great  interior  of  the  continent  is  a  depressed  table  land,  and 
even  here,  from  the  minor  explorations  which  have  been  made,  it  is 
eviv^'ent  there  can  be  no  reservoirs  for  the  supply  of  rivers,  since  the 
evaporation  and  absorption  of  water  are  astonishing  in  their  rapidity.  All 
the  supply  of  water  which  the  traveler  can  hope  to  obtain,  except  that 
which  he  takes  with  him,  must  be  wrested  from  the  wild  and  emaciated 
native,  who  has  been  driven  from  the  coast  regions,  and  guards  his 
water  pits  as  jealously  as  any  denizen  of  the  great  Sahara  desert. 
The  first  expeditions  which  penetrated  Central  Australia,  in  spite  of 
the  terrible  suffering  and  often  death  of  their  participants,  owed  their 
partial  success  to  the  native  wells.  They  are  little  more  than  holes 
sunk  in  the  sand  with  a  slight  curve,  which  both  shields  them  from  the 
burning  sun  and  hides  them  from  observation.  The  instinct  which  is 
thus  shown  in  striking  water  goes  far  beyond  all  the  knowledge  and 
experience  of  the  European  mind.  Colonel  Warburton,  an  English 
traveler,  who  nearly  lost  his  life  in  crossing  the  western  interior  of  the 
continent,  admits  that  out  of  fifty  attempts  which  his  party  made  to 
find  water,  they  were  successful  in  but  one  case.  They  were  therefore 
obliged  to  systematically  hunt  for  natives,  and  if  they  were  fortunate 
enough  to  capture  them  and  detain  them,  they  were  sometimes  forced  to 
reveal  the  presence  of  the  treasured  wells.  In  a  country  where  game 
is  scarce,  and  where  the  native  is  engaged  in  a  constant  struggle  with 

nature,  he  is  apt  to  be  timid  when  he  comes  in  contact  with  man.     The 

279 


28o 


PAN(JRAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


population  is  sparse,  and  such  of  the  interior  Australians  as  travelers 
have  seen,  are  as  weak,  forlorn  and  cowardly  objects  as  can  be  found  in 
savage  life.  They  have  not  even  been  hardened  by  contact  with  beasts 
of  prey,  for  such  do  not  exist  in  Australia.  Therefore  neither  savai^e 
nor  beast  will  lie  in  the  way  of  the  explorer.  Yet  he  has  another  fearful 
obstacle  to  overcome. 

THE    GREAT    INLAND    FLOOD-BREEDER. 

Australia  is  Ijoth  the  land  of  drought  and  the  land  of  floods.      The 
cool    currents    from    the    Antarctic   regions    are    constantly   coming  up 


from  the  south  and 
finding-  no  ereat 
mountain  chains  to 
bar  their  course, 
spread  over  the  hot 
land  as  far  inward 
as  they  can.  The 
northwest  mon- 
soons from  the  In- 
\  dian  ocean  blow  on 
the  coast  four 
months  of  the  year, 
'  penetrating  far  in- 
land, their  force 
being  seen  in 
'ribbed  waves  of 
j  sand  over  five  hun- 
dred miles  from  the 
;  seashore.  In  ex- 
t  r  e  m  e  droughts 
'  these  adverse  cur- 
rents of  air  may 
meet  ;  one  laden 
w  i  t  h  the  warm 
vapors  of  the  In- 
dian Ocean,  the 
other  called  also  far  inland,  with  its  cool  breath,  to  take  the  place  of  the 
more  rarified  atmosphere  of  the  continent.  Like  two  immeasurable  seas 
they  come  together,  and  the  warm  vapors  of  the  ocean  are  condensed 
into  resistless  floods.  They  pour  down  upon  the  i)lain  in  such  torrents 
that  the  parched  land  is  powerless  to  evaporate  them,  even  if  the  cool 


AN  AUSTRALIAN  SAVAGE. 


THE  GREAT  INLAND  FLOOD-BREEDER.  28 1 

southern  bre  eze  were  not  at  its  work  of  gigantic  condensation.  There 
are  no  large  rivers  to  draw  off  the  waters  of  the  plains,  and,  even  when 
the  monsoon  has  ceased  to  blow,  this  alternate  evaporation  and  the  con- 
densation by  the  southern  currents  may  go  on  indefinitely.  Then  may 
come  another  year  or  several  years  of  drought,  and  a  year  or  years  of 
floods.  The  tremendous  overflow  spreads  over  the  plain  and  surges 
over  the  country  until  it  even  reaches  the  slight  water  sheds  of  the  coasts. 
In  Western  Australia  the  bed  of  the  Swan  River  has,  perhaps, 
been  so  long  dry  that  the  footprints  of  explorers  who  have  crossed  it 
three  years  previously  may  still  be  seen  in  the  sand  ;  but  with  the 
coming  of  this  deluge  it  is  expanded  into  a  seething  lagoon  or  chain 
of  lakes,  which  is  again  evaporated  and  absorbed  like  magic.  A 
traveler  tells  a  story  which  graphically  illustrates  the  sudden  onslaught 
of  the  waters.  With  a  flock  of  sheep,  he  was  encamped  on  the  bed 
of  a  river  which  was  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide,  but  which,  by  drought, 
had  been  diminished  to  a  little  brook.  On  a  remarkably  hot  afternoon, 
a  distant  rushing  sound  became  audible,  and  on  looking  up  the  dry 
reach,  his  party  saw  a  solid  wall  of  water  bearing  down  upon  them. 
There  was  only  just  time  to  get  the  sheep  across  before  the  whole  bed 
of  the  river  became  a  turbid  sheet  of  water.  In  half  an  hour  it  was 
saddle-flap  deep,  and  at  daylight,  on  the  following  morning,  neither 
man  nor  horse  could  have  crossed  without  danger.  This  sudden  rise  was 
occasioned  by  a  rain  on  its  tributary  several  hundred  miles  away. 
Another  peculiarity  of  so-called  Australian  rivers  is  that  when  full  of 
water,  without  apparent  warning,  they  will  drop  into  a  marsh  or  quick- 
sand and  entirely  disappear.  These  uncertainties  of  water  supply  and 
horrors  of  sudden  floods  obviously  explain  the  mystery  which  surrounds 
the  fate  of  more  than  one  exploring  party  which  has  been  swallowed 
up  in  Central  and  Western  Australia. 

INTERIOR  SAVAGES. 

The  latest  explorations  into  the  interior  of  tne  continent  dispel 
former  delusions  either  of  a  great  inland  sea,  or  a  uniform  desert.  Por- 
tions of  the  very  central  regions  are  watered  by  springs,  either  issuing 
from  the  surface  of  the  plains  or  from  the  tops  of  curious  conical  emi- 
nences, evidently  of  volcanic  origin ;  these  eminences  varying  from  the 
size  of  a  beehive  to  a  considerable  hill.  Certain  districts  are  found 
thickly  grassed  and  watered  by  streams.  Tracts  of  country,  described 
by  previous  explorers  as  sandy  wastes,  were  found  clad  in  verdure  ;  where 
one  party  almost  perished  of  thirst,  another  was  almost  overwhelmed  by 
a  flood.     Whether  these  natural  obstacles  to  colonization  will  ever  be 


282  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

surmounted  remains  to  be  seen ;  it  may  be  that  later  investigation  will 
prove  that  there  are  extensive  tracts  of  country  which  are  permanently 
watered,  permanently  drained,  and  which  escape  the  desolations  of  the 
inland  floods.  But  the  picture  which  is  drawn  of  the  natives  of  Cen- 
tral Australia  is  sufficiently  dreary  to  deter  any  but  those  of  the  strong- 
est hearts:  "Wandering  hundreds  of  miles  from  one  well  in  the  sandhills 
to  another,  from  one  dried-up  water  hole  to  another,  brackish  and  salt. 
One  small  party  is  enough  for  any  one  camp,  and  the  camps  are  too  far 
apart  for  any  gathering  or  increase  into  what  can  be  called  a  tribe.  They 
are  here  a  miserable,  weak  race,  struggling  hard  for  e.xistence  in  dry 
seasons  and  camping  listlessly  upon  the  lakes,  lagoons  and  marshes  in 
the  wet  seasons.  They  eat  more  rats  than  kangaroos  in  the  plains,  and 
more  frogs  than  fish  on  the  river  banks.  No  equal  tract  of  country  in 
almost  any  climate  supports  so  few  men.  The  so-called  deserts  of  Africa 
are  richer  in  all  life,  vegetable,  animal  and  human,  beyond  all  compari- 
son." Over  this  vast  table-land,  now  a  desert  and  now  a  diversified 
plain,  the  aborigines  wander,  entirely  naked,  their  lives  so  uncertain 
that  they  do  not  even  build  huts  but  are  content  with  the  shelter  of 
large  boughs  or  strips  of  bark.  These  rude  shelters  are  called  "  mimis," 
and  are  usually  made  of  the  gum-tree  bark.  Under  them  they  creep 
at  night,  their  spears  and  war  weapons  stuck  around,  and  throw  them- 
selves upon  the  bare  ground  or  upon  a  few  opossum  skins  sewn  together 
with  kangaroo  sinews.  Even  rats  which  they  catch  are  often  eaten  raw, 
and  if  they  discover  a  collection  of  fat  grubs  in  a  rotten  tree,  they  have 
found  a  luxury  indeed.  The  necessities  of  life  have  made  it  more  neces 
sary  for  the  people  of  the  interior  to  harmonize ;  therefore  there  is  more 
similarity  in  their  language  than  in  that  of  the  Eastern  and  coast  tribes, 
who  are  both  civilized  and  quarrelsome.  The  natives  of  the  interior 
are  not  even  intelligent  enough  to  have  any  general  mythology  or  super- 
stition. They  have  some  faint  idea  that  some  time,  somehow,  some  huge 
animal  which  their  forefathers  had  faintly  remembered  to  have  heard 
about  from  their  forefathers  would  reappear  and  destroy  the  wicked. 

NATIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

Those  tribes  who  have  obtained  the  ghost  of  ideas  from  white  men 
are  said  to  believe  in  good  and  bad  spirits  and  have  a  notion  that  the 
white  men  are  the  reanimated  souls  of  blacks.  This  superstition,  which, 
prevails  among  some  of  the  Eastern  and  Southern  tribes,  has  been  the 
means  of  saving  travelers  from  a  great  many  hardships.  One  black 
will  take  you  for  "his  father  jumped-up  white  man  ; "  or,  translated  from 


NATIVE    SUPERSTITION.  283 

their  language  not  so  literally,  "his  father  resurrected  as  a  white  man  ;" 
while  another  may  cordially  receive  your  companion,  suffering  likewise 
with  hunger  and  thirst,  as  his  deceased  brother.  A  tale  is  told  which  is 
even  an  improvement  on  this:  A  party  of  convicts  once  escaped  from 
Fort  Phillip,  Victoria,  and,  wandering  far  into  the  country,  all  perished 
but  one  man.  In  his  weary  journeyings,  nearly  dead  from  exhaustion 
and  lack  of  food  and  water,  he  found  a  grave  with  the  spears  of  the 
deceased  placed  thereon.  These  he  took,  intending  to  use  them  in  self- 
defence ;  but  they  answered  a  far  different  purpose,  for,  meeting  with 
some  members  of  the  tribe  who  had  thus  buried  their  warrior,  they 
recognized  his  weapons,  and  conceived  the  stranger  to  be  their  "  hon- 
ored chief  jumped-up  white  man."  The  convict  was  adopted  and  lived 
with  the  tribe  thirty  years. 

If  one  is  not  in  bodily  peril  it  is  often  quite  inconvenient  to  be  taken 
for  the  blood  relation  of  a  large  family  of  Australians.  The  natives  are 
unmistakably  in  earnest,  and  the  worren  are  especially  demonstrative. 
Tears  stream  down  their  cheeks  as  they  advance  to  meet  a  father,  hus- 
band or  brother.  The  oldest  and  most  filthy  of  them  all  throws  her 
arms  around  his  body  and  rests  her  head  upon  his  breast,  then  kisses 
him  upon  each  cheek ;  others  kneel  crying  at  his  feet.  The  men  encircle 
him  with  their  arms,  put  their  right  hands  against  his  right  knee  and 
lean  their  greasy  breasts  against  him.  Even  the  young  children  are 
brought  to  meet  their  newly-found  relative,  kicking  and  screaming  with 
fright  at  the  sight  of  so  strange  a  man.  At  length  they  are  quieted  and 
proceed  to  put  their  fingers  in  their  mouths  and  smear  over  every  ex- 
posed part  of  his  body  to  see  if  it  is  painted.  When  asked  how  it  is 
that  the  "jumped-up  white  man"  does  not  know  his  relatives,  at  sight, 
they  express  the  most  unbounded  surprise  themselves,  as  they  pretend 
to  recognize  their  lost  one  by  some  similarity  of  form  or  expression  in 
the  person  of  the  stranger.  Before  the  black  fellow  takes  a  white  body 
unto  himself  he  is  said  to  live  in  the  clouds,  with  plenty  to  eat  and  drink, 
being  in  charge  of  a  father  and  three  male  children.  When  the  black 
fellow  so  desires  he  is  let  down  by  a  rope  to  visit  the  world  below.  Some 
have  fixed  upon  this  father  as  the  Creator  of  the  world  ;  others  assert 
that  all  things  were  made  with  one  stroke  of  the  tail  of  a  large  moun- 
tain serpent. 

The  natives  thoroughly  dread  a  "  devil-devil,"  or  "  bunyip,"  who  must 
be  a  superlative  sort  of  an  Evil  One,  and  would  not  dare  to  venture 
out  after  night-fall  unless  armed  with  fire-sticks.  The  Australian  native 
sees  the  "  boyl-yas,"  or  bad  spirits  sitting  astride  the  limbs  of  trees  with 
their  crooked  legs  dangling  down,  or  paddling  about  in   a  canoe  seek- 


284  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

ing  human  victims.  There  is  also  the  sprite  which  gives  the  black  fellow 
bad  dreams.  All  that  an)-  of  them  reall)' want  is  a  light  and  if  they  can- 
not get  that  they  will  have  the  black  fellow  ;  so  after  dark  he  is  always 
provided  with  a  fire  stick,  which,  in  case  the  sprite  appears,  he  twirls 
around  his  head  and  throws  at  him.  The  water  spirits,  if  not  driven 
away,  are  particularly  fond  of  inoculating  the  blacks  with  lingering  dis- 
eases. To  expel  these  they  have  sorcerers  who  usually  work  in  pairs  or 
in  threes,  one  working  over  the  affected  part  and  the  other  singing  and 
dancing.  A  stone  is  extracted  from  the  diseased  member  and  hastily 
buried  out  of  sight,  after  which  with  much  howling  and  dancing  about, 
the  sorcerers  rush  toward  the  water  driving  the  evil  spirit  before  them. 
Neither  are  the  Australians'  theories  regarding  the  heavenly  bodies 
and  natural  phenomena  the  most  advanced.  They  think  the  sun  and 
moon  are  thrown  up  into  the  sky  by  certain  tribes,  and  when  they  come 
down  they  are  caught  by  other  tribes  so  that  they  cannot  be  hurt.  The 
moon  is  a  human  being  whom  they  meet,  sometimes,  in  their  hunting 
excursions.  On  Mount  Elliott,  Queensland,  is  a  large  space  devoid  of 
vegetation,  which  the  moon  brought  to  this  pass  by  throwing  its  boome- 
rano-  around  it.  The  fallino;  stars  are  dangfer  signals  ;  comets  are  ehosts 
of  their  tribe.  An  eclipse  is  caused  by  some  mischievous  member  of  a 
tribe  who  places  a  sheet  of  bark  before  the  sun  to  frighten  the  rest. 
This  explanation,  no  doubt,  is  sometimes  given  to  ease  their  own  minds 
of  terror  ;  but  they  try  to  charm  away  the  darkness  by  all  sorts  of  incan- 
tations. The  rainbow  blesses  them  by  pointing  to  the  sheet  of  water 
into  which  it  is  raining  fish,  or  to  a  rich  collection  of  roots  or  trrubs.  It 
is  not  to  be  understood  that  these  ideas  are  uniformly  held  by  the  Aus- 
tralians—  there  is  no  uniformity  in  any  of  their  beliefs. 

HOW  THEY  LOOK. 

The  Australian  natives  are  always  called  "  blacks,"  but  when  freed 
from  the  grease,  charcoal,  ochre  and  dirt  with  which  they  adorn  them- 
selves they  are  often  found  to  be  of  a  purplish-copper  hue.  Their  hair 
is  curly,  but  not  crisped  like  the  wool  of  a  negro,  while  the  beards  of 
the  men  are  wiry  and  abundant  ;  indeed  the  whole  body  is  often  covered 
with  hair.  These  features,  with  their  dark  hazel  eyes,  the  white  being 
bloodshot  and  tinged  with  yellow,  give  them  a  peculiarly  ferocious  ap- 
pearance. Their  faces  are  well  developed,  and  broad  at  the  base  ;  they 
have  high  cheek  bones,  projecting  brows,  broad  depressed  noses  (so 
fashioned  in  infancy),  large  but  pleasant  mouths,  beautiful  teeth 
and  retreating  chins.       They  are  deficient  in  muscularity,  but  capable 


HOW    THEY    LOOK. 


28  = 


of  great  endurance.  They  are  seldom  corpulent,  although  the 
natural  deficiency  is  counterbalanced  by  the  artificial  oils  which 
they  rub  over  their  bodies.  A  peculiar  mode  of  greasing  themselves, 
which  is  also  suggestive  of  their  indolent  natures,  is  to  stand 
in  the  scorching  sun  with  the  head  covered  with  the  entrails  of  a  fish. 


■'.  .UliH-Mlllilll'"' 

AUSTRALIAN  BOOMERANGS. 


286  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

If  they  are  very  civilized  they  are  wrapped  around  with  opossum 
skins,  or  with  blankets  made  by  beating  out  the  inner  bark  of  the  tea 
tree  ;  if  they  are  near  a  settlement  they  wear  sheepskins  or  blankets, 
distributed  by  the  townsmen.  The  warrior  marks  every  rib  in  his  body 
with  a  stripe  of  white  ochre,  so  that  in  the  dusk  or  by  the  light  of  the 
moon  he  looks  like  an  animated  skeleton.  On  festive  occasions  the 
hair  is  plastered  with  bright  red  ochre,  and  decorated  with  feathers. 
Some  tribes  wear  a  long  kangaroo  bone  thrust  through  a  hole  in  the 
cartilage  of  the  nose  ;  or  carry  their  clay  pipes  in  this  fashion.  Both 
sexes  eash  the  flesh  of  their  bodies  with  shells  and  stuff  the  cuts  with 
clay,  so  that  they  will  heal  in  ridges,  which  are  considered  the  height  of 
fashion. 

But  decorated,  or  undecorated,  the  poor  "gin,"  or  wife,  who  per- 
haps has  merely  been  carried  away  bodily  when  her  lord  considered  it 
time  to  marry  her,  has  now  to  stand  all  the  burdens  ot  the  day, 
besides  being  rapped  by  her  husband's  waddy  (or  club)  upon  every 
possible  occasion.  The  waddy,  in  fact,  seems  to  be  used  indiscrimi- 
nately to  brain  a  wild  dog,  or  maim  a  refractory  "gin." 

AUSTRALIAN    WEAPONS. 

The  other  principal  weapons  of  the  Australian  are  the  spear  and 
the  boomerang.  The  former  weapon  they  will  fling  to  a  distance  of 
eighty  yards  with  the  greatest  precision.  Its  construction  depends 
upon  whether  it  is  to  be  cast  from  the  wimmera  (throwing  stick)  or 
launched  from  the  hand  ;  if  it  is  cast  from  the  former  it  is  generally 
made  of  reed,  tipped  with  hard  wood,  ending  in  a  huge  shark's  tooth. 
The  boomerang  is  one  of  the  most  puzzling  and  effective  weapons 
ever  invented  by  a  savage.  It  is  indigenous  to  Australia,  and  it  is 
one  of  the  mysteries  of  the  world  how  such  a  people  ever  conceived 
it.  A  very  hard  piece  of  wood,  about  two  feet  long,  two  and  a  half  inches 
wide  and  one-eighth  of  an  inch  thick,  is  bent  to  a  slight  curve.  Its  ends 
are  rounded,  one  side  being  convex  and  the  other  flat.  The  native  takes 
hold  of  one  end,  with  the  convex  edge  forward  and  the  flat  side  up, 
rapidly  recedes  a  few  paces,  wheels  half  round  and  dashes  the  boom- 
erang downward,  so  that  it  meets  the  ground  at  a  few  yards'  distance 
from  the  feet.  A  rotary  motion  is  imparted  to  the  weapon  as  its 
rounded  side  strikes  the  ground,  and  rising  with  a  loud,  whirring  sound, 
it  performs  a  circuit  of  at  least  one  hundred  yards  and  falls  behind  the 
projector.  The  boomerang  (the  name  of  which  is  a  fair  representation 
of  the  noise  it  makes  when  it  first  rises  into  the  air)  is  used  in  war  or 


AUSTRALIAN    WEAPONS.  287 

in  the  chase;  ahhough  for  hunting  purposes  it  is  often  constructed  so 
as  not  to  recoil.  Except  in  the  extreme  north,  the  bow  is  quite 
unknown  in  AustraHa.  Here  the  natives,  who  are  very  warhke,  use 
long  clumsy  bows  made  of  bamboo.  The  Northern  Australians  at  one 
time  also  fashioned  a  sword  out  of  wood,  which  was  shaped  something 
like  a  cutlass.  A  wooden  sword  has  not  a  very  warlike  ring  when 
sounded  merely  with  the  mouth,  but  in  reality  is  no  infant's  weapon.  It 
is  made  of  the  hardest  wood,  five  feet  long,  five  inches  broad  and 
correspondingly  thick,  with  a  very  small  handle.  The  warrior's  shield 
is  long  and  light,  and  is  used  as  a  support  for  this  log  of  a  sword.  This 
holds  the  weapon  above  his  head,  from  which  elevation  it  descends  upon 
the  body  of  the  adversary  like  a  bar  of  iron.  Their  lance  was  a  long, 
straight  pole,  sharp  at  one  end  and  hardened  by  heat.  When  the 
Australian  lives  near  a  European  settlement,  he  generally  obtains  an 
iron  hatchet  or  tomahawk,  which  he  finds  of  o^reat  use  in  notchine  the 
trunks  of  trees  so  that  he  may  climb  them  in  quest  of  'possums.  His 
stone  hatchet  he  uses  to  chop  out  his  canoe  from  the  trunk  of  a  tree  or 
in  cutting  spear  shafts. 

AFTER  HIS  FOOD. 

If  he  is  after  a  'possum,  he  also  takes  his  waddy  with  him, 
with  which  he  knocks  his  sleepy  game  on  the  head,  after  he  has  climbed 
up  the  big  gum-tree  and  cut  him  out  of  the  hollow  trunk.  Wreathing 
his  head  with  grasses  and  weeds,  throwing  aside  all  encumbrances,  and 
gliding  out  into  the  water,  he  reaches  gently  underneath  and  pulls  the 
wild  duck  down  by  the  legs.  Or  he  captures  a  snake  or  a  lizard,  or  the 
larvae  of  some  white  ants,  or  the  huge  cream-colored  maggot  found  in 
the  bark  of  the  swamp  oak.  All  will  greatly  depend  upon  his  mood ; 
whether  he  is  a  lazy  Australian  or  not,  and  also  upon  his  habitat. 
Disgusting  as  the  latter  article  of  food  seems,  famished  European 
explorers  who  have  been  forced  to  that  diet  pronounce  it  not  unpal- 
atable. 

While  searching  for  his  opossum  the  native  hunter  is  apt  to  come 
across  a  little  bear,  or  sloth,  not  bigger  than  a  kitten,  especially  if  he 
has  worked  his  way  up  a  pretty  high  tree.  The  innocent  looking  little 
beast  has  a  round,  bold  face,  small  black  eyes  and  square  hairy  ears,  and 
her  ridiculous  gravity  is  made  more  laughable  by  the  absence  of  a  tail. 
But  her  flesh  is  good,  though  it  has  all  the  flavor  of  bear  meat,  and  if 
the  blackfellow  does  not  want  to  eat  his  captive  with  the  cubs  which 
are  clinging  to  her  back,  he  will  take  the  whole  colony  in  to  the  nearest 
white  settlement  and  dispose  of  the  animals  for  pets.     The  koala  has  a 


288  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

hide  like  iron,  and  as  it  is  always  away  up  in  the  world,  it  is  almost 
useless  to  attempt  to  bring  the  game  down  with  shot ;  it  is  also  nocturnal : 
so  that  the  native  has  almost  a  monopoly  on  the  koala.  Much  more 
exciting  than  climbing  after  the  sleepy  Australian  bear  is  the  hunt  after 
the  kangaroo,  who  booms  over  the  ground  with  hops  of  from  fifteen  feet 
to  twice  that  distance.  Large  numbers  of  the  natives  gather  with  their 
spears  and  clubs,  and  then  close  in  upon  a  lot,  having  drawn  a  circle 
around  them.  If  the  hunters  start  up  a  brush  kangaroo,  he  is  more 
quickly  brought  to  a  stand.  When  the  awkward  marsupial  gets  his 
back  up  against  a  tree,  the  native  is  careful  not  to  get  too  near  the 
powerful  claws  of  his  hind  feet,  but  while  one  engages  his  attention  in 
front  another  steps  quietly  behind  and  brains  him  with  a  club.  The 
capture  of  a  "paddy  melon"  (a  kangaroo  not  larger  than  a  rabbit)  is 
attended  with  great  sport  but  no  danger;  and  as  the  blackfellow's 
object  is  to  obtain  some  tender  soup  meat  from  the  tail  and  hams  of  the 
animal,  he  usually  chooses  the  easier  task. 

Unless  very  hungry  indeed  the  native  does  not  seek  the  dingo, 
or  native  Australian  dog,  for  food.  If  he  is  in  a  sheep  country,  he  may 
bring  in  a  few  of  the  yellow  wolfish  bodies  to  the  squatter,  and  claim  his 
reward ;  they  are  very  destructive  to  sheep,  their  bite  being  to  them 
deadly  poison.  The  little  brutes  will  not  attack  a  live  man,  but  are  as 
eager  as  vultures  after  a  dead  one.  They  are  supposed  to  have  origi- 
nated in  Asia  and  followed  the  black  man  to  Australia. 

One  of  the  most  singular  ways,  however,  which  the  Australian  has 
of  getting  something  to  eat  is  to  burrow  for  it,  like  a  mole.  This  he 
often  does  in  his  search  after  the  egg  of  the  jungle  fowl.  Down  into 
the  huge  mound  he  goes,  digging  w^ith  his  hands  and  throwing  the  dirt 
between  his  legs,  to  the  depth  of  ten  feet.  The  bird  has  gone  through 
with  much  the  same  performance,  except  she  stood  on  one  leg  and  kicked 
the  leaves,  grass  and  earth  behind  her,  and  after  she  had  deposited  the 
egg  at  the  bottom,  threw  back  the  diggings,  and  smoothed  and  rounded 
over  the  top  of  the  mound.  The  native  may  dive  after  the  egg  half  a 
dozen  times,  but  if  he  is  not  stifled  or  completely  exhausted,  he  eventually 
brings  up  the  treasure.  These  mounds  are  sometimes  as  large  as  a 
good-sized  hut.  They  are  found  mostly  in  Northern  Australia,  and 
were  at  first  supposed  to  be  the  burial  grounds  of  savages,  the  existence 
of  which  in  the  whole  continent  is  denied. 

Our  savage  who  has  been  hunting  and  grubbing  may  be  the  head 
warrior  or  chief  of  a  tribe,  in  which  case  he  makes  all  the  combinations. 
A  long  spear  and  an  oval  shaped  shield,  grotesquely  stained  with  red 
and  white  clay  and  charcoal  are  in  one  hand ;    a  little  dead  'possum  and 


AFTER    HIS  FOOD. 


289 


a  tomahawk  swing  down  in  the  other ;  boomerangs  and  a  waddy  are 
fastened  across  his  shoulders  by  a  broad  piece  of  kangaroo  skin  and  a  red- 
tailed  macaw's  feather  is  stuck  in  his  matted  hair.      His  beard  is  white, 
his  dark  eyes  are 
sunk  deep   in   his 
head  and  notwith- 
standing all,  when 
he  talks,  a  pleas- 
ant smile  flickers 
over  his  face,  his  g; 
white  teeth  o^leam  ft 
and  he   is  not  so   "^ 
very    repulsive. 
But  he  shall  be  fol- 
lowed a  little 
further.      He  has 
carved  a  rude 
figure    upon     his 
shield — possibly 
the  artistic  talents 
of    his    ancestors 
cropping    out    in 
his  generation. 

In  certain  cav- 
erns on  the  west 
ern  coast  of  the 
continent  an  in- 
teresting collec- 
tion of  drawine  01 


paintings  has  been  ^}§'rm%'     |f 
discovered.      The  f»fO   ,^ 


work  is  done  m 
red,  blue  and  yel- 
low, probabl) 
painted  with  the 
same  kind  of  clays 
which  the  natives 
use  upon  their 
bodies,  whether 
alive  or  dead. 
The  figures  represent  turtles,   porpoises,  human  hands  and  gigantic  kan- 


ON  THE  HUNT. 


19 


290 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


garoos.  Some  of  the  figures  are  draped  in  a  long  tunic.  Others  are  dressed 
in  robes  reaching  to  the  feet,  the  face  covered  with  a  white  drapery, 
with  holes  left  for   the  eves   and  a  double  ring  around    the   head.      A 


f^ 


variety  of  characters  were  also  employed,  not  unlike  those  used  by  the 
natives  of  the  Indian  Archipelago.  Some  of  the  figures  seem  to  have 
head-dresses  not  unlike  helmets.     Near  one  of  these  caves  is  the  profile  of 


AFTER    HIS    FOOD.  2QI 

a  foreign  gentleman,  deeply  cut  and  well  executed.  Whether  these 
crude  works  of  art  were  executed  by  the  aborigines  of  the  island  who, 
undoubtedly,  came  from  the  northwest,  f/rt  the  East  India  islands;  or 
■whether  they  are  evidences  of  the  early  explorations  of  Chinese  and 
Malayan  navigators  cannot  be  determined.  We  are  told  that  in  quite 
ancient  times  the  Chinese  were  accjuainted  with  these  shores,  and  we 
.know  that  the  Siamese  were  as  bold  navigators  as  they. 

NATIVE  DANCES. 

Or  is  it  possible  that  the  ancient  Plinenicians  extended  their  name 
to  the  wild  coasts  of  Australia,  and  left  there  these  mementoes,  as  well 
as  a  dance  which  is  called  the  corrobbary  or  corroboree.      The  perform- 
ances which  take  place  upon  the  occasion  of  this  dance  are  said,  in  fact, 
•to  be  nearly  allied  to  the  ancient  religious  rites  of  Assyria  and  Phoenicia. 
The  performers  are  divided  into  five   distinct  classes,  the  greater  body 
comprising  about  twenty-five  young    men,   including  five  or   six  boys, 
whose  faces  and  ribs  are  traced  with  white  paint.     Tied  to  their  legs  are 
bunches  of  gum  leaves,  upon  which  they  beat    as  they  stamp   around. 
On  each  side  of  the  young  men  stand  two  groups  of  girls  clad  only  in 
scant  feather  skirts,  beating  time  with  bunches  of  leaves   and  by  stamp- 
ins^  their  feet.      Two  characters  decorated  with  fantastic  feather  head- 
dresses,  painted  like  the  dancers,  are  followed  by  a  savage  who  carries  a 
long  spear,  from  the  top  of  which  hangs  a  bunch  of  feathers.     At  last 
come  two  elderly  men  beatinsf  on  rude  instruments  and  sinoine  or  eab- 
bling  in   concert.      The  spearman  seems  to  be  the   leader  or  director  of 
ceremonies,  and  the  spectators  flock  around  the  elderly  singers  and  shout 
their  applause  as  the  dance  progresses.      The  music  is  furnished  by  the 
singers,  by  two  men  who  rattle  some  sticks  together,  by  the  young  men 
and  maidens  with  their  gum  leaves,  by  the  waving  of  those   grotesque 
head-pieces  which  are  tipped  with  feathers,  and  by   the   regular  stamp 
of  all  those  who  take  part  in  the  performance.     When  the  young  men 
have  danced  before  the  two  old  men  and  sat  down,  to  rounds  of  applause, 
the  men  with  the  spear  and  the  head-dresses  take  their  turn.     All  seem 
now  and  then  to  respond  to  encores,  and  after  an   intermission,  during 
which  pipes  are  lighted  and  conversation  is  brisk,  the  interest  centers 
around  the  spearman.      Having  gone  through  with  a  species  of  Highland 
fling,  he  stoops,  plants  his  spear  in  the  ground  and  stands  in  a  stooping 
position  behind  it.      The  dancers  go  through  with  the  same  motions  and 
form  a  circular  body  around  the  spear,  also  grasping  it.      The  men  with 
the  head-dresses  do  the  same  ;  one  on  each  side  of  this  spear-bound  body; 


292  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

both  finally  stand  still,  thrust  in  their  hands  and  grasp  the  spear.  At 
the  same  time  all  sink  on  their  knees  and  begin  to  move  away  in  a  mass 
from  the  singers,  with  a  sort  of  grunting  -noise,  and,  giving  one  long 
semi-grunt  or  groan  (after  the  manner  of  the  red  kangaroo,  as  they  say), 
disperse  ;  the  music  and  stamping  gradually  die  away,  and  shouts  and 
acclamations  rend  the  air. 

There  are  dances  of  minor  importance,  which  have  been  confounded 
with  the  corroboree.  In  detail,  even,  the  latter  seems  to  be  uniform 
throughout  the  continent.  A  favorite  war  dance  is  that  which  reveals, 
by  the  light  of  huge  fires,  the  same  principals  and  lookers-on  as  were 
seen  at  the  corroboree.  Round  a  circle  the  blacks  are  gathered  three 
and  four  deep.  The  music  seems,  hovewer,  to  be  principally  furnished 
by  the  "gins"  who  drearily  chant  to  the  accompaniment  of  rude  wind 
instruments,  tom-toms  and  Jew's  harps ;  besides  beating  opossum  skins 
which  lie  before  them,  with  sticks  and  clubs.  Now  the  chant  dies  into 
a  wail,  now  swells  into  triumphant  volume  as  the  dance  progresses.  The 
chiefs  with  the  spear  and  head-dresses  are  there  waving,  their  arms 
wildly  about  and  uttering  discordant  cries.  A  party  of  young  warriors 
now  glide  into  the  ring  like  cats,  stoojjing,  bending,  whispering,  looking 
cautiously  about,  their  dark  eyes  gleaming  with  fiendish  purpose.  Sud- 
denly they  dash  upon  a  group,  who  are  evidently  important  performers 
in  the  theatricals,  and  the  party  attacked  rise  up  drowsily,  as  if  from 
sleep,  but  are  soon  feebly  resisting  and  crying  foi  mercy.  A  struggle 
ensues,  spears  flash  toward  the  unfortunates,  clubs  are  hurled  so  as  to 
barely  miss  their  mark ;  warriors,  old  men  and  women  break  the  circle, 
and  yelling  like  fiends  close  in  upon  the  supposed  victims  of  the  midnight 
surprise.  After  an  intermission  the  dance  is  commenced,  the  old  men 
heap  a  fresh  supply  of  logs  upon  the  bonfires  and  bedlam  is  worse  con- 
founded. The  flames  leap  up,  fierce  and  high,  and  light  up  the  gloomy 
bush  for  a  long  distance  around ;  the  dancers  writhe  and  distort  themselves 
into  a  state  of  partial  delirium  ;  their  teeth  gleam  like  the  tusks  of  wild 
animals,  and  their  eye-balls  roll  more  wickedly  than  the  fiercest  monarch 
of  an  Australian  herd  of  cattle.  When  the  dance  is  at  the  height  of 
deviltry,  half  a  dozen  effigies  of  women,  made  of  saplings  and  clothed  in 
red  blankets,  are  dragged  into  the  ring,  to  the  chorus  of  hideous  laugh- 
ter, and  cast  upon  the  largest  fire.  Some  such  demoniacal  exhibition  as 
this  always  accompanies  these  savage  theatricals. 

A  dance  is  often  given  by  one  tribe  in  honor  of  another  which  has 
sent  its  chief  men  on  a  friendly  visit.  The  reception  committee,  or 
principal  warriors,  seat  themselves  on  the  ground,  cross-legged,  and 
when  the  strangers  have  given  an  account  of  themselves  the  males  of 


NATIVE    DANCES. 


293 


_^j-y  ^/^Cfrt'^i^jlJa 


TRAVELING  WOMEN 


294  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

both  tribes  salute  each  other  by  putting  their  hands  on  each  others' 
shoulders  and  bending  their  heads  forward  so  as  to  touch  each  others' 
breasts.  If  the  travelers  tell  of  deaths,  which  touch  the  feelings  of  the 
reception  committee,  there  is  violent  weeping  and  wailing,  the  stoutest 
warrior  seeming  not  to  deem  the  exhibition  an  unmanly  one.  The  war- 
riors from  the  far  country  carry  all  their  weapons  and  the  women  also 
accompany  them,  bearing  bags  and  baskets,  firesticks,  sleeping  mats  and 
children.  These  are  taken  in  charge  by  the  women  of  the  receiving 
tribe,  who  lead  them  away  to  their  huts.  Then  commence  the  prepara- 
tions for  the  dance  ;  the  painting  of  bodies,  and  the  manufacture  of  all 
sorts  of  devices  from  cockatoo  and  emu  feathers,  being  the  principal 
order  of  the  day  and  night.  The  women  roll  up  kangaroo  skins  which 
they  are  to  beat  with  their  hands  ;  others  bring  out  flat  sticks  which  they 
will  clap  together.  The  dancing  of  the  two  tribes  shows  as  much  differ- 
ence in  manner  and  style  of  figures  as  if  they  were  distinct  nationalities. 
The  dance  commences  by  the  receiving  tribe  going  through  with  a  hunt- 
ing pantomime;  imitating  the  actions  of  different  animals,  especially  the 
kangaroo.  After  dancing  for  some  time,  the  warriors  pause  suddenly 
with  a  deep  gutteral  exclamation  and  again  start  off,  or  drop  all  at  once 
from  a  standing  to  a  squatting  posture  and  hop  away  with  outstretched 
arms  and  legs.  The  women,  who  are  adorned  with  opossum  cloaks, 
bands  of  white  swan  down  around  the  head,  and  bunches  of  cockatoo 
feathers  in  front,  dance  at  the  corners,  passing  behind  the  body  of  the 
principal  male  dancers  ;  while  the  females  of  the  other  tribe  dance  in  a 
line  parallel  to  that  of  the  men,  who  carry  short  sticks  on  which  are  tied 
bunches  of  feathers.  Soon  the  dancers  advance  in  a  body,  bearing  on 
top  of  a  pole  the  rude  figure  of  a  warrior  made  of  grass,  reeds,  kangaroo 
skins,  feathers  and  paint.  This  is  relegated  to  the  rear,  and  two  poles- 
are  advanced,  having  upon  them  a  number  of  branches  decorated  with 
feathers  and  painted  bark.  After  more  evolutions  the  dancers  of  the 
two  tribes  meet,  prick  one  another  in  the  shoulders  with  their  spears,  and 
the  formalities  of  the  occasion  are  considered  over. 

But  whether  these  dances  are  of  a  religious  or  a  political  nature, 
it  is  certain  that  the  Bora  signifies  a  ceremony  by  which  the  young 
men  become  warriors  and  are  admitted  to  all  the  privileges  of  the 
tribe.  Previous  to  the  ceremony  they  are  obliged  to  undergo  certain 
tests  of  their  courage  and  fortitude,  as  well  as  to  live  alone  in  the  bush. 
When  the  period  of  their  probation  is  over,  they  are  brought  to  the 
Bora  ground  which  is  usually  a  retired  spot,  on  a  slight  elevation, 
level  at  the  top.  No  white  man  has  learned  what  there  takes  place. 
The  women  are  excluded  ;  no  one  is  allowed  upon  the  ground  who  has 


NATIVE    DAN'CES.  295 

not  been  himself  initiated.  A  large  circle  is  scooped  out  surrounded 
by  a  wall  of  earth  in  which  two  openings  are  left,  one  through  which 
the  youths  enter  and  the  other  through  which  they  pass  if  they  are 
found  worthy,  as  kippers  or  full-tledged  warriors.  In  the  center  of 
the  ground  is  placed  the  rough  effigy  of  an  emu,  a  bird  which  the  Aus- 
tralian seems  to  view  with  mysterious  reverence,  and  over  whose  body, 
when  killed,  he  will  usually  mumble  some  sort  of  an  incantation  or 
prayer.  When  the  young  warriors  appear  to  the  world,  they  are  seen 
to  have  a  tooth  or  two  knocked  out,  or  a  part  of  a  finger  cut  off ;  but 
why  or  how  'twas  done  is  a  secret  which  is  carried  to  the  grave  with 
their  spears  and  boomerangs.  To  divulge  the  secrets  of  the  Bora  would 
be  followed  by  dire  vengeance.  As  one  says  who  has  tried  to  worm 
out  the  secret:  "At  night,  over  the  camp-fire,  when  the  horses  have 
been  hobbled,  the  pipes  lit,  and  a  pannikin  of  grog  poured  out,  the 
black  boy,  drawn  into  conversation  by  the  master,  for  whom  he  has 
unbounded  admiration,  will  sometimes  wax  communicative  about  the 
customs  of  his  tribe  ;  but  any  question  concerning  the  Bora  only  elicits 
a  shake  of  the  head  and  the  reph  :  'Suppossmine  pialla  you,  black- 
fellow  directly  mumkull  mine'"  (If  I  told  you  the  blacks  would  kill 
me  at  once). 

BURIAL   CUSTOMS. 

A  German  missionary  states  :  "  At  Moreton  Bay,  Queensland,  a 
lad  having  died,  several  men  gathered  around  the  body  and  removed 
the  head  and  the  thick  outer  skin,  which  was  rolled  upon  a  stake,  and 
dried  over  a  slow  fire.  During  this  horrid  ceremony  the  father  and 
mother  stood  by,  loudly  weeping  and  lamenting ;  and  the  thighs  were 
then  roasted  and  eaten  by  the  parents.  The  liver,  heart  and  entrails 
were  divided  among  the  warriors,  who  carried  away  portions  on  their 
spears ;  and  the  skin  and  bones,  together  with  the  skull,  were  rolled  up, 
and  carried  about  by  the  parents  in  their  grass  bags  or  wallets."  But 
this  species  of  cannibalism  is  rather  connected  with  the  burial  custom 
of  the  Australians  than  with  their  diet.  They  have  nearly  as  many 
ways  of  disposing  of  their  dead  as  there  are  tribes  in  the  island.  Some 
bury  them  in  a  crouching  position,  as  do  certain  tribes  in  Southern 
Africa,  and  raise  a  small  mound  upon  a  platform  of  sticks  placed  over 
the  mouth  of  the  grave.  The  natives  of  New  South  Wales  burn  the 
body  of  the  warrior  after  turning  the  face  to  the  east,  spears  and 
weapons  being  arranged  beside  it.  If  he  was  slain  in  battle  a  platform 
is  erected,  upon  which  the  corpse  is  placed  cross-legged,  being  rubbed 
with  a  portion  of  its  own  fat  mixed  with  ochre.     Fires  being  kindled. 


296 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


the  friends  and  relatives  gather  around  and  remain  for  ten  days  in 
perfect  silence,  two  of  their  number  being  armed  with  bouehs  of  trees, 
with  which  to  drive  away  tlies.  At  the  end  of  this  time  the  body  is 
covered  with  a  kind  of  mat  formed  of  long  reed  grass,  the  face  quite 
exposed.  After  several  weeks  the  corpse  is  taken  down  and  buried, 
having  become  smoked  and  dried  by  the  ten  days'  fire ;  the  skull  is 
converted  into  a  drinking  vessel  by  the  nearest  relative,  and  the  bones 
are  either  buried  or  carried  about  by  members  of  the  tribe  as  incen- 
tives to  courage.  Favorite  children  who  have  died  are  sometimes 
eaten,  placed  in  the  forks  of  trees,  or  carried  about  in  a  bao-  placed 
upon  the  shoulders  of  the  mother.  How  long  the  loathsome  load  is 
to  be  borne  is  not  known,  but  when  a  weak,  half-starved  woman 
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^_^_^_^_^_^  chooses  this  part,  as  she  often 
^^^^^3:sErjs^M=s^BS^  does,  there  is  still  hope  and 

/J  there  are  possibilities  for  the 
^^  most  degraded  of  Australians. 
""^  In  the  north  of  the  continent 
there  are  tribes  who  fix  their 
dead  warriors  in  the  forks  of 
trees  ;  others  who  place  them 
in  hollow  stumps,  smearing 
tlie  skulls  and  bones 
with  red  and  white  clay. 
Sad  to  relate,  the  aged  and 
the  w^eak  meet  with  little 
symjaathy  either  in  life  or 
The  strucfele  for 
existence  is  so  terrible  that 
infanticide  is  common,  and 
the  notable  absence  of  lame 


AN  AUSTRALIAN  GRAVE. 

or  otherwise  incapacitated  adults  is  accounted  for  on  the  savage  reality 
of  the  survival  of  the  fittest.  The  poor  old  women  have  their  bodies 
crowded  into  badger  holes,  while  those  of  the  men  are  placed  upon 
frameworks,  and  left  to  decay  and  to  the  crows  ;  the  bones  are  after- 
wards collected  and  buried. 

The  most  savage  of  the  Australian  tribes  seem  to  have  some  ideas, 
crude  though  they  may  be,  in  regard  to  punishment  for  murder. 
Attended  by  the  chief  men  of  the  tribe,  the  culprit  is  led  to  a  secluded 
spot,  the  widows  or  other  near  relatives  of  the  deceased  wailing  and 
lacerating  their  bodies  with  sharp  stones  as  the  comi)any  proceeds.  Hav- 
ing   chosen    the   ground,  the  accuser  stands  behind    the  criminal  who 


BURIAL   CUSTOMS.  297 

carries  the  spear  with  which  the  deed  was  done.  The  latter  is  oblige  to 
hold  out  his  right  arm  and  receive  a  severe  thrust  in  it  at  the  hands  of  one 
of  the  near  relatives  of  the  deceased  or  a  head  man  of  the  tribe.  The 
punishment  seems  inadequate,  but  the  black  who  executes  it  weeps  and 
wails  as  if  his  sorrow  were  as  much  for  the  criminal  as  for  the  widows, 
who  are  seated  on  the  ground  ostensibly  racked  with  uncontrollable 
grief.  Their  appearance,  however,  is  rendered  ludicrous  by  the  caps  of 
pipeclay  which  are  upon  their  heads,  these  being  the  chief  features  of 
a  widow's  mourning  habit. 

These  extreme  manifestations  of  grief  do  not  touch  the  tender  spots 
in  many  hearts,  when  it  is  remembered  how  depressed  the  woman  is 
among  the  aborigines  ;that  although  delicately  molded  she  does  all  the 
hard  work,  such  as  preparing  the  food,  bringing  the  wood  for  the  fire  and 
carrying  the  burdens;  that  she  shivers  beyond  the  radius  of  the  fire  in 
cold  weather,  and  in  the  heat  of  the  day  she  toils  on,  her  only  relief 
beintr  a  bunch  of  wet  orass  on  the  head ;  that  her  choice  in  the  matter 
of  marriage  is  not  consulted,  but  that  she  is  promised  in  infancy  and 
when  the  proper  time  comes  is  borne  away  and  considered  a  wife,  or 
gin  ;  that  her  body,  if  it  is  comely,  is  covered  with  the  scars  of  spear 
wounds  made  by  former  wooers  and  those  inflicted  by  her  husband ; 
and  now  that  she  is  a  widow,  she  descends  as  so  much  property  to  the 
nearest  male  relative  of  the  deceased.  When  these  things  are  remem- 
bered, and  more  abuses  also,  the  poignancy  of  her  grief  may  be  ques- 
tioned ;  but  it  is  more  than  likely  that  if  she  acted  as  she  felt,  she  would 
be  suspected  as  having,  directly  or  indirectly,  caused  the  death  of  the 
brute.  So  she  shrieks  and  raves,  scratching  her  nose  and  cheeks  and 
tearing  her  body  with  shells  and  pieces  of  flint,  while  the  deceased  is 
being  buried,  and  as  if  still  fearful  that  the  tribe  will  look  upon  her  man- 
ifestations as  luke-warm,  she  returns  to  the  irrave  alone  to  lacerate  her- 
self  afresh. 

AUSTRALIAN    COW-BOYS. 

If  the  Australian  has  an  occupation  in  the  line  of  civilized  life,  it 
is  in  tending  stock.  Blackboys  take  readily  to  the  saddle,  and  like 
their  cousins  the  Bushmen,  in  Africa,  have  remarkably  acute  senses. 
Their  bump  of  locality  is  as  wonderful  as  the  cattle  they  tend,  who 
will  strike  across  country  for  hundreds  of  miles  and  bring  up  with  cer- 
tainty at  their  own  station  or  ranch.  The  native  stockman  can  track  a 
man  or  beast  for  days  when  a  white  man  could  see  no  footmark  or  trace. 
He  is  lazy  and  fond  of  tobacco  ;  with  this  supplied  him  and  a  good 
horse  to  mount,  he  is  happy — unless  he  takes  it  into  his  head  to  return 


29S  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

to  erease  and  a  kancraroo's  skin,  which  is  not  an  unusual  resolve.  His 
chief  duty  is  to  train  the  cattle  so  that  they  will  know  the  limits  within 
which  they  may  graze.  If  they  are  new  arrivals,  before  they  are 
thoroughly  broken  in,  they  may  take  a  notion  to  start  for  their  former 
camp,  seven  or  eight  hundred  miles  away.  They  may  have  been  taken 
along-  circuitous  coast  roads,  1,000  or  1,200  miles,  and  upon  attempting 
to  fix  them  to  a  new  camp  or  run,  some  of  them  will  escape  the  vigil- 
ance of  their  keepers.  Through  the  thick  forests  of  the  West  and  over 
its  arid  plains  they  head,  straight  for  their  old  home,  two  or  three  hun- 
dred miles  inland  from  the  route  by  which  they  were  driven.  The  in- 
stinct which  draws  them  unerringly  to  their  far  destination  is  one  of  na- 
ture's great  mysteries.  To  prevent  this  breaking  away  for  a  deserted 
camp,  the  herdsman  keeps  the  new  arrivals  well  in  eye  and  daily  drives 
them  on  the  run,  and  when  camped  they  are  kept  there  steadily  for  some 
hours;  so  that  after  a  few  weeks  the  brutes  are  weaned  from  their  old 
run  and  wedded  to  the  new.  Droughts  and  floods  may  now  scatter 
them  over  hundreds  of  miles  of  country,  but  with  the  return  of  better 
times  the  majority  of  them  will  surely  find  their  way  to  their  own  camp. 
The  stragglers  will  be  gathered,  if  possible,  by  the  native  herdsman  ;  in 
the  great  inland  country  where  thousands  of  herds  of  cattle  are  pas- 
tured on  one  immense  plain  there  can  be  no  boundaries  to  the  runs  and 
the  keepers'  duties  are  increased.  His  work  is  not  heavy,  unless  you 
except  the  time  when  the  owners  of  the  cattle  agree  upon  a  general 
muster,  for  the  purpose  of  separating  one  man's  herd  from  all  the  rest. 
Plains  and  woods  are  then  scoured  ;  through  thickets,  along  belts  of  shady 
timber,  from  one  pool  of  water  to  the  next,  the  cattle  are  driven  by  the 
herdsmen  ;  as  the  limits  of  each  run  are  reached  they  know  that  most  of 
the  cattle  they  find  are  their  own,  for  their  neighbors  have  had  due 
warning  and  started  their  herds  to  camp.  Finally  all  of  these  scattered 
lots  are  collected  and  driven  rapidly  toward  the  camp  whose  owner 
makes  all  this  commotion.  The  Australian  cow-boy  may  now  be  called 
upon  to  assist  in  "drafting"  the  cattle.  First  the  fat  ones  are  driven 
out  of  the  mob  ;  then  the  cows  and  calves  to  brand,  and  then  the 
"strangers"  who,  with  all  possible  care,  will  get  mi.xed  in  with  the  drive. 

A  DYING  RACE. 

Sudden  changes  of  temperature,  insufficient  food  and  shelter,  with 
filth)-  habits,  have  made  of  the  Australians  a  weak  and  decreasing  race. 
In  South  Australia  more  is  being  done  for  the  natives  than  in  any  other 
colony,  and  yet,  as  an  example  of  the  rapidity  with  which  the  tribes  are 
dying  out,  the  Sub-Protector  of  Aborigines  states   that   the    Narringerie 


A    DYING    RACE.  399 

^vho  in  1842  numbered  3,200  persons,  are  now  nearly  extinct.  This 
diminution  cannot  be  accounted  for  by  wars  with  other  tribes,  or  with 
whites,  for  the  Narringerie  have  been  affected  more  by  civiUzation  than 
any  other  tribe,  and  live  at  peace  with  the  whites.  It  has  been  deter- 
mined that  the  largest  ratio  of  deaths  and  the  smallest  of  births  are  to 
be  found  among  those  blacks  who  have  definitely  settled. 

Consumption  is  their  great  scourge  ;  consumption,  intemperance 
and  other  causes  are  so  thinning  the  ranks  of  the  aborigines  that 
authorities  are  slow  in  allowing  50,000  as  the  entire  native  population 
of  Australia.  Fifty  thousand  people  spread  over  a  continent  as  large 
as  the  United  States!  The  race  is  dying  out,  and  what  is  most  sin- 
gular is  that  the  mortality  does  not  perceptibly  diminish  when  the  Aus- 
tralian becomes  partially  civilized  ;  the  seeds  of  decay  seem  to  have 
been  firmly  implanted  in  the  whole  race,  and  in  spite  of  alleviating 
conditions,  they  persist  in  bearing  continual  and  bounteous  harvests  of 
death.  It  often  happens  that  a  tribe  which  is  comparatively  strong  in 
its  native  forest  adopts  many  of  the  habits  of  the  white  man,  and  yet 
retains  enough  of  the  old  to  make  the  change  a  positive  detriment  ; 
such  as  wearing  clothes  in  the  day  time  and  leaving  them  entirely  off 
at  night,  without  much  improving  the  means  of  shelter.  Medicine 
and  other  assistance  are  furnished  sick  natives  by  the  Government,  but 
they  either  refuse  to  take  the  medicine  or,  having  taken  it,  they  neglect 
all  sanitary  precautions.  Next  to  consumption,  which  carries  away 
more  than  one-half  their  number,  measles  and  small-pox,  which  they 
have  received  from  the  whites,  create  the  greatest  havoc  among  them. 
Fevers  are  quite  unknown  to  them.  The  time  is  not  far  distant  when 
all  the  tribes  of  Australia  will  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  the  extinct 
Tasmanians  and  of  the  fast  disappearing  Maoris  of  New  Zealand. 

The  attempt  to  reclaim  the  aborigines  from  their  savage  life  has 
been  only  partially  successful,  partly  because  of  their  degraded  physical 
condition  and  partly  because  of  the  vast  territory  through  which  the 
sparse  population  is  scattered.  Both  the  government  and  religious 
denominations  have  established  hosj^itals,  poor  houses  and  schools  for 
their  benefit.  But  even  the  most  promising  of  the  natives  seem  quite 
isolated  in  a  civilized  community.  They  cannot  marry.  They  have  no 
certam  means  of  subsistence.  They  have  no  real  companionship. 
When  they  have  become  apparently  civilized,  therefore,  many  return 
to  the  bush.  A  sample  case  :  The  officers  of  a  British  ship  took  away 
with  them  a  bright  native  who  remained  with  them  for  several  months. 
He  was  a  waiter  at  the  gun-room  mess,  never  tasted  spirits,  was  atten- 
tive,   cheerful,    and    remarkably  clean.     When   the  vessel  returned  to 


300  PANORAMA    OK    NATIONS. 

Swan  River,  after  a  voyage  along  the  western  coast,  the  Austrahan, 
who  had  seemed  quite  civilized,  deserted  the  ship,  and  the  next  seen 
of  him  was  a  savage — greasy,  almost  naked,  painted  all  over  and  the 
hero  of  several  murders.  The  most  effective  work  of  reclamation  is 
going  on  among  the  children  of  natives  as  well  as  those  of  mixed 
blood.  The  condition  of  the  latter  is  particularly  hard  ;  for  they  are 
outcasts  of  both  blacks  and  whites.  Remembering  the  exalted  opinion 
■which  the  Australian  has  of  the  white  man,  it  is  probable  that  his 
custom  of  sacrificing  a  half-caste  at  his  corroboree  has  a  religious  sig- 
nificance.  He  would  kill  and  eat  the  luckless  one,  just  as  it  is  the  rule 
in  some  tribes  for  favorite  children  who  have  died  a  natural  death  to 
be  devoured  by  their  parents  ;  by  thus  eating  flesh  in  which  coursed 
the  blood  of  a  white  man,  he  would  honor  the  memory  of  some  one 
of  his  tribe  whose  soul  was  embodied  in  the  jumped-up. 

ON    THE    WAR-PATH. 

Students  of  Australian  life  have  never  attempted  to  discover 
whence  this  wide-spread  notion  that  the  white  man  is  a  higher  order  of 
the  native  race.  Certain  it  is  that  when  the  squatters  first  commenced 
to  establish  themselves  in  the  eastern  provinces  they  did  not  find  that 
a  universal  feeling  of  awe  prevaded  the  minds  of  the  aborigines.  It  is 
true  that  they  gazed  with  fear  upon  the  first  mounted  stockmen, 
looking  upon  them  as  a  new  kind  of  animal  : — the  native  cattle  are  as 
terrified  when  a  herder  dismounts  in  their  midst,  not  knowing  what 
manner  of  beast  he  is.     At  first  the  natives  retreated  before  the  whites 

t 

spearing  a  cow  and  a  calf  now  and  then.  But  as  the  squatters  multi- 
plied and  brought,  many  of  them,  fat  herds  of  cattle,  the  Australian's 
taste  for  beef  became  more  insatiable  ;  and  he  was  treated  often  to  a 
taste  of  cold  lead,  which  he  did  not  so  much  relish.  In  this  great 
country  each  stockman's  hut  was  leagues  distant  from  any  other, 
standing  in  a  clearing,  as  far  as  possible  from  any  forest  or  thicket  in 
which  the  gliding  Australian  might  be  concealed.  The  squatter  trusted 
to  his  good  gun,  steady  hand  and  keen  senses,  and  the  blacks'  dread  of 
darkness,  and  hardly  barred  his  doors.  The  natives  commenced  to  get 
bolder,  and  once  crept  down  the  chimney  of  a  squatter  in  order  to 
batter  his  skull  while  he  slept.  Other  murders  followed.  The  squat- 
ters for  miles  around  arose  in  their  wrath,  surrounded  a  camp  of  the 
enemy,  killed  some  outright  and  burned  others  in  a  huge  bonfire — 
destroyed  them  all,  men,  women  and  children.  By  this  time  the  gov- 
ernment had  taken  the  matter  in  hand.      Supposed  murderers  of  squat- 


ON    THE    WAR.  PATH. 


;or 


ters  were  taken  to  the  sea-coast  towns  and  tried,  but  it  was  impossible 
to  prove  the  crime.  Even  if  it  could  have  been  done  in  their  native 
undress,  it  was  impossible  after  they  had  been  covered  with  European 
goods.  t>So  blacks  were  discharged  and  whites  were  hanged.  Thus 
encouraged  the  Australian  showed  his  respect  for  the  white  man  less 
than  ever,  and  murder  and  depredations  were  the  order  of  the  hour. 
Then  the  government  supplied  the  country  with  mounted  soldiers, 
policemen,  under  the  command  of  British  officers,  who  engaged  the 
services  of  the  natives  as  trackers.  Afterwards  they  formed  bodies  of 
native  police  who  did  not  seem 


greatly  averse  to  shooting 
down  their  kind  if  they  were 
given  plenty  to  eat  and  drink. 
A  small  black  boy,  but  a  good 


tracker.who  was  thus  employed,     |||m 


assisted  a  squad  of  soldiers 
to  surround  the  camp  of  a 
tribe  which  had  committed 
some  cold  blooded  murders. 
Penned  up  in  a  gorge  they 
were  fired  upon  by  the  police. 
Some  leaped  over  a  waterfall 
which  was  the  onl)-  outlet, 
others  were  shot — and  the  boy^ 
what  had  he  been  doing?  He 
had  been  lost  sight  of ;  but 
after  the  fra)*  was  over,  he 
appeared  with  a  blood-stained 
sword  which  he  proudly  held 
up  to  the  commander,  saying 
with  a  laugh  :  "  My  word,  this 
knife.      I've   killed 


a  eood  lontr 


HATCHETS  OF  THE  AUSTRALIANS. 

my  old  mother.  I  took  off  the  old 
woman's  head";  —  the  abov'e  being  a  translation  of  a  lot  of  Australian 
English  which  the  young  fiend  had  picked  up. 

This  kind  of  warfare  continued  for  many  years,  especially  in  Queens- 
land and  New  South  Wales,  and  is  one  explanation  of  the  terrible  thin- 
ning out  of  the  native  population.  A  squatter  came  to  believe  that  he 
was  justified  in  killing  an  Australian  as  he  would  a  dog  or  a  rat ;  in  fact 
a  case  is  on  record  in  which  a  squatter,  suspecting  a  premeditated  attack 
from  some  blacks  near  his  hut,  called  them  to  his  door  and  told  them 
that  it  was  Christmas  time,  when    all  should   feast;   that  therefore  they 


PAXURAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


should  eat  a  pudding  of  plumbs  and  flour  and  every  good  thing,  which 
he  would  give  them.  They  believed  him,  and  taking  the  pudding  away 
to  their  camp,  distributed  the  precious  stuff  to  their  women  and  children. 
The  pudding  was  sweetened  with  arsenic,  and  a  score  or  more  blacks 
were  taken  away  from  the  fast-decreasing  population. 

MISCHIEVOUS  FEASTS. 

But  though  there  were  atrocities  on  both  sides  the  stronger  race,  of 
course,  triumphed.  The  blacks  themselves  came  to  understand  that  no 
matter  how  many  whites  they  killed  others  would  come  to  fill  their  places. 

As  one  of  their  leaders  ex- 


^V- 


pressed  it  in  his  best  English: 
"Suppose  blackfellow  go 
-  bong,  baal  more;  but  sup- 
.  pose  blackfellow  altogether 
numkull  white,  plenty  more 
sit  down  along  a  Sydney." 
In  other  words:  ".Suppose 
a  blackfellow  is  killled,  there 
are  no  more  to  take  his 
place ;  but  suppose  the  black- 
fellow kills  all  the  white, 
^f  there  are  plentj'  more  wait- 
1|^»  ing  in  Sydney."  At  one 
time  Sydney  was  supposed 
I  to  be  the  grand  depot  of 
supply  of  the  white  man. 
Consequently  the  blackfel- 
lows  who  came  in  contact 
with  the  whites,  became  more  and  more  subdued.  If  the  bunya 
season  was  good,  however,  they  were  apt  to  get  without  their  bounds, 
as  they  still  do.  The  bunya  tree,  which  is  of  the  fir  species  and 
grows  to  a  height  of  over  one  hundred  feet,  thickly  clothes  some  of  the 
mountain  ranges,  and  when  its  cones  are  plentiful,  Avhich  contain  quan- 
tities of  rich,  resinous  nuts,  the  tribes  gather  from  hundreds  of  miles 
around  to  enjoy  a  feast  and  a  dance.  In  the  bunya  forest  they  camp  for 
weeks,  gorging  themselves  with  nuts  and  game,  fighting,  feasting  and 
corroboreeing.  They  scour  every  thicket  grope  into  every  log,  climb 
every  tree  where  they  see  traces  of  game  ;  but  after  a  time  animals  get 
scarce.  They  have  had  enough  bunya  ;  thev  want  meat  now.  Before 
the  white  man  came  with  his  beef  and   mutton,  thev  used  to  fall   upon 


A\  AUSTRALIAN  CA  MP. 


WAITING    FOR    THE    RIVER  S    FALL. 


each  other,  or  to  butcher  j'oung  women  fatted  for  the  purpose.  With 
the  advent  of  the  squatter  they  killed  either  him  or  his  beasts  as  an  offer- 
ing to  the  corroboree.     When  the  whites  had  so  increased  in  numbers 


WAITIN'G  FOR  THE  RIVER'S   FALL. 


that  there  were  several  " Sydney's"  on  the  continent,  and  their  settle 
ments  lined  the  eastern  and  southern  coasts,  they  contented  themselves 
generally  with  spearing  a  cow  or  sheep. 


304  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

WAITING  FOR  THE  RIVER'S  FALL. 

As  great  an  excitement  as  a  bunya  feast  is  caused  by  the  rising  of  a, 
river  to  any  considerable  height.  Gum  trees  are  stripped  of  their  bark, 
large  pieces  of  which  are  bound  together  with  kangaroo  or  opossum  ten- 
dons and  the  ends  stopped  with  clay.  These  are  the  boats.  The  natives 
make  their  nets  of  animal  tendons  and  fibres  of  plants.  Tribes  from  all 
the  interior  country  gather  on  the  banks  of  the  river  and,  for  the  time, 
being,  hunting  operations  are  suspended  for  miles  around  ;  they  have 
witnessed  the  heavy  rains  in  the  mountains  and  know  that  the  drought 
will  be  succeeded  by  a  flood.  The  flood  comes,  the  tribes  scatter  to 
higher  ground  and  impatiently  wait  for  the  falling  of  the  waters.  Soon 
all  is  bustle  and  confusion.  The  little  stream  has  become  a  broad,  foam- 
ing river,  but  still  shallow.  At  convenient  places  men  are  stretching 
their  nets  from  bank  to  bank,  squirting  water  upon  them  for  luck. 
Others  who  are  more  modest  in  their  plans  have  waded  out  into  the  stream 
and  are  sliding  their  small  nets  under  the  fish,  which,  when  secured,  they 
bite  with  their  teeth  and  throw  to  their  wives  and  children  waitingr  on 
the  banks  to  receive  them.  Some  of  the  women,  however,  are  enter- 
prising and  are  using  the  nets  themselves,  or  are  catching  the  fish  with 
their  hands. 

Delicious  frogs  and  cray-fish  are  also  captured,  the  women  wading 
for  them  in  the  swamps.  Rats  scamper  over  the  o-round,  also,  beino- 
driven  from  their  holes  by  the  floods,  and  are  pounced  upon  by  man, 
woman  and  child.  At  night  the  river  is  illuminated  by  thousands  of 
fires  which  flame  from  the  canoes  of  excited  fishermen,  and  its  bosom  is 
continually  pierced  and  crushed,  as  showers  of  long  spears  are  cast  into 
it,  followed  by  the  bodies  of  the  natives  in  quest  of  their  prizes.  Each 
canoe  has  two  occupants,  one  to  keep  up  a  fire  of  resinous  wood,  which 
is  built  on  a  bed  of  wet  bark  and  mud,  and  the  other  to  do  the  spearing, 
land  the  fish  in  the  boat  and  continue  the  good  sport  the  whole  night 
through.  The  women  are  not  left  behind,  even  at  night,  but  sally  out 
in  large  parties,  and  throw  the  spear  and  dive  with  the  most  skillful 
of  the  men.  So  the  slaughter  goes  on  for  weeks,  every  other  day  being 
devoted  to  general  gormandizing.  There  is  no  thought  of  laying  up  a 
supply  for  the  future,  but  though  they  starve  in  the  future,  for  the  pres- 
ent they  will  gorge  themselves  like  prize  pigs.  The  general  custom  is 
to  throw  the  fishes  upon  hot  ashes  and  broil  them  ;  but  when  the  design 
is  to  serve  up  a  dainty  bit  to  a  headman  or  a  warrior,  the  fish  is  wrapped 
in  a  piece  of  bark,  nicely  fastened  together  with  grass,  and  slowly  baked 
in  the  ashes.     Teeth  and  fingers  are  the  most  common  instruments  for 


WAITING    ll)k     lUK    RIVERS   FALL.  3O5 

dividing  the  food,  although  a  native  of  more  than  average  manners  will 
cut  his  food  with  flints  fastened  into  sticks. 

If  a  brisk  breeze  should  spring  up  (which,  by  the  way,  the  Austra- 
lian believes  he  can  sing  into  existence)  those  who  have  not  eaten  so 
much  fish  that  they  are  stupid,  arm  themselves  with  long  rods,  to  which 
are  attached  nooses,  and  place  upon  their  heads  bunches  of  grass  or 
reeds.  Thus  equipped  they  go  forth  in  search  of  wild  fowl.  Espying 
a  flock  of  wild  duck  or  widgeons,  they  commence  a  low  whistle  and 
slowly  advance  through  the  water,  leaving  nothing  exposed  but  their 
grass-clad  heads.  Pushing  their  long  poles  through  the  water  until  they 
are  underneath  the  birds,  the  fishermen  cast  the  nooses  in  a  quiet  way 
around  the  necks  of  their  unsuspecting  victims,  and  pull  them  under 
water  without  alarming  the  rest  of  the  fiock. 

At  the  gathering  of  tribes  upon  some  festive  occasion  a  kangaroo 
hunt  is  generally  organized,  and  tons  of  the  meat  obtained.  The  prey 
belongs  to  him  whose  spear  has  first  touched  it,  however  slight  the 
wound  may  be;  and  if,  according  to  law,  he  is  too  young  to  eat  it,  it  is 
given  to  his  nearest  male  relative,  of  proper  age.  After  the  hunt  comes 
the  feast. 

After  these  many  feasts,  during  which  fiesh,  fish  and  fowl  disappear 
with  such  tremendous  rapidity,  it  is  the  rule,  as  during  a  great  bunya 
season,  for  the  tribes  to  become  very  pugilistic.  Their  long  fasts 
followed  by  these  mighty  feasts,  bring  on  indigestion  and  a  terrible  state 
of  ill  humor.  They  become  like  a  lot  of  quarrelsome  children,  who 
unfortunately  are  armed  with  dangerous  weapons.  Some  of  the  elderly 
men  of  the  tribes  sometimes  manage  to  patch  up  an  armistice  until  the 
trees  are  stripped  of  their  nuts,  or  the  waters  have  returned  to  the  sand, 
or  the  kangaroos  are  scarce,  and  the  hot-blooded  young  men  are  fairly 
started  toward  their  own  countries  ;  but  often  tribe  falls  upon  tribe  and 
slaughter  ensues,  with  a  final  feast  of  human  flesh.  Frequently,  also, 
two  members  of  different  tribes  are  determined  to  fitrht  out  their  differ- 
ences  with  spear  and  club.  If  they  are  evenly  matched,  after  they  have 
parried  each  other's  strokes  for  a  time  each  receives  a  thrust  from  the 
other  in  the  thigh  ;  then  each  receives  a  blow  from  the  other's  club,  until 
one  or  both  fall  insensible  to  the  ground. 

It  is  during  these  feasts  that  the  natives  forget  themselves,  even  in 
these  latter  days,  and  commit  atrocities  upon  the  whites  which  need  to 
be  punished.  The  nativ^e  police,  therefore,  which  is  still  in  existence,  has 
its  uses,  and  it  is  owing  almost  entirely  to  its  members  that  the  country 
is  in  as  good  order  as  it  is.  Their  impedimenta  is  a  blue  shirt,  forage 
cap  with  a  red  band  round  it,  double-barreled  carbine  and  pistols,  hand- 


306  PANORAMA    UF    NATIONS. 

cuffs,  blankets,  hobbles  and  necessaries.  When  they  go  into  action  they 
strip,  leaving  only  their  ammunition  belts  and  forage  caps,  so  that  they 
will  recognize  each  other.  Giving  their  horses  in  charge  of  one  man, 
they  glide  into  the  scrub  and  soon  the  crack  of  a  carbine  indicates  that 
they  have  not  been  idle.  If  any  maidens  are  members  of  the  families 
whose  male  defenders  they  slay,  they  fall  to  them,  as  the  rewards  of 
valor;  they  place  the  dusky  maidens  on  the  saddle  before  them  and 
henceforth  the  fair  captives  become  part  of  their  establishment.  It  is 
said  that  at  the  end  of  a  month  their  gins  will  freely  give  any  informa- 
tion that  will  lead  their  troopers  to  other  members  of  the  tribe  who  have 
committed  depredations,  or  who  meditate  mischief,  in  return  for  which 
assistance  in  the  line  of  duty  the  poor  wives  are  belabored  with  the 
waddy  until  they  are  black  and  blue.  Their  piccaninnies,  however,  find 
great  favor  in  their  eyes.  The  fathers  will  amuse  them  and  even  watch 
with  interest  the  various  steps  of  the  process  by  which,  with  charcoal 
and  grease,  the  little  animals  are  started  in  the  wa)'  of  their  ancestors. 

So  that  now  in  the  sections  of  Australia  which  may  be  said  to  be 
inhabited,  there  is  virtual  peace  between  the  native  and  the  immigrant. 
Fierce  tribes  of  blacks  with  pointed  beards  and  more  pointed  spears  still 
bar  the  passage  of  explorers  through  the  central  and  northern  countries, 
while  the  dense  forests  of  the  west  hide  an  occasional  bevy  of  skulking 
savages,  who  venture  to  make  hostile  demonstrations.  But  the  intelli- 
gent will  of  three  million  immigrants  opposed  to  the  ignorance  of  fifty 
thousand  enervated  savages  is  as  an  Australian  flood  to  a  drop  of 
water  in  its  path  This  state  of  affairs  warrants  a  short  review  of  the 
Australia  of  the  white  man. 

CIVILIZED    AUSTRALIA. 

That  vast  expanse  of  country  known  as  North  and  South  Aus- 
tralia, and  stretching  through  the  continent  for  two  thousand  miles, 
from  ocean  to  ocean,  is  controlled  by  the  government  of  the  latter 
colony.  From  Port  Darwin  in  the  north  to  Adelaide  in  the  south  is 
strung  the  transcontinental  telegraph  ;  despite  hostile  savages,  dense 
forests  (rather  than  plains)  of  kangaroo  grass,  deserts  of  hard,  sharp 
plants  called  spinifex,  and  drought  and  Hood,  England  and  her  colonies 
were  thus  bound  together.  Of  this  slice  taken  out  of  the  middle  of 
the  continent  —  nearly  one-third  of  its  body  —  little  need  be  said,  except 
of  the  southern  division,  or  South  Australia  proper.  Her  people  are 
among  the  most  vigorous  and  enterprising  of  the  colonists,  and  besides 
connecting  the  central  portions  of    their  territory  with   railroads  and 


CI  V I  I.IZKI )    A  V  STKA  1,1  A. 


307 


telegraphs,  have  already  commenced  the  construction  of  an  iron  line 
northward,  which  is  designed  eventually  to  follow  the  electric  current 
across  the  continent.  All  the  colonies  are  connected  with  each  other 
by  telegraph,  except  Western  Australia  ;  immigrants  are  now  coming 
into   this  colony  more  thickly  than  during  previous  years,  and  ere  long 


A  WEST  AUSTRALIAN    FOREST. 

it  will  be  brouglit  into  the  communit)-  of  states,  via  the  telegraph  and 
railroad.  South  Australia  is  especially  interested  in  bringing  this  about; 
for  in  the  furtherance  of  her  broad  schemes  of  public  improvement,  the 
inexhaustible  forests  of  Western  Australia  are  invaluable.  The  jarrah, 
a  tree  whose  timber  is  as  hard  as  mahogany,  is  there  found  in  boundless 
forests,  and  several  lines  of  railroad  have  been  constructed  to  the  coast 


;o8 


PANORAMxV    OF    NATIONS. 


whence  the  wood  is  shipped  to  India  in  the  form  of  sleepers  or  piles  for 
her  railroads;  there  seems  to  be  no  limit  to  the  durability  of  this  wood. 
Taking  the  country  as  a  whole,  with  its  natural  advantages  and  splendid 
harbors,  South  Australia  will  compare  favorably  with  any  other  portion  of 
the  continent.  The  territory  is  particularly  favored  with  several  lakes  of 
tome  size,  and  its  soil  is  fertilized  with  small  rivers  and  streams. 
Thousands  of  square  miles  of  land  are  covered  with  wheat,  which  ranks 
among  the  finest  in  the  world ;  and  this  too  when  the  soil  is  merely 
turned  up  by  the  plow  and  the  seed  thrown  in,  year  after  year.  Nothing 
like  a  rotation  of  crops  is  ever  attempted.  Its  wheat,  sheep  and  copper 
are  what  has  made  South  Australia  a  prosperous  colony.      Its  people 

have  an  occasional  gold  flurry,  but  its 
wealth  has  rested,  as  a  whole,  upon  the 
basis  of  wheat  and  wool.  The  population 
of  South  Australia  has  never  been  con- 
taminated by  convict  blood,  which  cannot 
be  said  of  any  other  colony  in  the  coun- 
try ;.  in  fact,  one  of  the  principles  of  its 
charter  was  that  convicts  were  never  to  be 
admitted  within  its  domain. 

The  smallest,  most  populous  and  rich 
est  of  the  i\ustralian  colonies  is  Victoria, 
^     Avhich    was   formerly    a   penal    colony    in 
f,«i:^'\\^^^i  ^^ew  South    Wales.      The    discovery     of 
rold  in  1 85 1  marks  the  period  of  its  sep- 
--0  aration  from  the  mother  colony,  and  of  its 
first  strides  towards  preemince.      Aswould 
A  NATIVE  VICTORIAN.  ^^  expected,  the  railroads  of    Victoria  are 

more  complete  than  those  of  any  other  colony,  and  points  which  are 
not  yet  reached  b)-  rail  are  connected  by  stage  lines.  It  has  the  me- 
tropolis of  the  continent  (Melbourne),  and  about  a  fifth  of  the  100,000 
Chinamen  who  are  inhabitants  of  the  country. 

New  -South  Wales  is  the  oldest  of  the  colonies,  being  organized 
just  a  century  ago.  .Subsequently  \'ictoria  and  Queensland  were  split 
from  it.  The  famous  Captain  Cook  brought  the  land  first  to  the  notice 
of  Englishmen,  naming  the  country,  and  bringing  back  such  favorable 
reports  that  the  government  established  a  convict  station  at  Botany 
Ba}',  a  few  miles  south  of  Port  Jackson.  Its  miinTal  resources  are  great. 
Besides  gold  and  silver,  extensive  coal  deposits  have  been  developed. 
The  country  is  particularly  adapted  to  sheep  raising,  the  salt  bush 
which  covers  so  great  an  extent  of  land  to  the  west  being  very  fattening, 


CIVILIZED    AUSTRALIA.  3O9 

but  rendering  the  soil  worthless  for  agricultural  purposes.  With  Sidney 
as  a  nucleus,  New  South  Wales  ha.;  of  late  years  made  great  strides  as 
a  railroad  colony,  and  in  connection  with  Queensland  to  the  north,  is 
fast  getting  to  a  point  where  it  ma)'  control  the  system.  Its  line  is 
complete  to  Brisbane,  the  cajiital  of  Queensland,  and  a  road  is  being 
projected  across  Queensland  to  the  northern  coast,  or  the  Gulf  of 
Carpentaria.  When  this  is  completed  and  the  connection  is  made 
between  Melbourne  and  Adelaide,  the  whole  of  Eastern  Australia, 
as  far  inland  as  is  necessary,  will  be  tapped  with  railroads,  and  the 
northern  and  southern  shores  of  its  most  developed  colonies  will  be  in 
communication.  The  central  railroad,  then,  by  way  of  the  great  trans- 
continental telegraph,  would  be  the  prime  factor  in  the  development  of 
of  Central  and  Western  Australia. 

Queensland  is  divided  by  the  Australian  Cordilleras,  from  north  to 
south;  these  mountains  also  constitute  a  line  of  division  for  the  chief 
occupations  of  the  colonists.  Rich  plains  and  valleys,  watered  by  numer- 
ous streams,  lie  in  the  strip  of  country  between  the  range  and  the  coast. 
In  addition  to  wheat,  the  farmer  cultivates  maize  and  potatoes,  sugar 
and  cotton,  coffee  and  tobacco  ;  the  horticulturist  has  from  which  to 
choose,  the  fig,  peach,  plum,  lemon,  orange,  pomegranate,  pine-apple, 
banana  and  a  score  of  other  lesser  fruits,  of  both  a  tropical  and  temperate 
nature.  It  is  also  a  fine  cattle  country.  For  a  thousand  miles  to  the  west 
of  the  mountains  the  country  is  found  to  roll  away  in  vast  swells  of  herbage 
over  whose  tender  roots  millions  of  sheep  are  nibbling  their  way  into 
usefulness.  Queensland  alone  is  an  evidence  of  the  tremendous 
increase  in  this  element  of  Australia's  wealth,  she  having  nearly  as  many 
sheep  as  the  whole  continent  had  twenty-five  years  ago  (16,000,000). 
The  advance  guard  of  this  wooly  population  arrived  in  New  South  Wales 
less  than  a  century  ago,  in  the  shape  of  a  flock  of  eight  merino  sheep. 
Wool  as  an  article  of  e.xport  is  now  closely  pressing  gold  for  first 
place. 

It  is  in  Queensland  and  New  South  Wales  that  the  Australian 
forest  is  seen  in  its  greatest  beauty  and  diversity  The  forests  of  the 
west  and  southwest  are  composed  chiefly  of  gum  trees,  with  their  leathery 
leaves  and  stately  trunks,  and  of  different  varieties  of  oak,  some  of  which 
are  quite  leafless.  As  a  rule  the  leaves  of  both  tree  and  shrub  are  ever- 
green, and  of  a  firm  texture,  being  perfectly  adapted  to  meet  the  pre- 
vailing dryness  of  the  climate.  Toward  the  north  some  of  the  character- 
istics of  Asiatic  scenery  appear,  to  give  more  variety  and  delicacy  to 
forest  life.  All  along  the  coasts  are  streams  of  considerable  breadth, 
runnino-  oarallel  with  the  ocean,  along  whose  banks  and  over  whose 


3IO  PAXURA.MA    OF    NATIONS. 

waters  are  matted  together  the  tropical  luxuriousness  of  Southeastern 
Asia  ;  their  head-waters  are  in  the  mountains,  springing  from  the  juice- 
less  vegetation  of  a  dry,  rocky  country,  but  as  they  reach  the  lowlands 
they  flow  placidly  and  warmly  through  the  tropics  of  Australia.  On 
descending  from  a  mountain  of  the  Cordilleras  into  one  t)f  these  forests, 
a  government  surveyor  was  so  struck  with  the  contrast  that  he  exclaimed: 
"  We  had  passed  into  another  climate  ;  the  dry,  arid  soil  of  the  stringy- 
bark  forest,  with  its  stunted  vegetation,  was  exchanged,  as  if  by  magic, 
for  a  damp,  humid  region,  sheltered  from  the  wind  by  colossal  barriers 
of  rock,  and  presenting  a  wealth  of  foliage  almost  inconceivable.  The 
graceful  cabbage-palm  towered  to  a  height  of  seventy  and  even  a 
hundred  feet;  the  Indian  fig  reared  its  tortuous  branches  high  into  the 
air,  clothed  with  rich  draperies  of  curious  and  spreading  parasites,  and 
the  graceful  tree  ferns,  thirty  feet  high,  floL'.rished  in  the  warm  and  damp 
atmosphere  of  these  windless  dells.  In  short,  nothing  can  exceed  the 
beauty  of  the  scenery  as  the  traveler  descends  the  difficult  and  winding 
path  that  leads  down  the  mountain  to  the  rich  pastures  below ;  here  and 
there  a  group  of  palms  shoot  upwards  toward  the  sky  ;  and  on  either 
side  the  forest  is  so  rank  w^ith  creepers,  ferns  and  vines  as  to  be  quite 
impassable.  Here  we  gathered  wild  raspberries,  and  beheld  the  gigan- 
tic stag-horn  fern  growing  from  the  trunks  of  the  loftiest  trees." 

Fancy  the  lofty  Cordilleras  with  hundreds  of  miles  of  grassy  plains 
stretching  away  to  the  west ;  numerous  streams  flowing  dowm  the  eastern 
watershed,  and  pushing  their  way  sluggishly  through  this  tangle  of  wild 
nutmeg  trees,  huge  banyans,  fig-trees  and  palms  which  skirt  the  base  of 
the  range  for  many  miles,  finally  v'eering  toward  the  coast,  and  after 
watering  a  fertile  region  of  grains  and  fruits,  dropping  (]uietly  into  the 
sea.     This,  in  miniature,  is  Queensland  and  New  South  Wales. 

But  the  secret  of  rapid  settlement  of  ocean  colonies  is  found  not 
alone  in  richness  of  soil.  Good  harbors  of  refuge  are  a  necessity. 
Queensland  is  rather  unfortunate  in  this  respect,  since  fourteen  hundred 
miles,  or  nearly  one-half  of  her  coast  line,  is  made  dangerous  to  naviga- 
tion by  a  continuous  coral  reef,  called  the  Great  Barrier.  It  is  the  largest 
formation  of  its  kind  in  the  world  —  and  that  is  all  the  honor  which  is 
attached  to  it. 

The  only  vessels  which  are  seen  in  the  vicinity  of  the  reef  are  those 
which  go  nosing  around  in  the  nooks  and  crannies,  like  some  .sly 
animals,  in  the  search  for  huge  sea-slugs.  These  ugly-looking  but  tender 
animals  are  about  two  feet  in  length,  and  lie  buried  in  the  coral  sand, 
their  presence  only  being  denoted  by  their  long  feathery  tentacles,  which 
appear  above  the  surface.     The   Kanakas  are  a  tribe  of  natives  of  the 


CIVILIZED    AUSTRALIA.  3II 

northeastern  coast  regions,  who  have  made  themselves  remarkably  pro- 
ficient either  in  spearing  the  slugs  when  found  in  shallow  water,  or 
diving  for  them  down  the  perpendicular  sides  of  the  reefs,  underneath 
them,  and  far  under  water,  fighting  the  shark  and  other  ocean  monsters 
in  their  search  for  the  repulsive-looking  things,  and  in  the  interest  of 
their  masters.  The  voyage  along  the  great  reef  may  last  for  years. 
The  usual  plan  is  for  the  owner  of  a  vessel  to  hire  several  good  native 
divers,  and  choosing  some  island  as  his  headquarters,  plant  a  patch  of 
ground  to  vegetables  as  a  safeguard  against  scurvy.  As  the  fish  are 
cauo-ht  they  are  split  open,  boiled,  pressed  flat  and  dried  in  the  sun. 
They  are  then  smoked  over  a  wood  fire  and  packed  for  shipment  to 
China.  The  crews  work  on  shares,  and  if  the  trip  is  fortunate  they 
may  return  with  their  boats  heavily  laden  after  a  lapse  of  a  few  months 
only. 

There  are  some  good  ports  on  the  extreme  southeastern  coast  of 
Queensland;  but  New  South  Wales  from  one  e.xtremity  of  its  coast  line 
to  near  the  other,  boasts  not  of  big  coral  reefs,  but  of  the  finest  harbors 
in  rhe  world,  chief  among  them  being  that  of  Port  Jackson,  at  Sydney. 
Victoria  is  likewise  favored ;  and  South  Australia  to  the  Great  Austra- 
lian Bight.  The  bight,  which  is  lined  with  steep  and  rugged  cliffs,  makes 
useless  for  purposes  of  navigation  or  refuge  the  southwestern  coast  of 
South  Australia,  and  half  of  the  southern  coast  of  Western  Australia. 
Then  comes  a  passable  harbor  or  two  before  you  reach  the  southwestern 
extremity  of  the  continent,  and  not  another  one  along  the  low  and  sandy 
western  coast  and  the  high  and  rocky  northwestern  coast  of  Western 
Australia.  In  fact,  it  is  this  natural  defect  more  than  all  else  combined 
which  has  retarded  the  growth  of  the  colony.  The  coast  of  Northern 
Australia,  especially  along  the  Gulf  of  Carpentaria,  has  some  of  the  best 
harbors  of  the  continent,  though  they  are  not  so  well  known  as  the 
southern  ports.  They  lie  principally  on  the  western  shore  of  the  gulf, 
the  eastern  side  formed  by  York   Peninsula  being  low  and  dangerous. 

The  first  well  authenticated  discovery  of  the  continent  was  made  by 
the  Dutch  during  the  early  portion  of  the  seventeenth  century,  while 
one  of  their  yachts  was  out  in  a  voyage  of  investigation  to  the  coast  of 
New  Guinea,  from  the  Dutch  possessions  in  Java.  The  Gulf  of  Carpen- 
taria was  named  in  honor  of  Peter  Carpenter,  the  Governor-General  of 
the  Dutch  Colonies  in  the  East  Indies.  The  Dutch  discovered  Western 
Australia  and  called  it  Endrach's  Land.  The  continent,  in  fact,  was 
considered  so  honestly  a  Dutch  discovery,  that  it  was  called  New  Hol- 
land, Australia  being  a  later  christening.  New  South  Wales  was  the 
discovery  of  the  great  Yorkshire  navigator,  Captain  Cook,  and  from  the 


312  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

eastern  coast  spread  the  Australia  of  England.  The  Dutch  never  colo- 
nized the  island,  because  the)'  did  not  first  enter  its  richest  fields.  Had 
they  done  so,  it  would  probably  be  the  old  story  repeated,  of  Dutch 
pioneering  and  English  grasping  and  holding.  Australia  is  a  land  of 
which  any  people  might  be  proud.  Its  riches  have  been  intimated.  As 
far  as  the  continent  has  been  explored,  gold  has  been  discovered  in  some 
form  —  mixed  with  quartz,  ironstone  or  clay.  Copper,  coal,  tin,  lead  and 
silver,  have  merely  been  neglected  for  the  gold.  The  land  is  a  vast  curios- 
ity-shop. Not  only  are  its  natives  so  different  from  the  Papuans  and  Malay, 
ans  and  negroes,  that  they  are  separately  classified,  but  it  has  an  ani- 
mal kingdom  peculiar  to  itself. 

It  is  said  that  nine-tenths  of  the8,ooospeciesof  plants  found  in  Austra* 
lia  are  unknown  elsewhere,  and  are  entirel)'  unconnected  with  the  forms  of 
vegetation  of  any  other  division  of  the  world.  Here,  also,  are  the  bird 
of  paradise,  the  black  swan  and  the  l)re  bird,  the  tail  feathers  of  the 
latter  being  shaped  like  an  ancient  harp.  The  house  is  being  swept  ot 
its  first  owners,  and  is  being  refurnished  with  a  new  order  of  things, 
by  a  new  people,  for  a  future  great  civilization  to  enjoy  its  riches  and 
revel  in  its  wonders. 


THE  TARTARS. 

ROM  the  earliest  times  Turkestan,  or  the  country  of  the 
^/Turks,  has  been  a  battle-ground  between  the  Iranian  and 
Turanian  races.  I-'irst  attached  to  Persia,  then  to  Greece. 
tht-n  to  Turkey,  Arabia,  the  Mongol  Empire,  finall)-  unclfr 
Tinuir.  or  Tamerlane,  it  rose  to  power  as  an  independent 
empire,  bringing  under  its  sway  the  immense  territory  stretch- 
ing from  the  Black  Sea  to  China  and  from  Moscow  to  the 
Ganges.  This  great  Tartar,  in  his  younger  days,  had  passed 
a  peaceful  life  in  his  native  country  as  a  hunter  and  skillful 
horseman,  and  his  powers  were  not  known  even  to  himself, 
until  his  uncle,  a  chief  of  Mongol  blood,  retreated  before  a  fierce 
invasion  of  the  Calmucks,  leaving  his  young  nephew  the  alternative 
of  fleeing  with  him  or  fighting  for  his  country.  Tamerlane  chose  the 
latter  course,  expelled  the  invaders,  punished  various  predatory  tribes, 
and,  although  he  never  assumed  the  rank  of  sovereign,  became  the 
ruling  power  of  the  great  empire  which  he  founded.  He  died  while 
on  the  march  for  the  invasion  of  (^lina,  although  his  favorite  wife  was 
the  daughter  of  the  Chinese  Emperor.  His  tomb  is  in  a  mosque  of 
Samarkand,  his  splendid  capital.  It  occupies  the  exact  center  of  the 
building,  the  tombstone  being  a  slab  of  greenish-black  stone.  In  a  small 
building  near  by  are  the  tombs  of  his  wives.  After  Timur's  death  his 
empire  commenced  to  fall  to  pieces,  until  finally  the  Uzbecks  became 
the  ruling  tribe  of  modern  Turkestan;  a  family  of  that  people  being  in 
power  when  Russia  snatched  away  nearly  all  the  country  of  Independent 
Turkestan  not  in  the  hands  of  the  Turkoman  robbers. 

THE  SETTLED   POPULATION. 


The  Tartars  who  have  settled  within  the  bounds  of  Turkestan  may 
be  divided  into  two  principal  tribes  —  the  Uzbecks  and  the  Tajiks.  The 
Turkomans,  Kirghiz  and  other  tribes  of  minor  importance  are  migratory. 
The  Uzbecks  and  Tajiks  are  representatives  of  the  Turkish  and  Persian 
tribes,  the  former  succeeding  the  latter,  and  in  many  instances  driving 
them    into  the    mountains,  where  whole  villages    of  them    are   found. 


314  PAN<)RAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

These  mountaineers  are  usually  called  Galtchas.  In  Bokhara,  Samarkand 
and  other  cities  in  the  central  states  the  Tajiks  form  the  main  element 
of  the  metropolitan  population. 

The  word  Uzbeck  means  independent.  The  Uzbecks,  however, 
are  under  strict  Russian  rule  and  their  beks,  or  native  rulers,  are 
dependent  upon  the  good  graces  of  their  conqueror.  Some  of  them 
have  joined  the  fortunes  of  the  invaders,  and  give  the  authorities  due 
v.arning  of  any  plots  or  threatened  insurrections;  others  are  neutral,  no 
doubt  abiding  a  time  which  may  never  come.  According  to  native 
authority,  the  Uzbecks  are  divided  into  ninety-two  clans,  or  families, 
which  are  also  subject  to  a  subdivision.  Many  of  these  people  are  settled 
in  the  cities  north  of  the  Syr  river,  and  in  northeastern  Turkestan  ;  many, 
also,  under  certain  restrictions  are  nomads.  The  city  houses  "are  in 
general  built  of  sun-dried  clay  bricks,  covered  with  plaster  and  washed 
with  some  light  color,  and  are  seldom  more  than  one  story  high.  Owing 
to  the  scarcity  of  wood  and  the  clearness  of  iron,  the  roofs  are  very 
peculiar.  Between  the  rafters  which  compose  the  ceilings,  pieces  of 
small  willow  branches  are  closely  fitted  together,  the  whole  is  then 
thatched  with  reeds,  and  on  this  is  placed  a  layer  of  clay  and  sods,  it  being 
necessary  to  put  on  a  new  layer  of  clay  each  year  to  render  the  roof  in 
any  degree  waterproof.  During  the  summer  when  it  does  not  rain,  the 
roofs  are  excellent  and  very  pretty,  as  they  are  often  covered  with  wild 
poppies,  capers  and  other  Bowers.  Furniture  and  household  goods  of 
all  kinds  have  to  be  brought  from  Russia  or  Siberia,  for  there  are  no 
cabinet-makers  or  upholsterers  in  Central  Asia.  .Still  the  houses  are 
comfortable  in  spite  of  their  fragility,  and  the  great  wide  divans,  the 
profusion  of  Turkoman  carpets,  armor  and  utensils  give  them  an  air 
of  elegance  and  luxury." 

'The  streets  of  a  native  town  are  rarely  straight,  and  in  rambling 
about  we  go  up  and  down  hill,  turning  to  this  side  and  to  that,  some- 
times between  high  walls,  sometimes  beneath  the  wooden  portico  of  a 
mosque  which  mounts  high  in  the  air,  now  along  the  edge  of  some  deep 
ravine,  and  now  crossinsir  some  rushine  stream  on  a  low  wooden  bridtje. 
Everywhere  trees  are  leaning  over  the  walls,  for  everewherc  there  are 
gardens,  and  we  can  leave  the  street  and  take  a  l)y-path  up  the  edge  of 
some  stream  where  an  old  wooden  mill-wheel  is  busily  turning,  and  feel 
ourselves  almost  in  a  country  nook." 

In  many  towns  the  Uzbecks  have  their  own  quarters  and  do  not 
deign  to  venture  into  the  Russian  haunts.  At  Tashkend,  where  the 
Governor-General  has  his  headquarters,  this  line  of  deraarkation  is 
especially  clear. 


THE  SETTLED  POPULATION.  315 

The  natives  are  not  manufacturers  to  any  great  extent ;  silk  and  cot- 
ton stuffs,  sabers,  knives  and  other  weapons  about  covering  the  ground. 
Russia,  Persia,  Afghanistan,  India  and  the  Chinese  Empire,  however, 
pour  their  products  into  the  bazaars  of  Turkestan.  Some  of  these  are 
rented  by  tht;  Russian  government.  The  bazaar  of  a  large  city  is  really 
a  village  in  itself,  divided  into  streets,  each  one  of  which  is  given  up  to  a 
particular  trade  or  class  of  manufactures.  Whole  days  may  be  spent  in 
them  and  the  whole  not  yet  be  seen  :  "  Here  are  the  silk  shops,  there  the 
jewelers,  here  the  brass-workers,  while  occasionally  a  large  gateway  with 
a  court  beyond  marks  the  place  of  a  caravanserai  for  the  accommodation 
of  guests  and  the  storage  of  goods.  Here  and  there  are  open  spaces, 
in  the  center  of  which  are  small  booths,  sheltered  for  the  most  part  by 
umbrellas  and  mushroom-like  awnings  of  woven  reeds,  while  all  about 
perambulatory  venders  collect  in  groups.  Here  is  a  small  kitchen  with 
cabobs  and  patties  cooking  over  the  coal  fires,  here  a  tea-shop,  there  the 
stand  of  a  baker,  and  next  perhaps  a  man,  sitting  cross-legged  on  a  high 
platform,  deals  out  spoonfuls  of  snow  and  sugary  syrup  to  the  boys." 
One  street  is  devoted  to  dye-stuffs,  another  to  leather  goods,  another 
to  the  productions  of  the  Kirghis  and  Turkomans,  others  to  Chinaware, 
cotton  goods,  silk  goods,  etc.,  etc. 

The  home  life  of  the  settled  populace  is  Turkish  in  the  extreme. 
The  favorite  drink  is  green  tea  thickened  with  cream  or  melted  tallow, 
the  kumys  (liquor  made  from  mare's  milk)  being  also  drunk.  The 
tobacco  which  is  used  is  in  the  form  of  a  fine,  dark-green  powder. 

Their  amusements  vary  considerably,  although  the  strict  Mussul- 
man will  tell  you  that  his  only  enjoyment  is  in  saying  his  prayers,  riding, 
shooting,  and  dancing  at  special  festivals.  The  boys  have  their  games, 
one  of  them  being  called  knuckle-bones,  small  pieces  of  bones  being 
used  in  place  of  marbles.  The  girls  have  rough  dolls  and  play  ball. 
Chess  and  even  gambling  is  indulged  in  by  adidts.  A  very  common 
gambling  game  is  for  a  group  of  men  to  sit  in  a  circle,  each  placing 
before  him  a  copper  coin,  and  bets  are  then  made  as  to  whose  coin  will 
first  have  a  fly  on  it.  Dancing  by  boys,  wrestling  matches  and  antics 
of  comedians,  add  to  the  list  of  amusements  enjoyed  by  the  Sart,  or  town 
native,  whether  Uzbeck  or  Tajik. 

Their  religious  observances  and  regulations  are  substantially  the 
same  as  those  found  in  other  Mohammedan  countries.  About  the  only 
native  institution  which  is  left  intact,  even  in  Russian  territory,  is  the 
court,  presided  over  by  the  Kazi.  This  judge  has  charge  of  civil  suits, 
marriages,  divorces  and  all  family  matters ;  criminal  cases  of  importance 
comincf  before  the  Bek,  or  native  ruler. 


3l6  PANORAMA    OK    NATIONS. 

The  Uzbecks  are  tall,  muscular,  well  formed,  ruddy  in  complexion, 
with  broad  noses  flattened  at  the  end,  receding  foreheads  and  but  little 
beard.  When  they  become  agriculturists,  their  wives  not  only  look 
after  household  matters,  collect  fuel,  spin  and  sew,  weave,  dress,  tan  and 
dye  skins,  but  plough,  reap,  carry  the  sheaves  of  corn  to  and  from  the 
threshing  floor,  and  winnow  them.  In  these  labors  the  men  assist,  but 
do  not  lead.  The  consequence  is  that  marriages  of  the  young  are  not 
so  frequent  among  the  poor  Uzbecks  and  farmers  as  among  the  city 
people.      The  agriculturists  seek  in  their  wives  merely  patient  o.xen. 

In  some  of  the  tribes  the  married  sons  live  apart;  in  others  they 
remain  with  their  father  for  a  long  time,  and  have  a  common  cooking-pot 
with  him.  If  this  is  the  arrangement,  a  household  is  reckoned  as  ten  sons 
with  their  families.  Good  friends  or  poor  men  are  not  obliged  to  pay 
kal)"m  or  marriage  money ;  or  if  che  man  prefers  to  purchase  his  wife, 
he  can  work  for  her  relatives  or  father  and  earn  the  stipulated  sum. 
The  amount  of  the  kalym  is  determined  by  the  eldest  members  of 
the  two  families  who  desire  to  become  related;  they,  unknown  to  the 
principals,  assemble  for  that  purpose,  and  also  to  hx  the  day  of  the 
wedding. 

THE   NOMADS. 

Over  the  vast  steppes  and  desert  tracts  east  and  southeast  of  the 
Caspian  Sea,  to  the  northern  frontier  of  Persia,  wander  the  Turkomans 
and  other  nomadic  tribes.  They  have  retained  all  the  fiercest  blood  of 
their  ancestors  and  are  the  scourges  of  Persia,  swooping  down  upon  the 
exposed  districts  of  that  country  and  carr\ing  away  women  and  children 
into  slavery.  Their  raids  have  always  been  accompanied  with  the  most 
terrible  atrocities,  and  the  Shah  has,  several  times,  punished  the  brigands 
as  they  deserved.  Once,  however,  he  left  15,000  Persians  with  them,  as 
prisoners,  and  thirty  guns. 

The  northern  routes  of  travel  from  the  Caspian  Sea  to  India,  via 
Herat,  are  still  in  the  hands  of  these  Tartars,  who  may  well  be  the 
descendants  of  the  savage  Huns  who  spread  desolation  over  so  great  a 
part  of  the  ancient  world.  They  are  generally  above  middle  stature, 
powerfully  developed,  with  a  white  skin,  round  head,  small  nose  and 
chin  and  scanty  whiskers.  Although  haughty  and  irascible,  when  not 
aroused  they  are  friendly  and  hospitable.  Although  considered  as  a 
nomadic  tribe,  the  Turkomans  hav^e  several  fortified  cities  which  are 
sometimes  subject  to  the  ruler  of  Afghanistan,  and  raise  a  revenue  by 
taxes  on  passing  caravans. 

The  Persians  who  are  cajitured  by  the  Turkomans  are  employed  in 


THE    NOMAD.S. 


3^7 


h 


^  -^i 


their  cities,  or  those  of  the  Uzbecks  of  Khiva,  in  the  most  severe  of 
labor.  The  brand  of  slavery  is  effaced  only  in  the  third  sj;;eneration. 
Many  captives,  however,  who  buy  their  liberty,  remain  and  become 
inlluential  citizens.  There  are  now  forty  thousand  Persians  in  Khi\a. 
Before  the  Russians  conquered  the  Khanate  of  Khiva,  it  is  rcpoitc  d 
that  the  Khivese,  or  Uzbecks,  with  thr  assistance  c)f  the  Turkomans 
and  Kirg^hiz,  seized  their  ^^^^Sf'"'''''^'^"'" 
c  o u  n  t  r y  men  on  the 
steppes,  and  their  fisher- 
men on  the  shores  of  the 
Caspian  Sea,  and  publicly 
.sold  them  as  slaves;  that 
at  one  time  there  were  as 
many  as  one  thousand 
Russian  captives  in  Khi\-a. 

The  Turkomans  are 
variously  divided,  and  no 
two  authorities  agree  as 
to  their  number.  They 
themselves  say  that  they 
dwell  in  350,000  tents,  and 
that  their  souls  therefore 
number  nearly  1,750,000. 
The  Turkoman  tribes  are 
governed  by  elders,  just 
as  long  as  the  elders  suit 
them.  When  their  actions 
become  distasteful,  they 
become  "  a  people  without 
a  head,  which  is  not 
necessary,  for  every  man 
governs  himself."  They  profess  to  be  devout  Mohammeaans,  and 
when  asked  how  they  can  sell  fellow-believers  into  slavery,  reply:  "The 
Koran  is  a  divine  book,  and  consequently  nobler  than  man  ;  yet  it  is 
bought  for  a  few  crowns.  And  better  still,  Joseph,  the  son  of  Jacob, 
was  a  prophet,  and  yet  they  sold  him  —  did  that  hurt  him  in  any  way  ?" 

The  Turkomans  cultivate  a  few  grains,  whose  straw  will  serve  also  as 
fodder  to  their  few  camels,  horses  and  sheep.  A  felt  tent  and  miserable 
clothes  complete  the  worldly  property  of  the  race.  The)'  prepare  a 
honey  from  the  juice  of  a  huge  water-melon,  and  manufacture  jugs  and 
powder  horns  from  pumpkins.      They  make  a  little   butter,  they  fish  a 


A  TARTAR. 


3i8 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


little,  they  manufacture  a  little  bad  powder,  and  cotton  and  woolen  cloths, 
and  the  only  thinj;  they  do  much  of  is  to  rob. 

In  the  northern  and  eastern  districts  of  Turkestan  are  the  steppes 
of  the  Kirghiz,  who  in  Khiva  acknowledcje  the  q-overnment  authorities. 
They  with  their  stunted  frames,  flattened  noses  and  prominent  cheek 
bones  much  resemble  the  Calmucks,  an  ugly-looking  tribe  to  the  east. 
The  Kirghiz  may  be  called  nomadic  Uzbecks,  changing  their  quarters 
summer  and  winter,  with  their  flocks  and  herds,  and  using  both  horses 
and  camels  in  their  caravans.  They  have  intermarried  considerably 
with  the  Calmucks,  which  accounts  for  th'-ir  decidedly  Mongolian  type. 

They  eat  mutton  princi- 
pally, and  upon  important 
occasions,  horse  flesh. 
Tea  and  kumys  are  their 
drinks. 

Their  natures  are 
simple  and  unsuspicious. 
The}'  are  generous,  curi- 
ous and  lazy ;  but  fond  of 
receiving  any  choice  item 
of  news  which  they  will 
Ix'ar,  like  lightning,  to 
neighboring  camps  that 
the)'  ma)'  enjoy  the  good 
thing.  Though  light- 
\  minded,  they  respect  age 
and  authority.  They  are 
merr)-  and  devoted  to 
music  and  song.  The 
men  eive  their  attention 
to  their  horses,  sheep  and 
cattle  —  the  women  do  all 
CAMEL  OF  TARTAR  EMIGRANT.  ^\-^f^  ^est ;    the)"  are  never 

known  to  plunder  or  fight   for  the   mere  love  of  it,  but  merely  to  reim- 
burse or  revenge  themselves  on  account  of  previous  losses. 

The  Kirghiz  are  polygamists,  but  the  first  wife  is  mistress  of  the 
tent,  and  outranks  the  others.  Marriages  and  funeral  feasts  are  the 
signals  for  these  sociable  wanderers  to  gather  for  a  hundred  miles  round- 
about, and  eat  and  drink  for  days  at  a  time,  at  the  expense  of  the  parents 
or  mourners.  Before  a  marriage  takes  place,  the  suitor  passes  into  the 
hands  of  the  happy  father  two  or  three  dozen  cattle  and  some  horses, 


?^|l-<.- 


r 


THE    NOMA  US. 


319 


while  with  the  bride  must  go  a  certain  dowry,  including-  a  kibitka,  or 
tent.  An  agreement  is  sometimes  made  between  friends  that  children 
who  may  be  born  to  them  of  different  sexes  and  of  suitable  age  shall  be 
given  to  one  another  in  marriage.  Such  children,  if  they  do  marr\-,  are 
exempt  from  paying  the  kalym,  or  marriage  price. 

In  case  the  Kirghiz  is  rich  he  engages  a  priest  from  some  town  who, 


CALMUCK  TARTARS. 

for  a  stipulated  salary  in  sheep,  horses  and  camels,  accompanies  him  in 
his  journeyings  as  religious  and  secular  teacher  and  secretary.  Every 
Kirghiz,  however,  whether  poor  or  rich,  is  aristocratic.  The  first  thing 
he  asks  when  meeting  a  stranger  is,  "Who  are  thy  seven  fathers?"  mean- 
ing your  ancestors  for  seven  generations.  Even  if  the  question  is  put  to 
a  child  and  not   promptl\-  answered,  the   person   is  considered   to  be  of 


320  PANORAMA    UF    NATIONS. 

vulgar  blood.  He  looks  upon  the  townsman  or  citizen  as  an  inferior 
being,  and  has  but  one  word  for  a  "  husbandman  "  and  "  a  poor  man." 

The  Calmucks  are  both  Turkomans  and  Kirghiz  in  many  of  their 
characteristics.  It  has  been  noticed  that  they  answer  the  exact  descrip- 
tion given  of  the  Huns,  many  centuries  ago:  short  in  stature,  with  broad 
shoulders  and  a  large  head;  small  black  eyes,  always  appearing  to  be 
half  shut,  and  slanting  downward  toward  the  nose,  which  is  tlat  with  wide 
nostrils;  hair  black,  coarse  and  straight;  complexion  deeply  swarthy. 
They  live  in  the  saddle,  restlessly  roaming  over  a  great  territory  in 
Chinese  Tartary  and  Siberia.  What  religion  they  have  will  fall  under 
the  head  of  Shamanism,  or  spirit  worship.  This  immense  conglomera- 
tion of  superstitions  rests  upon  the  tribes  of  Siberia  from  Turkestan  and 
China  to  the  Arctic  Ocean,  and  w^ill  be  revealed  in  succeeding  pages  in 
all  its  curious  and  hideous  details. 

The  East  Mongols,  as  distinguished  from  the  West  Mongols,  or 
Calmucks,  inhabit  Mongolia  or  Chinese  Tartary;  another  family  of  Mon- 
gols being  the  Buriats  of  Siberia.  The  Mongolians  still  retain  their 
tribal  distinctions  and  are  governed  by  hereditary  princes,  many  of  whom 
claim  descent  from  their  great  emperor,  Genghis  Khan.  The  tribes  are 
divided  into  standards;  there  is  a  recognized  Mongolian  aristocracy;  and 
to  retain  a  weak  grasp  upon  the  country  China  gives,  materially,  as 
much  as  she  receives,  in  the  shape  of  annual  presents  to  the  chiefs  and 
priests  who  constitute  the  real  government.  The  Mongols  are  devotees 
of  Lamaism,  a  corrupted  Buddhism,  and  their  spiritual  ruler  is  the 
Grand  Eama  of  Thibet.  China,  therefore,  must  conciliate  not  only  the 
Mongolian  aristocrats  but  the  Lamas,  the  latter  even  having  more  influ- 
ence with  the  people  than  the  Chinese  Government.  It  is  still,  however, 
an  integral  part  of  the  empire,  and  further  dealings  with  its  people 
must  be  deferred. 


^ 


c 


<5- 


THE  ARCTICS. 

TRIP  throuL,'^h    tlic  frozen   regions  of  the  world  is  a  mighty 
journey,  but  it  is  to  be  taken  all  the  way  by  land,  after  a  pas- 
sage of  Behring  Strait  has  been  effected.     The  races  and  tribes 
-^'SW'  of  men  which  are  met  in  this  overland  trip  are  of  the  Mongo- 
^    lian   types,   the  ugliest  of   them  all  being  the  Calmucks,  w.ho 
their    allegiance    between    the  Russian  and    Chinese 
1      Empires  and  Turkestan,  their  tribes  roving  from  the  Don  to 
the  western  borders  of  China.     They  are  descendants  of  the 
Scythians  of  antiquity,  and  proudly  place  themselves  among 
the  ]Mono;ols  and  Tartars  of  more  modern  date. 


')'(0'/l(^      divide 


THE  UGLY  CALMUCK  AGAIN. 


The  Calmucks  are  generally  of  a  medium  height,  robust  and  broad 
in  the  shoulders,  but  with  bow  legs,  and  feet  which  turn  inward.  This 
latter  peculiarity  may  be  caused  by  the  fact  that  they  are  a  nation  of 
horsemen  and  spend  most  of  their  lives  in  the  saddle.  Their  skin  is 
naturally  quite  white,  but  exposure  to  all  sorts  of  weather,  and  to  cabin 
smoke  and  soot  in  winter,  have  given  it  a  swarthy  tinge.  The  fine  black 
hair  of  the  women,  and  the  white  regular  teeth  of  both  sexes,  are  about 
the  only  claims  to  beauty  which  the  people  have  as  a  race.  They  have 
the  oblique  eyes  of  the  Mongolian,  black  and  thin  eyebrows,  nose  flat 
and  broad  at  the  point,  head  and  face  very  round,  ears  large  and  promi- 
nent, and  lips  thick  and  protruding.  Where  they  have  intermarried  with 
the  Cossacks  of  Russia  some  of  this  ugliness  has  been  shaded  down, 
but  the  pure  Calmuck  glories  in  being  as  ugly  as  the  Scythian  of  the 
plains  or  the  Hun  of  Atilla's  time.  They  are  the  connecting  link 
between  the  Monfrolians  of  the  South  and  the  Monofolians  of  the  North, 
or  the  frozen  regions.  Their  native  home  they  claim  to  be  the  barren 
regions  of  Eastern  Thibet  —  which,  it  is  true,  is  cold  enough,  but  cannot 
be  considered  a  frozen  country. 

321  " 


PANORAMA    OV    NATIONS. 


THE  SAMOYEDS. 


North  of  the  Siberian  Calmucks  is  the  bulk  of  the  Samoyeds,  once 
a  very  numerous  people  \vho  occupied  the  vast  Siberian  plain  bounded 
b)- the  Altai  Mountains,  Turkestan,  the  Ural  Mountains  and  the  Arctic 
Ocean.  \^arious  tribes  of  Turks,  Tartars  and  Mongols  split  and  scat- 
tered this  great  body  of  people,  leaving  one  portion  of  it  lying  on  the 
Yenisei  and  Obi  rivers,  in  Southern  Siberia,  and  the  other  near  the  Arc- 
tic Circle  in  Russia.      Fra-'mcnts  of  the  tribe  are  found  scattered   alone 


CAL.MUCK  DWELLINGS. 

the  dreary  shores  of  the  Arctic  Ocean  from  Archangel  in  Europe  to  the 
Lena   River    in    Eastern  Siberia. 

SHAMANISM. 


The  .Samoyeds  have  been  very  little  influenced  by  the  civilization 
whose  borders  they  touch.  Neither  Russia  nor  China  have  been  able  to 
wean  them  from  the  old  manners  of  their  ancestors.  In  the  frozen 
regions  of  the  Arctics  they  still  cling  to  their  ancient  religion,  which  is  a 
bewildering  combination  of  beliefs  in  witchcraft,  spiritualism,  idolatry 
and  blood)'  sacrifice.  A  man  or  a  woman  is  appointed  a  priest  by  the 
soul  of  a  deceased  member  of  the  clergy,  who  appears  to  the  individual 
in  a  dream,  and  appoints  him  or  her  his  successor.  The  ceremonies  are 
not  performed  at  any  stated  time,  but  rather  upon  some  such  important 
occasion  as  a  death  ;  the  appearance  of  some  wonder  in  the  heavens ; 


SHAMANISM.  323 

the  approach  of  famine  or  pestilence.  Then  dressed  in  a  long  robe  of 
elk-skin,  hLiny  with  brass  and  iron  bells,  and  carrying  staves  tipped  with 
figures  of  horses'  heads,  the  priest  goes  leaping  along,  or  performing 
frantic  gestures  calculated  to  awe  the  superstitious.  Having  arrived  at 
the  hut  where  he  is  to  propitiate  the  evil  demon  who  has  brought  calam- 
ity upon  the  community,  he  finds  a  reindeer  ready  for  hini,  as  a  sacrifi- 
cial offerincr.  After  all  the  persons  have  assembled  the  priest  commences 
a  weird  chant,  and  sprinkles  spirits  and  milk  upon  the  sides  of  the  hut 
and  over  the  fire.  He  then  orders  the  animal  to  be  killed.  It  is  there- 
upon seized  by  some  of  those  present,  and  its  heart  literally  torn  from 
its  body,  after  which  the  skin  is  stripped  bfi,  and  its  flesh,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  few  pieces  which  are  thrown  into  the  fire,  is  consumed  by  the 
persons  assembled. 

When  the  priest  is  about  to  commune  with  the  spirits,  a  great  fire 
is  sometimes  built  in  the  open  air,  and  those  who  are  to  take  part  circle 
around  it,  shrieking  and  beating  drums  and  tom-toms,  and  twisting  them- 
selves like  snakes  possessed  with  devils.  The  priest  is  the  most  furious 
of  them  all,  his  great  fur  robe,  covered  with  bones  and  the  metal  images 
of  birds  and  beasts,  waving  around  him,  and  his  stave  of  office  assisting 
him  to  outdo  the  best  of  the  common  worshipers.  After  a  time  he  falls 
to  the  ground,  ostensibly  seized  by  some  mysterious  power,  foaming  at 
the  mouth  and  writhing  in  torture.  His  people  then  cast  a  heap  of  skins 
upon  him,  having  previously  slipped  a  noose  around  his  neck,  and  when 
tlic)-  think  that  he  has  been  in  communication  with  the  spirits  long 
enough,  pull  at  the  cord  with  all  their  strength.  At  this  juncture  the 
priest  is  believed  by  non-devotees  to  slip  his  hand  or  arm  in  the  noose, 
and  thus  protect  his  precious  neck.  He  makes  a  sign,  at  all  events,  that 
the  spirits  have  left  him  and  that  he  is  ready  to  divulge  their  communi- 
cations. The  people  tell  of  instances  where  the  evil  spirits  have  stran- 
gled their  priest. 

The  antics  and  tricks  of  this  priest  of  the  so-called  Shaman  religion 
vary  with  the  people  among  whom  he  lives.  He  will  therefore  appear 
in  many  transformation  scenes,  as"  he  is  found  among  nearly  all  the 
tribes  of  Siberia.  Where  the  Greek  Church  even  has  made  converts 
they  cling  stubbornly  to  their  ancient  idols  and  charms  ;  but  when  one 
of  these  partially  Christianized  hyperboreans  is  questioned  as  to  their 
presence  he  passes  them  off  as  household  ornaments.  In  the  mind  of 
the  unadulterated  idolater,  the  idol  and  the  sacred  bear  or  reindeer  can 
scarcely  be  separated  ;  as  witness  the  following  discovery,  lately  made 
on  the  shores  of  the  Kara  Sea,  which  indents  the  coast  of  both  the 
Russias  :     "Traces  of  men,  some  of  whom  had  gone  barefoot,  and  of 


PANORAMA    OK    XATUJNS. 


Samoyed  sledges  were  visible  on  the  beach.  Close  to  the  shore  was 
found  a  sacrificial  altar,  consisting  of  about  fifty  skulls  of  the  ice-bear, 
walrus  and  reindeer  bones,  laid  in  a  heap.      In   tlie  middit;  of  the   heap 


s 
< 
u 

Q 

m 
> 
o 

< 


of  bones,  there  stood,  raised  up,  two  idols,  roughly  hewn  from  drift- 
wood roots,  newly  besmeared  in  the  eyes  and  mouth  with  blood  ;  also 
two  poles,    provided  with  hooks,  from  which  hung  bones  of   the  reindeer 


HOW    THEY    DRESS.  325 

and  bear.     Close  by  was  a  fire-place,  and  a  heap  of  reindeer  bones,  the 
latter  clearly  a  remnant  of  a  sacrificial  meal." 

HOW  THEY  DRESS. 

The  Samoyeds  do  not  greatly  differ  from  the  Calmucks  in  personal 
appearance.  When  equipped  for  hunting  or  for  a  long  journey,  the 
native  is  not  much  to  be  seen  ;  he  seems  but  a  huge  bundle  of  reindeer 
skins,  and  yet  the  weight  of  his  garments  is  said  to  be  so  scientifically 
distributed  as  to  offer  slight  impediment  to  his  motions.  He  has  on  a 
pair  of  drawers  made  of  curried  reindeer  skin,  which  reach  to  his  knees; 
soft  stockings,  made  of  the  pelts  of  a  reindeer  fawn,  with  the  hair  next 
to  the  skin  ;  boots  of  reindeer  hide,  with  the  hair  outside,  both  on  leg 
and  sole  ;  a  sack-like  garment  of  young  deer  skins  sewn  together,  open 
in  front,  with  sleeves  and  gloves,  the  hair  of  the  blouse  being  next  to 
the  skin,  and  of  the  gloves  invariably  outside ;  over  this  garment  is 
another  reindeer  jacket  with  the  hairy  side  out,  so  that  the  body  is  pro- 
tected by  a  thick  covering,  with  fur  on  both  sides,  which  is  the  beau- 
ideal  of  a  cold-resisting  garment.  Attached  to  all  this  is,  of  course,  the 
close-fitting  hood, which  leaves  the  temples,  cheek  bones  and  chin  exposed. 

The  women  are  distinguished  from  their  lords  by  wearing  a  short 
pelisse,  or  cloak,  and  also  by  choosing  various  colored  skins  of  the 
wolf  and  fox,  leaving  the  tail  to  dangle  at  the  back  of  the  dress.  Their 
lono-  black  hair  is  braided  into  a  queue  and  ornamented  with  pieces  of 
metal  which  tinkle,  musically,  as  the  vain  creatures  go  walking  along. 
These  metallic  ornaments  are  of  brass  and  iron,  and  among  them  may 
occasionally  be  seen  such  curiosities  and  valuables  as  the  old  lock  of  a 
musket. 

When  it  is  remembered  that  the  tame  reindeer  is  the  Samoyed's 
means  of  locomotion  as  he  moves  from  place  to  place  in  search  of  game, 
and  that  the  wild  reindeer  forms  his  chief  supply  of  meat,  the  sugges- 
tion maybe  offered  that  the  Samoyed  is  the  product  of  the  reindeer; 
although  the  name  Samoyed  is  saitl  to  mean  salmon-eater  and  was 
criven  to  him  when  the  most  that  was  known  about  him  was  that  he  was 
much  criven  to  eatine  that  fish.  His  sledge  is  ornamented  with  walrus 
tusk  and  furnished  with  dolphin-skin  traces  and  seal-skin  chairs  ;  and 
as  a  salmon-eater,  pure  and  simple,  his  time  is  past.  In  earl\-  Rus- 
sian chronicles  the  word  Samoyeds  is  also  translated,  "  persons  who 
devour  each  other,"  which  points  to  a  time  when  they  were  cannibals. 

THE  OSTIAKS  AND  VOGULS. 
The  branches  of  the  widely-extended  Finnic  race  in  Northwestern 


326 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


Siberia,  commence  to  interlock  with  the  shoots  of  that  Moneolian  stock 
which  are  seen  in  every  portion  of  Asiatic  Russia.  From  the  Ural 
Mountains  to  the  Baltic  Sea  pieces  of  drift-wood  lie  scattered  alone  the 
route  taken  by  the  great  body  of  Huns,  which  after  it  had  broken  itself 
against  the  Chinese  Empire,  moved  westward,  recruiting  its  strength  as 
it  went.  Four  centuries  after  this  emigration,  when  the  empire  of  the 
Huns  was  at  the  height  of  its  power,  and  wave  after  wave  of  barbaric 
warriors  swept  over  Europe,  Persia  and  India,  the  races  of  the  north 
crushed  the  center  of  its  power,  which  was  on  Russian  soil,  and  the 
mighty  fabric,  with  Atilla's  death,  went  to  pieces. 

In  tlie  Finns  proper,  of  European  Russia,  are  believed  to  be 
embodied  the  purest  representatives  of  that  race  which  made  the  circuit 
of  so  large  a  portion  of  the  civilized  world  in  its  career  of  conquest. 

But  that  historic  ground  must  be  ap- 
proached through  the  territory  of  two 
tubes  of  people,  who  either  were  left  be- 
hmd  by  the  great  body  of  Hunnish 
emigrants,  or  at  a  very  early  day  were 
driven  up  from  the  South.  Reference  is 
made  to  the  Ostiaks  and  the  Vocruls. 

North  of  the  Ostiaks  are  the  Samoyeds, 
^^  and  to  their  west  the  Voguls.  They 
occupy  the  country  between  the  Obi  and 
'\enisei  rivers.  Their  villages  consist 
of  four  or  five  tents  of  felt  and  the  in- 
mates are  peaceable,  jovial,  honest,  in- 
^Luious  and  poor. 

The  Ostiaks  resemble  the  Calmucks, 
being  short  in  stature,  with  flat  faces  and 
reddish  hair ;  and  as  men  and  women  dress 
in  reindeer  skins  they  seem  to  be  quite  a  monotonous  sort  of  people. 
Some  members  of  the  race  use  the  skin  of  eels  for  clothing.  When 
well  rubbed  with  fat  it  is  said  to  be  more  impervious  to  cold  than  fur 
itself.  Their  skins  are  also  used  as  windows  to  their  square  wooden 
huts. 

In  the  neighborhood  of  the  Obi  they  have  ceased  to  wear  their 
native  costume  and  have  partially  adopted  the  Russian  dress.  Here 
also  they  possess  no  reindeer,  their  wealth  consisting  of  light  canoes 
and  fishing  tackle.  A  native  who  has  property  valued  at  $ioo  would  be 
placed  among  the  capitalists  of  his  people.  With  how  much  truth  it  is 
impossible  to  say,  but  the  report  runs  that  an  Ostiak  father  is  not  averse 


FISHING    AND    HUNTING. 


327 


to  selling  his  daughter  to  any  native  in  search  of  a  wife.  The  average 
prices  given  are  from  $100  to  $150  in  money  ;  a  horse,  a  cow  or  an  ox  ; 
from  seven  to  ten  pieces  of  clothing  ;  a  measure  of  meal,  a  few  hops  and 
some  brandy  for  the  wedding  feast. 

FISHING  AND  HUNTING. 


In  their  methods  of  fishing  and  hunting  they  show  much  ingenuity. 
To  capture  the  huge  sturgeons  which,  during  the  winter,  lie  in  the 
muddy  hollows  of  the  rivers,  bunched  together  in  huge  masses  for  the 
sake  of  warmth,  he  sets  a  tempting  bait,  and  then  cutting  a  hole  in  the 
ice,  down  stream,  he  drops 
into  it  red-hot  balls  of  clay. 
When  the  fish  feel  the 
water  getting  warm 
around  them  they  bestir 
themselves  and,  as  is  their 
habit,  commence  to  swim 
up  stream.  Thus  one  or 
more  soon  falls  a  victim  to 
the  Ostiak's  ingenuity. 

For  building  their 
large  boats  the  Ostiaks 
use  the  Siberian  cedar, 
which  is  firmly  grained, 
but  free  from  knots  and 
easily  worked.  Having 
no  saws  they  take  a  tree 
two  or  three  feet  in  diam- 
eter, split  it  in  two,  and 
of  each  half  make  a  wide 
thin  board,  or  the  side  of 
the     craft       The     poplar  a.n  .  >m  ,  >,k  r.>.,iii.,. 

furnishes  them  with  their  canoes,  which  are  hollowed  from  its  trunk. 
Their  bows,  which  are  taller  than  themselves,  are  made  by  joining 
a  flexible  slip  of  l)irch  to  a  species  of  hard  pine  wood,  fish-glue  being 
used  to  cement  the  pieces  together.  The  arrows,  which  are  finely  feath- 
ered and  four  feet  in  length,  have  blunt  heads  of  iron  so  that  the 
ermines,  sables,  squirrels  and  other  animals  are  killed  without  injury  to 
their  skins.    The  reindeer  or  elk  is  brous/ht  to  earth  with  an  arrow  which 


328  PANORAMA    (JK    NATIONS. 

has  a  heavier  head  made  in  tlie  form  of  a  lozenge.  The  bows  are  very- 
powerful  and  the  recoil  of  the  string-  is  so  heavy  that  strong  plates  of 
horn  are  worn  upon  the  left  forearm  as  a  precaution  against  bruised 
and  bleeding  tlesh.  Wonderful  stories  are  told  of  their  feats  of  archery, 
as  witness  :  An  Ostiak  marked  an  arrow  in  the  middle  with  a  piece  of 
charcoal  and  discharged  it  into  the  air,  whilst  a  second  man,  before  it 
reached  the  groimd,  shot  at  the  descending  shaft  and  struck  it  on  the 
mark. 

The  Ostiak's  clock  is  the  constellation  of  the  Great  Bear  ;  his  nap- 
kin a  broad  shaving-  from  the  larch,  from  which  tree  also  he  makes  laths 
for  his  hut  ;  his  snuf^,  of  which  he  is  passionately  fond,  a  fungus  of  the 
birch  tree,  pounded  and  mixed  with  tobacco.  The  manner  of  taking  his 
nip  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  Chinese,  viz: — pouring  a  small  quantity 
of  the  snuff  upon  the  right  thumb.  The  Ostiak  plays  upon  an  instru- 
meiit  of  five  strings,  shaped  like  a  boat  and  improvises  and  dramatizes 
his  songs  as  he  goes  along.  Sometimes  an  exciting  local  incident,  such 
as  the  eating  of  a  child  by  a  bear,  will  furnish  a  community  with 
material  upon  which  to  exercise  their  musical  and  dramatic  talents  for 
many  years. 

THEIR  IDOLATRY. 

The  Ostiaks  are  pagans  and  idolaters  of  the  most  uncompromising 
description.  They  have  four  gods,  who  are  represented  by  their  idols  as 
creatures  without  legs,  one  of  them  ha\ing  especial  charge  of  the  healing 
arts.  One  of  their  deities  is  Ortik,  the  sanie  Ordog  (  or  Evil  One  ), 
which  is  found  amono-  the  Hunoarians,  who  are  also  a  Finnic  tribe. 
They  also  have  their  great  sword  dances  in  honor  of  one  of  their  gods, 
over  which  the  Shaman  presides  and  who  collects  the  weapons  after  his 
people  have  waved  them  about  and  screamed  long  enough.  The  dance 
takes  place  near  some  of  the  great  fair  towns,  and  is  enlivened  by  the 
antics  of  professional  buffoons  and  posture-makers.  Both  sexes  join  in 
the  dance  and  bow  themselves  periodically  before  their  legless  idols. 
The  Asiatic  Ostiaks  and  the  European  Hungarians,  or  Magyars,  have 
another  band  of  union  and  indication  of  their  common  origin  in  this 
hideous  sword  dance.  It  is  of  such  a  nature  as  one  imagines  would  have 
delighted  the  Huns  who  worshiped  the  god  of  war,  under  the  symbol 
of  a  sword  set  iii  the  ground,  and  bowed  down  as  to  a  god  before  Atilla, 
their  leader,  who  was  wont  to  proclaim  to  his  arni\-  of  wolves  that  he 
alone  possessed  the  sword  of  Mars. 

The  Ostiaks  maintain  that  they  believe  in  one  .Supreme  God  whose 
likeness  cannot  be  reproduced.       As  a  type  of  this  delt}-  they  \enerate 


NATIVE    HONESTV.  329 

the  black  bear,  as  certain  African  tribes  do  the  lion ;  but  the  Siberian 
does  not  go  as  far  as  the  negro  and  irresistingly  allow  his  type  of 
Omnipotence  to  make  a  meal  of  him.  Rather,  he  kills  and  eats  the 
bear,  but  shows  respect  for  the  carcass  in  not  allowing  a  woman  to  taste 
of  its  head.  In  a  court  of  justice  he  swears  upon  the  head  of  a  bear, 
and  by  a  dramatic  motion  of  the  jaws  intimates  that  he  invites  an  awful 
fate  to  overtake  him  if  he  does  not  tell  the  truth. 

NATIVE  HONESTY 

Honesty  is  a  prevailing  virtue  of  the  Siberians,  and  in  this  connec- 
tion it  is  a  pleasant  duty  to  notice  a  practice  which  the  merchant  of  Tob- 
olsk has  so  long  followed  that  it  has  become  a  custom.  When  he  goes 
north  in  the  summer  to  purchase  fish  he  takes  with  him  quantities  of 
flour  and  salt,  for  the  purpose  of  barter.  These  articles  he  places  in 
store-houses  from  which  he  distributes  them  to  the  Samoycds  and  Osti- 
aks  who  flock  to  him  for  miles  around.  Ufjon  having  completed  his 
tour  of  stations,  if  provisions  still  remain  he  leaves  them  unprotected, 
feeling  confident  that  if  a  hungry  Siberian  passes  that  way,  and  wants 
flour  and  salt,  he  will  not  take  them  without  leaving  a  due-bill  in  the 
shape  of  a  notched  stick.  Sometimes  during  the  coming  season  its  du- 
plicate will  be  presented  to  the  merchant  of  Tobolsk  by  the  honest  native, 
who  comes  promptly  to  liquidate  with  a  finny  load.  The  coming  gen- 
eration, if  they  cling  to  the  occupation  of  their  fathers,  will  not  be 
obliged  to  fall  back  upon  notched  sticks  under  such  circumstances,  since 
for  a  few  years  past  the  Russians  have  been  opening  schools  for  the 
natives,  one  having  been  in  operation  in  Obdorsk  for  the  Ostiaks  and 
Samoyeds  since  1879. 

THE  VOGULS. 

The  Voguls  are  a  much  smaller  tribe  than  the  Ostiaks,  some  author- 
ities placing  their  number  as  low  as  five  or  six  thousand.  Their  camp- 
ing-ground lies  between  rhe  Northern  Ural  Mountains  and  the  Tobol 
River,  the  northern  boundary  being  the  Obi.  They  are  a  roving  people, 
and  from  the  broken  and  barren  nature  of  their  country  they  are  obliged 
to  depend  upon  the  spoils  of  the  chase  for  their  subsistence.  Hunting 
regulations  are  therefore  strictly  observed.  Like  their  neighbors,  the 
Ostiaks,  their  encampments  are  never  to  exceed  five  tents  each,  and  no 
encampment  is  to  be  pitched  within  four  miles  of  another,  since  the  great 
clouds  of  smoke  which  issue  from  their  huts  are  as  distasteful  to  the 
game  as  to  the  swarms  of  gnats  which  arc  thus  kept  at  a  distance.     Th« 


JJ^ 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


atmosphere  of  the  interior  of  their  dwelHng-places  would  be  considered 
by  a  European  as  a  sure  instrument  of  death;  but  the  Yogul  lives  in  it 
and  thrives;  and  farther  north,  where  the  climate  is  more  severe  and  the 
yurt  has  no  hole  for  the  escape  of  the  smoke,  the  native  women  spend 
weeks  and  months  in  such  confinement  and  live  to  a  good  old  age. 
The  Voguls,  who  live  to  the  south,  near  the  Bashkirs,  are  somewhat 
given  to  agricultural  pursuits  ;  but  as  a  rule  theirtime  is  divided  between 
the  care  of  their  reindeer,  fishing  and  hunting,  and  taking  their  peltry  to 
the  fair  at  Obdorsk,  to  which  place  also  repair  many  of  the  Samoyeds 
and  Ostiaks. 

THE  FINNS. 


The  Finns  are  classed  as  among  the  primitive  races  of  the  world, 
their  language  bearing  a  strong  resemblance  to  that  of  the  Tartars,  Mon- 
gols, Turks,  and  the  Tungooses  of  Siberia.      That  their  language  is  of 

a  primitive   struc- 
ture   may  be    in- 
I  ferred    from     the 
■  fact  that  many  of 
.^,|  the  Avords    and  a 
•  •  greater  part  of  the 
grammatical 
Ij  forms  of    the    in- 
scriptions w  h  ic  h 


J  h  a  v  e  been  de- 
ciphered from  ex- 
cavated Assyrian 
monuments     are 

virtually  Finnish.  Evidences  are  at  hand  to  prove  that  the  system  of 
writing  then  used  (cruciform  or  cross-shaped)  was  the  invention  of  a 
people  north  of  the  valley  of  the  Mesopotamia.  As  the  philologists- 
would  make  the  Egyptians  and  the  Hottentots  one  people,  it  is  no  more- 
strange  that  Assyria  should  have  been  preceded  by  I'inland,  when  its 
people  were  Huns,  or  Tartars,  or  Mongols. 

By  ancient  historians  they  are  noticed  in  Euro|)e  as  Fenni  and 
Phinnoi,  and  horrible  tales  are  told  of  their  savage  natures  and 
actions.  Their  cousins,  the  Laplanders,  still  retain  some  of  the  traits 
given  to  them,  but  the  Finns  are  mild  and  peaceable,  though  possessing 
great  bodily  strength  and  a  splendid  physique.  In  fact,  they  are  far 
from  being  Ogres,  by  which  name  they  were  known  before  the  Teu- 
tons, or  Slavs,  came  u])  from  tlie  south  antl  drove  them  toward  the  Arc* 


A  VOGUL   EN'CAMPMENT. 


THE    CLEANLY    NATIVE. 


tics,  leaving  a  numerous  body  of  their  race  behind  in  the  persons  of  the 


modern  Hungarians. 

THE  CLEANLY  NATIVE. 

Like  most  races  of  Mongolian  extraction  that  for  centuries  have  been 
deprived  of  a  mild  Asiatic  climate  and  habits  of  Jife,  the  blood  has  been 
brought  to  the  surface  of  the  body,  where  through  a  dark  skin  it  shows 
as  a  ruddy  glow  of  health.  Even  the  rosy  cheeks  of  the  Swede,  with 
his  fair  skin,  are  of  not  so  rich  a  tint  as  those  of  the  hardy  Finn,  both 
of  whom,  unlike  the  stunted  Laplander,  believe  in  the  religion  of  soap 
and  water.  The  Finn  is  much  addicted  to  the  use  of  the  vapor  bath, 
and,  all  in  all,  with  his  high  cheek  bones,  square  jaws,  low,  broad  fore- 
head and  dark  eyes  and  hair,  he  is  a  living  illustration  of  what  genera- 
tions of  cleanliness  might  do  for  the  natives  of  both  Asia  and  Europe, 
who  have  been  pushed  north  by  stronger  people. 

The  vapor  bath  may  now  be  said  to  be  a  Sclavonic  institution,  though 
it  is  found  to  perfection  among  the  Finns.  The  bath  is  heated  to  the 
height  of  some  i6o  degrees,  the  vapor  being  produced  by  pouring  boil- 
ing water  on  red-hot  stones.  When  the  bather  is  heated  to  an  immense 
perspiration,  he  runs  out  of  the  bath  and  rolls  upon  the  grass  or  snow, 
according  to  the  season  in  which  he  finds  himself. 

Intimate  contact  with  the  Swedes  and  Russians,  with  such  diverse 
national  characteristics,  has  been  the  means  of  somewhat  dilutincr 
native  individuality ;  but  on  the  whole,  although  Finland  is  a  grand- 
duchy  of  the  Empire,  its  dependency  upon  Sweden  for  four  centuries 
has  had  most  to  do  with  modifying  the  native  crudeness  of  its  people. 
Russia  saw  with  uneasiness  the  strong  hold  which  even  the  Swedish 
language  had  upon  the  people,  long  after  the  first  part  of  this  century, 
when  she  snatched  the  province  from  Sweden ;  but,  by  imperial  dictum, 
since  1883  the  Finnish  has  been  the  official  language,  so  that  now  all 
persons  intending  to  enter  the  public  service  must  learn  the  native 
tongue. 


SAVING  A  LANGUAGE. 


The  autocrat  of  the  Russias  is  sustained  in  his  efforts  to  rehabilitate 
the  native  tongue  of  Finland  by  the  peasantry  of  the  country,  who  form 
the  bulk  of  the  population.  They  have  clung  to  their  musical  language 
throughout  all  the  centuries  of  Swedish  and  Russian  dominion,  have  had 
their  Bibles  printed  in  it,  and  have  prayed  in  it.  I'rom  them  also  the 
beauties  of  the  language  flowed  out  to  the  world  through  the  pen  of  one 
of  their   university  professors,  Elias  Loiinrot.      For  years  this  scholastic 


332-  PANORAMA    OF    XATIONS. 

patriot  wandered  around  the  country,  living  with  the  peasantry  and  gath- 
ering from  them  all  their  most  popular  native  songs.  Phis,  however, 
must  have  been  more  of  an  agreeable  task  than  otherwise,  for  the  Finns 
are  poets  and  musicians  by  nature.  This  characteristic  of  the  race  has 
already  been  noticed  among  the  Ostiaks,  an  allied  people  whose  home  is 
across  European  Russia  and  beyond  the  Ural  Mountains. 

For  generations  past  the  Finns  have  had  their  runolainen,  cr 
son";  men,  who  to  the  sound  of  their  national  instrument,  a  hve-string- 
harp,  poured  forth  melodies  of  both  a  mythological  and  heroic  nature. 
The  magic  songs  were  slowly  and  solemnly  recited  by  the  bard,  who 
sometimes  lived  alone  in  a  hut  surrounded  by  forests  and  marshes. 
Every  Finlander,  also,  was  his  own  poet,  and  no  striking  event,  public 
or  private,  but  had  its  delineator.  As  was  the  ancient  custom,  when 
verses  are  to  be  recited  two  poets  stand  in  the  midst  of  a  circle,  and 
repeat  lines  alternately,  every  second  line  beginning  with  the  last  word 
•of  the  preceding. 

The  result  of  this  universal  aptitude  for  poesy  and  song  was  to 
bring  the  professor  a  very  large  grist  from  which  he  could  cull  the  best  ; 
the  result  was  23,000  verses,  which  contain  an  epitome  of  the  ancient 
superstitions  of  the  Finnic  race,  with  heroic  deeds  and  legends,  love- 
makings  and  songs.  Kalevala,  the  ancient  name  of  Finland,  was  the 
title  of  the  poem  which  is  regarded  by  scholars,  generally,  as  a  remarka- 
ble addition  to  the  epic  literature  of  the  world.  Professor  Max  Miiller, 
for  example,  says  that  Kalevala  possesses  merits  not  dissimilar  from 
those  of  the  Iliad,  and  will  "claim  its  place  as  the  fifth  national  epic  of 
the  world,  side  by  side  with  the  Ionian  songs,  with  the  Mahabarata,  the 
Shananich  and  the  Niebelunge."  This  great  heroic  poem  was  published 
fifty  years  ago.  Some  time  afterwards  Professor  Loiinrot  gave  to  the 
world  7,000  Finnish  proverbs  and  2,000  charades,  and  since  then  the 
Russian,  English,  Swedish,  French  and  German  scholars  have  joined 
the  Czar  and  the  yeomanry  in  insisting  that  the  language  shall  be  main- 
tained in  its  purity. 

Aniither  native  professor  was  tlie  first  navigator  to  pass  from  the 
Arctic  to  the  Pacific  ocean  via  Behring  Strait  —  the  northeast  passage 
around  Asia  prophesied  over  three  hundred  years  ago.  Other  native 
F'inns  have  made  their  marks  as  poets  and  scientists,  the  literar\-  life  of 
the  country  centering  around  the  university  at  Helsingfors,  the  capital 
•of  the  Duchy,  antl  of  whose  faculty  both  of  these  professors  were  mem- 
bers. The  university  was  founded  at  Abo,  with  the  introduction  of 
printing  into  I'inland,  two  and  a  half  centuries  ago.  The  library  was 
subsequently    removed  to    the  capital.       When    founded    it    contained 


AN    ANCIENT    CITY.  2i33 

twt'nty-one  books  and  a  globe  ;  it  now  numbers  over  150,000  volumes. 
HeLsingfors  is  on  the  Gulf  of  Finland.  It  is  protected  by  a  huge  for- 
tress, built  on  seven  islands  and  known  as  the  Gibraltar  of  the  North. 
The  streets  of  the  capital  are  broad  ;  the  houses  large  ;  public  build- 
ings, cathedrals  and  opera  houses  appear  to  convince  the  skeptical  that 
Finland  is  not  entirely  a  dreary  country  lying  on  the  shores  of  a  gulf, 
soaked  with  bogs  and  marshes,  and  covered  with  a  lot  of  good-natured 
know-nothincrs  on  snow  shoes. 


&" 


AN  ANCIENT  CITY. 

Before  proceeding  to  more  intimately  investigate  the  people,  as 
peasants  and  home  people,  a  glimpse  should  be  taken  of  Finland's  most 
ancient  city,  Abo  by  name,  and  founded  near  the  Gulf  of  Finland  on  the 
River  Aurijaki,  more  than  seven  hundred  years  ago.  In  1827  a  destruc- 
tive fire  swept  away  all  the  old  landmarks  except  a  ruined  castle  on  a 
hill,  placed  there  when  the  authority  of  Sweden  was  somewhat  unstable. 
At  Abo  resides  the  Archbishop  of  the  Lutheran  church. 

For  miles  around  the  Finns  flock  on  Sunday,  some  on  foot,  some 
in  two-wheeled  rigs,  and  others  in  long  boats  which  accommodate  parties 
of  thirty  or  forty.  The  women  do  the  rowing,  and  the  men  lounge 
smoking  in  the  stern  of  the  boat.  The  costumes  of  the  women  are  gay 
in  the  extreme,  at  all  times. 

The  men  make  a  special  effort  to  appear  well  on  Sunday,  but  the 
every-day  attire  of  the  Finns  is  about  as  follows  :  A  coat  of  coarse 
woolen  stuff,  made  with  little  regard  to  shape  and  tied  around  the  body 
with  a  band  ;  a  pair  of  coarse  linen  trousers,  straw  shoes,  and  bits  of 
woolen  cloth,  or  ropes  of  straw  around  their  legs.  In  Russian  Finland 
the  natives  seem  to  be  more  hardy  than  their  conquerors  and  seldom  wear 
the  sheep-skin. 

In  more  important  ways  the  two  people  are  radically  different.  The 
Finns  do  not  support  a  nobility  ;  but  they  uphold  a  species  of  caste  in 
that  the  peasant,  though  far  in  the  majority,  allows  the  citizen  or  mer- 
chant to  take  precedence  of  him  ;  and  he  does  this  although  he  is  manu- 
facturer as  well  as  agriculturist. 


& 


THE  FARMER. 

In  Finland  the  farmer  prepares  his  own  tar,  potash  and  charcoal, 
builds  his  own  boat,  makes  his  own  table  and  chairs,  and  in  his  cot- 
tage are  woven  the  coarse  woolen  .  A  .  -.her  fabrics  of  which  his  dress  is 
composed.      Much  tar,  pitch  and  potasr   ire  also  exported.      But  a  great 


33^1 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


source  of  wealth  is  the  immense  quantities  of  fir  and  pine  which  are  cut 
from  the  forests  in  the  southern  part  of  the  country.  They  are  fast  dis- 
appearing, however,  since  not  only  is  an  abundance  of  firewood  exported, 
but  the  peasant,  when  his  land  has  become  impoverished,  resorts  to  the 
extravagant  policy  of  selecting  a  finely  timbered  piece  of  ground  and 
then  burning  off  the  trees  that  the  soil  may  be  enriched  with  the  ashes. 
The  yeoman's  hut  contains  a  single  room,  warmed  by  a  large  stove, 
the  smoke  of  which  goes  out  either  at  the  windows  or  through  a  hole  in 
the  roof.  Pine  knots  furnish  him  with  light,  and  whether  he  live 
in  the  marshy,  mossy  East,  or  the  mountainous  North,  he  is  pretty 
certain  to  be,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  an  affectionate,  honest,  hospit- 
able sort  of  a  fellow,  inclined  to  be  lazy,  deliberate  in  speech,  but  good 
at  heart,  and  ever  verging  upon  the  melanchoh'. 

The  Finns  in 
the  southwestern 
part  of  the  prov- 
ince call  them- 
selves Flama- 
laiseth.  They 
are  breeders  of 
cattle  as  well  as 
agriculturists, 
but  are  poor  and 
rude  compared 
to  the  eastern 
tribe  of  Ka- 
r  eli  a  n  s.  The 
former     number 

600,000  and  the  latter  over  1,000,000  people.  From  Finland  east 
of  the  Ural  Mountains,  and  as  far  south  as  the  middle  Volga  River, 
the  branches  of  the  Finnic  race  interlace  with  those  of  the  Slavic,  so 
that  the  two  people  seem  often  as  one.  But  for  the  present  we  must 
leave  these  interspersed  Finns,  who  number  two  million  and  a  half 
of  people,  and  go  among  a  really  uncivilized  and  peculiar  people  — 
real  hyperboreans — Finns,  also,  and  yet  not  the  poetic,  musical,  hand- 
some Finns  of  Finland. 

THE  LAPPS. 

The  true  Laplanders  do  not  number  more  than  thirty  thousand 
people,  and  inhabit  the  northern  parts  of  Norway,  Sweden  and  Russia, 
Their  dreary  country  of  rock,  snow  and  moss  will  probably  remain  their 


CAPE    WASIIIM.  KiX. 


A    MATTER-UI-KACT    PEOPLE. 


535 


own  as  long  as  they  exist  as  a  people,  and  this  in  spite  of  a  few  fertile 
spots  and  its  poetical  nights.  The  climate  is  extremely  cold  for  nine 
months  of  the  year.  July  and  August  are  excessively  hot,  the  sun  being 
above  the  horizon  for  several  weeks.  These  extremes  of  heat  and  cold 
are  separated  by  a  rainy  spring  and  autumn  of  about  two  weeks.  Win- 
ter is  night  and  summer  is  day,  and  although  the    gulf-stream     makes 


LAPLANDERS. 

existence  upon  the  coast  more  bearable  than  in  the  interior,  the  Lapp  is 
a  poor,  monotonous,  ignorant  creature  of  circumstances;  driven  from  the 
south  by  the  Finns  and  Scandinavians,  he  barely  exists,  physically  and 
intellectually  unfortunate. 

A  MATTER-OF-FACT  PEOPLE. 
The  Lapps  are  supposed  to  be  the  Cynocephali  and   Pygmies  of 


36 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


Herodotus,  and  with  their  squat  body  and  bow  legs,  yellow  skin,  and 
head  poised  on  a  short  round  neck,  bear  a  decidedly  unfavorable  contrast 
to  the  Finns.  They  are  agile,  but  quickly  exhausted  by  active  work. 
The  severity  of  their  climate  and  the  exposure  which  they  undergo  test 
their  powers  of  entlurance  to  the  utmost  ;  but  everything  is  taken  in  the 
most  matter-of-fact  way.  If  a  Lajip  gets  overtaken  by  a  snow  storm  on 
the  mountains,  such  as  would  appall  the  heart  of  the  bravest  foreigner, 
he  simply  gets  under  his  sledge,  and  when  the  trouble  is  over  commences 
to  dig  his  way  to  liberty.  He  will  not  starve,  for  he  has  been  filling 
himself  full  of  raw  fish,  meat  and  blubber,  while  he  could  ;  besides  he 
has  a  stock  on  hand.  His  reindeer  are  as  fitted  to  the  country  as  he, 
and  will  take  care  of  themselves.  Ordinarily  his  steeds  are  docile  and 
make  no  trouble;  but  during  the  fall  and  winter  they  sometimes  become 
furious  to  free  themselves,  and  turn  upon  the  little  Lapp  like  wild  beasts. 
The  driver   is  powerless  to  withstand   them;  so  he  quietly  but   expedi- 

liouslygetsoutof 
his  snow  sledge, 
crawls  under  it 
and  allows  the 
reindeer  to  have 
it  out  to  their 
hearts'  content. 
The  Lapp  shows 
ingenuity,  as  well 
as  coolness,  in 
^  accepting  his  sit- 
uation and  mak- 
ing the  best  of  it. 

The  women  are  very  skillful  in  making  garments,  and  the  men  cut 
outof  wood,  with  astonishing  ingenuity  —  considering  the  imperfect  tools 
they  employ  —  all  the  utensils  they  need.  Many  still  hunt  with  the  bow 
and  arrow,  but  some  have  gained  possession  of  fire-arms,  which  they  use 
with  effect. 

In  the  Sagas,  or  national  songs  of  Scandinavia,  the  Lapps  are  repre- 
sented as  a  treacherous,  deceitful  race  and  adtlicted  to  every  heathen 
practice  ;  these  national  songs  also  admit  them  to  have  been  the  original 
inhabitants  of  the  entire  peninsula  of  Scandinavia.  Whatever  their 
dispositions  in  ancient  times,  they  seem  at  least  to  be  honest.  Those 
who  know  them  bt-st,  however,  make  a  distinction  between  the  Sea 
Lapps  and  the  Mountain  La])ps.  The  Mountain  Lapps,  or  those  of  the 
interior,   best  answer   Tacitus"  tiescription   of    the    Fenni,  who,    in   his 


LAPLAND   SLEDGE. 


A    RELIGIOUS    MIXTURE.  337 

time,  inhabited  Finland  ;  and  they  seem  to  still  harbor  an  animosity 
toward  all  their  ancient  enemies  of  Scandinavia  and  Russia,  being 
haughty  and  morose.  The  Lapps  who  live  on  the  coast,  on  the  other 
hand,  are  hospitable  and  light-hearted. 

A  RELIGIOUS  MIXTURE. 

The  superstitions  of  the  Lapp  have,  to  a  great  extent,  been  coun- 
teracted by  the  efforts  of  the  Norwegian  Lutherans  on  one  side  and  the 
Russians,  or  adherents  of  the  Greek  church,  on  the  other.  The  Bible 
has  been  translated  into  their  own  language.  But  even  with  the  Christian 
rites  which  they  have  adopted,  they  retain  some  of  their  old  superstitions, 
many  of  them  regarding  the  sacrament  as  a  powerful  charm  to  preserve 
them  from  evil  spirits. 

Others  practice  a  species  of  necromancy  with  the  Runic  drum.  This 
is  a  wooden  instrument  hung  closely  round  with  brass  rings.  The  head 
is  covered  with  mystic  figures,  and  the  instruments  are  esteemed  accord- 
ing to  their  antiquity.  If  any  important  matter  is  to  be  determined  a 
ring  is  placed  upon  the  drum  head,  which  is  repeatedly  struck  with  a 
deer  horn,  and  the  omen  is  considered  good  or  bad  according  to  the 
figures  the  ring  touches.  There  are  private  drums  and  public  drums, 
the  latter  being  manipulated  by  an  official  soothsayer,  who  drinks 
enough  brandy  to  make  him  drunk  ;  when  he  comes  to  himself  he  tells 
the  people  how  he  has  been  to  one  of  their  holy  mountains,  and  what 
explanation  one  of  their  deities  gave  him  for  the  prevalence  of  the  sick- 
ness among  themselves  or  their  reindeer. 

Those  who  have  not  been  converted  to  Christianity  worship  four 
orders  of  divinities  —  celestial,  atmospheric,  manes  and  demons.  They 
have  one  Supreme  Creator,  assisted  by  his  virgin  wife  and  their  son. 
There  are  gods  of  beasts  and  fishes;  of  the  rainbow  and  lightning  ;  of 
the  air  and  mountains;  of  death  and  of  the  souls  who  are  passing  to  the 
shades  below.  The  immortality  of  the  soul  and  a  future  state  of  rewards 
and  punishments  are  a  part  of  the  heathen  belief.  Several  of  the  gods 
are  of  Teutonic  origin,  some  of  the  ancient  historians,  indeed,  placing 
the  Lapps  among  the  Teutons.  There  also  seems  to  be  among  them 
remains  of  Druidical  institutions.  The  very  name  of  Lapp  signifies  a 
wizard,  and  considering  how  for  centuries  their  dark  minds  were  filled 
with  all  manner  of  gods,  evil  spirits,  charms  and  omens,  and  the  aversion 
with  which  they  were  viewed  by  both  Scandinavians  and  Russians,  it  is 
remarkable  that  they  have  cast  away  so  much  that  is  useless.  Since 
they  have  become  partially  Christianized,  the   Norwegians  allow  them 


338  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

burial  privileges  in  their  villages,  but  will  not  let  them  settle  in  their 
midst.  Many  of  the  Lapps  are  baptized  when  young,  and  their  weddings 
take  place  in  Norwegian  churches  ;  but  the  great,  healthy,  clean  Norwe- 
gian and  Swede  do  not  amalgamate  with  the  dwarfish,  greasy,  smoky 
Lapp. 

SOCIAL  PICTURES. 

Polygamy  is  not  prohibited  among  the  Lapps,  but  the  high  price 
of  a  wife  virtually  confines  the  practice  to  those  who  are  the  owners  of 
many  reindeer;  it  is  a  question  whether  polyandry  is  not  more  common 
than  polygamy.  The  daughter  of  a  rich  man  costs  sometimes  as  much  as 
a  hundred  reindeer,  while  a  poor  girl  is  seldom  sold  for  less  than  twenty. 
This  price  they  consider  as  a  repayment  of  the  expenses  incurred  in 
bringing  up  a  daughter,  and  also  as  a  remuneration  to  the  father  for 
losing  her  services.  In  his  turn,  the  dowry  which  goes  with  his  daugh- 
ter consists  of  reindeer  proportionate  in  number  to  his  wealth  ;  so  that 
if  he  should  be  the  owner  of  five  thousand  reindeer,  as  sometimes 
happens,  and  should  sell  his  daughter  for  one  hundred,  passing  her 
dowry  over  with  her,  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  he  wou.d  make  much  out 
of  the  transaction. 

A  native  wedding  solemnized  in  a  Norwegian  church  reveals  the 
bride  and  groom  before  the  altar,  each  a  trifie  over  four  feet  tall,  and 
nearly  as  broad,  and  thus  attired  :  The  woman  in  a  dark  blue  woolen 
tunic,  with  orange  and  red  trimmings,  her  boots  fastened  with  a  vari- 
colored ribbon  which  is  wound  round  them,  extending  half  way  to  the 
knee  ;  over  her  shoulders  a  small,  gay-colored  shawl  ;  upon  her  head  a 
brilliant  cap,  with  a  huge  bunch  of  narrow  ribbons  streaming  behind. 
The  man  is  dressed  in  a  similar  style,  except  his  tunic  is  shorter  and  his 
turban  more  simple.  After  the  service  presents  are  exchanged,  con- 
sisting of  rings,  silver  cups,  silk  neckerchiefs,  and  sometimes,  if  the 
parties  are  very  rich,  silver  girdles  ;  then  comes  the  brandy  drinking, 
which,  with  eating  and  hunting,  constitutes  all  which  the  Laplander  calls 
amusement. 

Men  may  marry  at  eighteen  and  women  at  fifteen,  and  divorces 
are  unknown.  The  contracting  parties  lead  in  the  festivities,  seated 
side  by  side  upon  a  box  or  rude  stool.  A  great  dish  stands  upon  a 
small  table,  and  from  this  the  company  take  lumps  of  meat,  cut  them 
into  smaller  pieces  with  the  large  knives  they  wear  about  their  waists, 
and  swallow  them  at  a  gulp.  Friends  continue  to  pour  in  to  offer  their 
congratulations,  and  stay  to  eat  the  pieces  of  meat,  and  drink  the  brandy, 
or  finkel.     The  smiling  and  chattintr  change    to    boisterous  laughter 


SEA  COAST  AND    MOUNTAIN    LAPPS.  339 

and  shouts,  and  the  happy  couple  commence  their  married  life,  inva- 
riably, as  two  unblushing  bacchanals.  The  fact  that  the  young  woman 
is  rapidly  approaching  her  mother  in  hideousness  will,  however,  have 
no  effect  in  making  the  girl  treat  some  other  old  woman  with  due 
respect.  She  may  behave  decently  toward  her  mother,  but  the  tend- 
ency of  the  race  is  to  look  upon  the  old  as  so  many  useless  append- 
ages, and  it  is  not  uncommon,  when  they  fall  sick  upon  a  journey,  to 
provide  them  with  a  scanty  supply  of  food  and  leave  them  behind  in 
the  snow.  The  young  people,  living  so  much  in  the  open  air  and  in 
such  a  temperature,  will  not  at  first  show  the  effects  of  imbibing  such 
quantities  of  finkel — a  native  brandy  distilled  from  corn,  and  which  has 
been  described  as  a  mixture  of  turpentine,  train  oil  and  bad  molasses. 
But  the  life  they  lead  may  account  for  the  appearance  of  the  average 
Lapp  face  which  has  withstood  the  rigors  of  a  quarter  of  a  century  or 
less. 

The  faces  of  young  and  old  are  deeply  lined  and  furrowed,  so  as  to 
resemble  rough  masks.  In  a  few  years  the  girl's  old  mother,  with  her 
deer-skin  frock  reaching  below  her  knees  and  patched  with  gay  Scotch 
tartan  ;  her  rough  reindeer-skin  boots,  with  flaps  like  an  oxford  tie,  well 
turned  up  at  the  toes  and  stuffed  with  hay  ;  her  high  blue  woolen  cap  in 
stovepipe  shape,  beneath  which  straggle  her  shaggy,  black  locks,  and 
peers  forth  the  expressionless  mask  —  this  unearthly-looking,  dried-up 
being,  still  clinging  to  the  gaudy  tastes  of  her  race,  will  in  a  few  years 
commence  to  look  more  like  a  sister  than  a  mother  to  the  girl.  The 
Swedes  are  a  very  imaginative  people  and  quite  superstitious,  and,  by 
looking  at  these  uncanny  Lapps,  it  can  well  be  seen  how  these  Northern 
pygmies  should  have  stood  in  their  minds  for  the  trolls,  or  dwarfs,  who 
are  supposed  to  bring  misfortune  and  gloom  to  their  unusually  cheery 
homes. 

SEA  COAST  AND  MOUNTAIN  LAPPS. 

The  division  of  the  Lapps  into  those  of  the  sea  coast  and  those  of 
the  highlands  has  been  incidentally  noted  ;  but  after  you  have  witnessed 
a  few  general  characteristics  of  the  people,  you  will  see  that  to  intelli- 
gently reacn  the  particulars  you  will  find  yourself  making  a  clearly 
marked  distinction.  They  were  originally  all  nomadic  ;  but  the  difficulty 
of  finding  sufficient  food  within  the  area  to  which  they  had  been  restricted 
compelled  some  of  the  tribes  to  settle  near  the  larger  rivers  and  lakes, 
where  they  hunt  and  fish  regularly  to  supply  the  markets  of  Stockholm. 

The  mode  of  bartering  is  somewhat  peculiar.  When  the  merchant 
arrives  who  wishes  to  make  purchases,  he  finds  that,  as  a  rule,  each  Lapp 


340 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


is  attended  by  a  Swede.  Both  stand  motionless  until  he  bids  them 
advance.  The  Swede  makes  the  bargain,  and,  when  it  is  completed,  with 
a  (jLiick  movement  each  grasps  your  hand,  and  with  the  universal  "Tak- 
tak,"  departs.  In  making  exchanges  the  Swedish  note  is  generally  used  ; 
but  when  the  Lapp  comes  from  his  fishing  and  hunting  grounds,  and 
desires  the  more  direct  process  of  barter,  he  receives  for  his  skins  and 
bird  feathers,  his  fish  and  reindeer  venison,  such  articles  as  brandy,  gun- 
powder, cloth,  coffee,  sugar  and  meal.      Hammerfest,  the  most  northerly 


town,  IS  a  great  mart. 


In  summer  the  wandering  Lapps  of  the  interior  are  driven  to  the 
coast  by  swarms  of  mosquitoes  and  gad-flies.  It  is  somewhat  singular 
that  the  farther  north  one  goes  the  more  vicious  the  pests  become  — 
longer,  bigger  and  bolder ;  consequently  the  poor  inland  Lapps,  with 
their  herds  of  reindeer,  emigrate  to  the  western  coasts  of  Norway,  occu- 
pying the  lofty  hills  which  the  Norwegian  farmers  cannot  use,  and,  pitch- 
ing their  encampments  in  lots  of  half  a  dozen  tents,  turn  their  herds  out 


FISHING   IN    LAPLAND, 


to  feed  upon  the  moss.  It  is  estimated  that  more  than  one  hundred 
thousand  reindeer  annually  make  these  journeys.  Summer  is  therefore 
the  only  season  of  the  year  when  the  mountain,  or  reindeer  Lapp,  and 
the  sea  coast  Lapp,  do  not  strictly  observe  their  respective  habitats. 

Much  of  the  produce  of  the  fishing  Lapp  goes  to  Northern  Russia, 
by  way  of  Archangel,  and  the  northern  and  northwestern  coasts  of  Nor- 
way swarm  with  a  motley  collection  of  Lapps,  Norwegians  and  Russians. 
In  Hammerfest  itself  the  drunken  of  all  these  nationalities  forget  their 
distinctions  and  go  reeling  along  together.  There  is  great  rejoicing 
when  the  monotony  of  their  lives  is  broken  into  by  the  capture  of  a 
whale,  and  when  seals  and  codfish  give  way  to  the  leviathan.  When  the 
monster  is  sighted  chase  is  at  once  given,  and  if  the  fishermen  are  so 
fortunate  as  to  fi.\  a  harpoon  in  his  body,  they  break  it  off  and  go  about 


A    LAI>r  SCHOOL   AND   CHURCH.  34I 

their  regular  business.  The  wound,  however,  usually  proves  fatal,  and 
in  a  few  days  the  whale's  body  is  cast  upon  the  shore.  But  the  harpoon 
is  marked  upon  the  barb,  and  though  by  law  the  finder  of  the  treasure 
gets  one-third  of  the  booty,  he  must  notify  the  owner  of  his  discovery. 
The  dwellings  of  the  maritime  Lapps  are  built  of  wood,  or  of 
sods,  and  sometimes  have  several  apartments.  They  are  roofed  with 
birch-bark  ;  the  floors  are  strewn  with  branches  of  trees,  and  on  these 
are  spread  deer-skins.  The  Mountain  Lapps  dwell  in  tents  consisting  of 
bent  sticks  covered  with  a  coarse  cloth,  or  in  huts  covered  with  bark 
and  turf.  Their  beds  are  often  birch-leaves  covered  with  seal  or  rein- 
deer skin.  Reindeer  horns  form  their  spoons.  Children  are  tied 
securely  in  leather  cradles  which  swing  from  hooks  in  the  roof,  just  be- 
yond the  reach  of  the  fox-like  dogs  who  share  the  couches  of  the  elders 
when  the  reindeer  are  safe  in  the  corral,  which  is  fenced  off  around  the 
hut.  When  the  herds  are  driven  to  their  moss  pasturage  in  the  vicinity, 
or  to  the  distant  coasts  of  Norway,  or  are  brought  to  their  nightly  shel- 
ter, these  shepherd  dogs  are  the  mainstay  of  the  Lapp.  Upon  such 
occasions  the  deer  seem  to  lose  all  idea  of  individual  responsibility,  and 
merely  go  where  their  intelligent  guardians  drive  them.  Except  to  take 
care  of  their  reindeer  —  two  hundred  of  which  are  sufficient  to  support 
an  average  family  —  the  Lapps  consider  themselves  excused  from 
work.  They  lie  around  most  of  the  time  smoking  and  chatting,  while 
the  women  and  boys  make  horn  spoons  or  moccasins  with  which  to  bar. 
ter  for  brandy  and  tobacco,  or  for  bright  colored  woolen  goods,  ribbons, 
silver  earrings  and  finger  rings.  Even  in  the  huts  and  temporary  tents 
of  the  Mountain  Lapp,  however,  one  occasionally  meets  with  books. 

LAPP  SCHOOL  AND  CHURCH. 

Both  Norway  and  Sweden  send  their  missionaries  among  the  Lapps 
and  take  to  them  not  only  the  Bible  but  school-books.  A  church  and 
school  combined,  in  Swedish  Lapland,  is  an  unusual  sight.  The  edifice 
is  usually  built  of  pine  wood  and  painted  red,  standing  on  a  knoll  of  the 
little  clearing  in  which  the  village  stands.  The  wooden  belfry  is  apart 
from  the  rest  of  the  building.  The  space  between  the  rafters  and  ceil- 
ing of  the  church  room  below  the  kind-hearted  pastor  allows  to  be  used 
in  summer  as  a  storehouse  for  sledges,  snow  shoes,  etc.  Occasionally  a 
missionary,  more  energetic  than  usual,  squeezes  a  school-room  out  of 
this  attic,  where  he  patiently  teaches  reading,  writing,  arithmetic  and 
natural  history  to  a  dozen  Swedes  and  Lapps.  In  this  cubby-hole 
he  places  the  desks,  ink-pots,  maps  and  globes,  with  which  the  educa- 


o4- 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


tional  authorities  of  Sweden  supply  him,  and  proceeds  cheerfully  to  the 
task  of  pushing  a  few  facts  into  the  benighted  minds  of  half  a  dozen  tall 
young  Swedes  and  perhaps  as  many  more  chubby  Lapps. 

On  Sunday  he  dresses  himself  in  a  gown,  and,  standing  before  a 
plain,  board  altar,  faces  a  congregation  of  thirty  or  forty  men  and  women, 
indistinguishable,  except  that  the  sexes  are  separated  as  in  a  quaker 
meeting.  .Strict  attention  is  paid  to  his  ten-minute  sermon,  and  every- 
body joins  in  the  singing  whenever  he  pleases  and  goes  on  at  his  own 
pace.  The  choir  is  composed  of  Lapp  youths  who  are  led  by  an  anxious- 
looking  man  of  their  nationality,  armed  with  a  forest  stick  which  he  osten- 
sibly carries  for  the  beating  of  time.  The  leader  of  the  choir  becomes 
more  anxious  and  alert  than  ever,  when  the  sermon  commences.  But 
woe  be  to  the  young  Lapp  who  has  eaten  too  much  reindeer  venison, 

reindeer  cheese,  rein- 
deer butter,  or  has 
drunk  too  much  rein- 
deer whey,  or  has 
otherwise  had  so  inti- 
mate an  association 
with  reindeer  as  to 
succumb  to  a  full 
stomach  and  a  heavy 
head,  and  go  to  sleep 
in  church.  The  stick 
carried  by  the  leader 
of'  the  choir  chucks 
the  youth  smartly 
under  the  chin,  and 
when  he  awakes  he 
is  given  a  look  of 
indignant  reproof 
These  nomadic  Lapps  wandering  over  fells  and  moors  in  search  of 
the  white  moss  or  lichen,  on  which  the  reindeer  depend,  a  dozen  persons 
of  both  Sexes  crowding  into  tents  of  half  a  dozen  feet  square,  aod  sharing 
these  quarters,  with  their  dogs — ^  these  are  the  true  descendants  of  the 
ancient  Lapp.  These  are  they  who  are  so  proud,  and  who,  remember- 
ing the  extent  of  their  ancient  territory,  are  so  callous  to  civilizing  influ- 
ences. 

But  the  reindeer  furnishes  them  with  all  that  they  require  in  the  way 
of  locomotion  or  food.  The  skin  of  the  animal's  legs,  which  has  to  with- 
stand the  .sharp  ice  and  crusts  of  snow,  as  he  drags  his  burdens  over  the 


A   LAPLAND   CHURCH. 


A    LAPP    SCHOOL    AXD    CHURCH.  343 

country,  is  thick  and  touy;h  ;  his  hoofs  are  as  if  they  were  shod  with 
iron.  In  Lapland  one  will  readily  travel  ten  miles  an  hour  all  day ;  and 
it  is  recorded  that  a  reindeer  (now  dead)  once  drew  a  government  mes- 
senger, who  was  in  a  great  hurry,  eight  hundred  miles  in  two  days. 
The  portrait  of  the  deer  is  still  preserved  in  a  royal  palace  in  Sweden. 

The  meat  of  the  dear  is  cooked  fresh  and  made  into  soup,  when  it 
is  eaten  right  from  the  kettle  scalding  hot;  it  is  dried  and  smoked  and 
cut  into  thin  slices,  or  pounded  into  a  paste  and  made  up  into  cakes. 
The  Lapp  drinks  the  milk  fresh,  makes  it  into  a  rich  cheese  or  butter, 
and  extracts  from  the  cheese  an  oil  which  prevents  bad  results  from  the 
freezing  of  his  limbs.  He  distils  a  drink  from  the  whey  which  is  highly 
intoxicating,  but  not  so  raw  as  the  vile  finkel.  The  reindeer's  skin  is 
shelter  and  clothing,  and  his  tendons  are  thread.  The  women  prepare 
this  by  rolling  the  tendons  upon  their  "cheeks,"  and  the  result  is  a 
thread  which  is  wonderfully  strong  and  durable.  And  the  sale  of  articles 
which  are  made  from  different  portions  of  the  deer's  anatomy  and  are 
not  wanted  at  home,  is  a  means  of  supplying  the  Lapp  with  outside 
luxuries  such  as  sugar,  coffee  and  bread.  The  deer  needs  no  housing 
and  does  not  even  require  to  be  fed  ;  for  once  driven  to  a  favorable 
locality,  the  animal  seeks  the  snow  line,  beyond  which  he  will  find  his 
starchy,  nutritious  food,  even  if  it  is  six  or  seven  feet  beneath  the  surface. 
Antlers,  hoofs  and  nose  all  assist  him  to  uncover  the  fodder,  and  the 
Lapp's  work  is  merely  to  direct  his  dogs  to  keep  the  animal  in  sight. 
The  colder  the  country  the  more  tender  and  nourishing  the  moss.  Moss, 
reindeer,  country  and  Lapp  are  adapted  to  each  other,  and  the  mainstay 
of  this  poor  little  man  can  never  be  transported.  But  during  the  winter 
it  is  sometimes  difficult  to  find  moss,  even  though  the  Lapp  himself  does 
not  hunt  for  it;  and,  with  the  reindeer,  perishes  the  owner.  So  that, 
with  all,  the  Laplanders  are  dying  out  as  a  tribe.  They  have  no  idea  of 
sanitary  precautions,  either  in  eating  or  drinking.  They  are  filthy  and 
lazy.     They  are  dead,  though  living. 

The  Lapps  have  been  crowded  into  the  most  dreary  portions  of 
that  rugged  European  peninsula,  which  hangs  out  like  a  hammer  of  Thor 
ready  to  drop  into  the  raging,  icy  oceans.  Between  the  barriers  of  ice 
and  those  of  stronger  races  they  are  firmly  imprisoned  in  their  graves. 
The  tribes  of  Northeastern  Siberia  were  pressed  to  the  Arctics  as  were 
the  Lapps  but  many  found  an  escape  open  to  them  across  the  strait  or 
by  way  of  a  chain  of  islands  which  is  all  but  a  neck  of  land  connecting 
the  two  hemispheres.  Many  who  find  the  original  country  of  the  Lapps 
in  Finland  also  derive  the  origin  of  the  name  from  the  Finnish  "  lappi,'' 
or  runaways.      Furthermore  in   the  word  they  discover  a  fragment  of 


344  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

their  histor)-,  reasoning  that  the  Lapps,  at  an  early  day,  deserted  the 
Finns  for  their  northern  homes.  But  whatever  the  cause  of  their  separa- 
tion from  the  mother  country,  the  Lapps  seem  to  be  even  purer 
creatures  of  circumstance  than  the  majority  of  Arctic  peoples. 

Certain  learned  men  who  have  an  intense  lonmno-  to  enunciate 
startling  generalties  conclude  that  Lapps,  Samoyeds,  Esquimaux  and 
Greenlanders,  who  inhabit  the  same  frozen  latitudes,  were  originall}'  the 
same  people.  They  suppose  the  Lapps  to  have  descended  from  the 
White  Sea  toward  Norway  and  Sweden,  while  the  Finns  ascended  from 
Esthonia. 


eJfl9 


TOWARD    BEHRING   STRAIT. 


THE  BURIATS. 

HE  central  portions  of  Southern  Siberia  around  Lake  Baika 
and  toward  the  Upper  Lena  River  are  occupied  by  the  most 
numerous  of  the  MongoHan  races  outside  of  the  Chinese 
Empire.  Though  divided  into  a  number  of  small  tribes, 
collectively  they  number  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  million  of 
souls,  and  are  substantially  one  people  in  their  customs  and 
'l  intellectual  peculiarities.  They  are  unflinching  adherents  of 
Lamaism,  and  fought  like  wolves  against  the  Russians,  in  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  as  much  to  retain  their 
religion  as  their  national  freedom  ;  even  to  this  day  they  are 
uncommunicative  and  suspicious,  seeing  in  every  stranger,  especially 
a  Russian,  some  emissary  of  a  religious  sect  sent  out  to  draw  them  away 
from  the  faith  of  their  fathers.  How  long  they  have  been  Buddhists 
(for  Lamaism  is  but  a  form  of  Buddhism  into  which  have  been  grafted 
many  Mongolian  superstitions)  history  saith  not  ;  but  it  is  known  that 
Buddhism  was  introduced  into  Thibet,  in  the  seventh  century,  by  a  wise 
prince  of  that  country  who  had  two  wives,  one  from  China  and  one 
from  India,  and  both  devotees  of  that  faith. 

A    RELIGIOUS   CENTER. 

The  head  of  the  Lama  religion  dwells  at  the  capital  of  Thibet, 
and  the  head  of  Siberian  Lamaism  is  found  at  the  holy  village  of 
Souggira,  in  the  Buriat  province  of  Irkutsch.  He  is  supposed  to  be 
the  incarnation  of  a  former  saint  of  religion,  and  when  he  dies  the 
infant  into  which  his  soul  passes  is  taken  to  a  monastery  and  educated 
by  the  "  kharpo,"  or  master,  in  the  mysteries  of  Lamaism.  There  are 
so  many  orders  of  the  religion  and  so  many  members  of  these  orders 
that  fully  one-eighth  of  the  population  of  the  Buriats  are  Lamas. 

With  the  exception  of  the  begging  Lamas  (virtue  beggars)  all  are 
monks  or    nuns,  vowed   to    celibacy.     The    female    Lamas   are  called 

345 


346 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIUNS. 


sisters-in-law,  venerable  aunts,  etc.  The  Lama  determines  when  is  the 
auspicious  day  for  marriage,  and  when  the  body  of  the  deceased  is  to 
be  exposed.  Interment  of  the  dead  is  forbidden.  When  the  coming 
demise  of  a  wealthy  or  distinguished  person  is  reported  to  the  Lama, 
his  duty  is  to  assist  the  departure  of  the  soul  by  making  a  small  hole  in 
the  scalp.  The  breath  having  left  the  body,  the  priest  says  countless 
masses  for  the  departed  soul  until  it  has  been  released  by  Yama,  the 
infernal  judge  ;  after  which  the  corpse  is  burned.  Bodies  of  the  com- 
mon people  are  either  devoured  by  beasts  and  birds  of  prey,  or  by 
sacred  dogs  kept  for  the  purpose.  The  Lamas  also  make  and  sell  idols, 
amulets,  relics  and  consecrated  pills. 

Fa^its  and  relioious  festivals  are  numerous,  and  in  the  streets  of  the 
villages  and  all  along  the  highways  small  chapels,  wheels  for   grinding 


NATIVE  SIBERIANS. 

out  prayers,  flags  inscribed  with  prayers  and  hoisted  upon  consecrated 
poles,  with  other  like  paraphernalia,  keep  the  religion  of  the  country 
constantly  before  the  people.  These  praying  machines  consist  of  a 
sort  of  hollow  barrel,  which  turns  on  an  axis  and  in  which  the  prayers, 
written  on  a  great  many  little  scrolls,  are  turned  about.  Some  are 
colossal  and  move  by  wind  or  water,  or  are  operated  by  special  turners, 
or  merely  kicked  into  motion  bypasser.s-by  ;  others  are  small  and  carried 
in  the  hand. 

At  sunrise,  noon  and  sunset  the  Lamas  assemble  to  recite  prayers 
and  sacred  texts,  the  worship  being  accompanied  by  hideous  braying  of 
horns  and  trumpets  and  a  beating  of  drums.  The  Lamaic  temples 
which  may  be  seen  throughout  the  country  are  square  and  always  face 


THE    GOOD    OF    LAMAISM.  347 

the  south.  Entering  the  main  hall,  with  its  two  parallel  rows  of  col- 
umns, one  sees  beyond,  first  the  chief  idol,  then  the  altar,  and  lastly  the 
Lama  on  his  throne.  Gods  are  not  worshiped,  but  the  essence  of  all 
that  is  holy  is  comprised  in  the  three  precious  jewels,  the  Buddha, 
the  doctrine,  and  the  priesthood. 

Beneath  these  are  the  good  and  evil  spirits,  the  Lamas  standing  be- 
tween them  and  the  laity.  The  unpardonable  sin  is  to  ridicule  the 
Lama  and  his  holy  office,  and  persist  in  the  offense.  Impediment  of 
speech,  giddiness,  loss  of  reason  and  death  is  the  portion  of  such  in  this 
world,  and  in  the  next  their  souls  will  never  know  rest.  Any  offense  to 
a  Lama  annihilates  the  merit  acquired  by  a  thousand  generations  of  holi- 
ness ;  but  if  one  sincerely  implore,  during  a  whole  day,  the  benediction 
of  a  Lama,  all  the  sins  committed  during  innumerable  generations  are 
effaced.  Women  are  regarded  as  unclean,  and  are  not  allowed  to  ap- 
proach the  temple  altars. 

THE  GOOD  OF  LAMAISM. 

But  with  all  the  superstitions  attaching  to  Lamaism  it  has  its  good 
parts.  In  a  way  it  encourages  the  people  to  strive  after  education. 
Every  Buriat  would  like  to  see  at  least  one  member  of  his  family  enter 
the  priesthood,  and  this  wish  creates  a  desire  that  his  children  shall  learn 
to  read  and  write.  It  is  this  desire  more  than  any  other  cause  that  has 
lifted  the  Buriats  above  their  Moncrolian-Tartar  neis^hbors  :  and  though 
there  is  no  literature,  several  of  the  natives  have  acquired  considerable 
eminence  in  science.  Neither  are  the  Lamas  to  be  considered  of  no 
benefit  to  the  country,  except  in  an  indirect  way.  Many  of  the  princi- 
ples of  morality  and  charity  inculcated  by  them  are  productive  of  good, 
and  their  own  abstemious  habits  and  precepts  are  much  needed  among 
a  people  who,  like  all  the  tribes  of  Siberia,  are  given  to  drunkenness  and 
excess. 

Besides  the  teachers  of  the  faith  and  the  priests  who  officiate  at  the 
ceremonials  and  take  charge  of  the  forms  of  religion,  the  church  sends 
forth  among  the  people  a  class  of  Lamas  who  devote  themselves  entirely 
to  the  study  and  practice  of  medicine.  At  the  same  time  that  they  en- 
deavor to  heal  the  sick  they  extend  an  influence  over  his  spiritual  nature, 
which  is  not  to  be  compared  to  that  which  is  cast  over  it  by  the  Shaman 
sorcerer ;  for  Shamanism  still  has  a  following  even  among  the  Buriats. 

THE  LAMA  AND  SHAMAN. 

The  Lama,  also,  is  an  example  of  industry  ever  before  the  Buriat, 
while  the  Shaman  lives  purely  by  the  exercise  of  his  wits  in  throwing  a 
spell  of  terror  over  the  ignorant.      In  cases  of  illness  the  Shaman  caters 


548 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


to  the  taste  of  his  people,  and  a  quantity  of  intoxicating  Hquor,  added  to 
his  incantations  and  sacrifices,  is  his  principal  remedy.  If  his  howHngs 
and  ceremonials  to  propitiate  the  evil  spirit  who  has  created  the  disease 

have  no  effect,  and  the  man  dies,  he  falls 
back  upon  the  excuse  which  is  always 'in 
stock  with  the  sorcerers  of  all  lands — that 
the  sacrifice  was  inappropriate.  If  the  Sha- 
man is  called  in  to  decide  upon  the  guilt  of 
a  person,  he  places  his  drum,  and  his  leather 
apron,  which  is  covered  with  metal  plates, 
before  a  fire.  The  defendant  is  stood  near 
the  sacred  things,  facing  the  sun,  and  swears 
to  his  innocence  with  the  Shaman's  sharp 
eyes  upon  him.  Butter  is  then  thrown  upon 
the  fire  by  the  sorcerer ;  the  accused  steps 
over  the  drum  and  the  apron,  at  the  same 
time  taking  great  gulps  of  the  smoke  as  he 
looks  up  at  the  sun  to  express  a  hope  that 
he  shall  never  more  receive  from  it  light  or 
heat  if  he  has  sworn  falsely.  As  if  this  were 
not  enough, Mr.  Shaman  produces  his  official 
bear,  which  he  leads  up  to  the  party  on  trial 
and  requests  him  to  bite  the  head  of  bruin. 
The  bear  returns  a  verdict  of  not  guilty  if 
he  suffers  this  indignity  in  patience ;  if  he 
resents   it  the  man  becomes  a  criminal. 

BURIAT  BEAUTIES. 

In  general  appearance  the  Buriats  re- 
|||  semble  the  Chinese,  their  complexion,  how- 
ever, having  more  of  a  ruddy  tinge.  Attired 
in  close-fitting  dresses,  their  figures  tall  and 
graceful,  with  dark,  sparkling  eyes,  the 
women  are  not  beneath  the  notice  of  mod- 
ern society  beauties.  Those  of  the  wealthier 
classes  allow  their  thick  hair  to  fall  from  the 
temples  in  two  long  braids,  the  forehead 
being  bound  with  a  fillet  which  is  studded 
with  pearl  beads  and  coral  ornaments.  The  priests  are  allowed  to  shave 
their  heads;  otherwise  the  men  wear  the  Mongolian  queue,  cutting  the 
hair  short  except  on  the  crown  of  the  head.      Many  of  the  wealthier 


THE    HOLY    SEA.  349 

Buriats  live  in  houses,  which  exhibit  a  curious  mixture  of  modern  civiliza- 
tion and  ancient  savagery.  There  is  the  hole  dug  in  the  ground  for  the 
fireplace,  with  fine  mats  and  cushions  arranged  around  it  for  sleeping, 
and  a  piece  of  unique  Russian  furniture  pushed  up  against  the  wall. 
The  huts  of  the  poorer  classes  are  some  twenty  feet  in  diameter,  being 
made  of  a  light  framework  covered  with  leather  in  summer  and  with 
thick  felt  in  winter 

In  certain  lines  of  work  the  Buriats  are  considered  by  the  Russians 
more  skillful  than  the  Europeans.  They  make  a  tinder  bag  of  velvet, 
to  which  are  attached  finely-tempered  plates  of  steel,  which  is  considered 
superior  to  those  imported  from  Europe.  Their  riding  furniture  is  also 
beautifully  ornamented  with  inlaid  plates  of  iron,  copper  andsilver;  while 
their  silver  pipes,  adorned  with  reliefs  and  inlaid  with  pink  coral,  would 
do  credit  to  any  workman. 

THE  HOLY   SEA. 

Lake  Baikal,  which  is  the  center  of  the  Buriat's  country,  is  called  by 
the  natives  the  Holy  Sea  ;  and  it  no  doubt  received  this  appellation 
when  Shamanism  held  a  tight  rein  over  them.  IVIany  stories  are  told  of 
its  wonders  :  how  it  has  no  bottom,  and  how  no  one  has  ever  sunk  into 
its  holy  depths,  for  when  a  person  is  drowned  his  body  is  always  cast 
upon  its  shores.  It  abounds  in  fish,  but  not  of  the  common  sort.  There 
is  one,  called  the  golomain,  which  is  never  caught  by  man;  but  when  the 
tempests  rage  —  and  Lake  Baikal  is  truly  tempestuous  —  it  is  thrown 
upon  its  shores,  and  at  the  first  approach  of  the  sun's  rays  it  melts  into 
oil,  leaving  only  the  skeleton  and  the  skin. 

Although  Lake  Baikal  is  the  largest  fresh-water  lake  in  the  Eastern 
Continent,  in  it  are  found  and  killed  thousands  of  the  ocean  seal.  Its 
shores  in  many  places  are  precipitous  and  wild.  Steep  cliffs  rise  from 
the  water's  edge  a  thousand  feet  and  pitch  another  thousand  into  its 
clear  depths.  Gaping  ravines  run  down  to  its  shores,  filled  with  great 
masses  of  lava,  and  hot  springs  gush  from  the  mountain  sides  as  if  to  warm 
its  cold  bosom.  It  imprisons  many  rivers;  only  one  escapes  —  the  An- 
gora— and  that  with  such  impetuosity  that  its  outward  current  is  never 
stayed  by  the  icy  clutch  of  the  most  rigorous  Siberian  winter ;  wdien  the 
lake  and  all  adjacent  waters  are  locked  fast  in  six  feet  of  ice,  the  wild  duck 
is  floating  upon  its  rapids.  Beyond  is  a  gloomy  succession  of  sandstone 
cliffs  and  forests  of  pine,  stationed  along  the  river  on  either  side  in  solid 
phalanx.  Soon  the  valley  becomes  wider,  and  the  cliffs  grow  into  mount- 
ains, and  the  forests  get  blacker,  and  the  waters  of  the  river  gather 


350  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS, 

themselves  and  bound  along  in  mightier  torrents.  Just  as  they  are 
about  to  shoot  and  seethe  down  a  steep  incline,  four  miles  in  length, 
they  are  met  midway  by  a  mighty  mass  of  rock — the  Shaman  Kamen, 
or  Spirit's  Stone.  Full  half  a  mile  from  either  shore,  with  his  hands  tied 
fast,  the  victim  of  Shaman  superstition  was  tossed  into  the  waters  which 
foamed  around  its  base,  and  as  his  cries  were  lost  in  the  river's  bed,  the 
deluded  Buriats  turned  away  from  its  overhanging  heights,  satisfied  that 
the  anger  of  some  evil  god  had  been  fully  appeased. 

THE  YAKUTS. 

Along  the  Lena  River  from  its  source  to  its  mouth,  and  for  a  great  dis- 
tance both  east  and  west,  are  the  Yakuts,  most  of  whom  have  been  made 
members  of  the  Greek  church  by  a  ukase  of  the  Czar  of  Russia.  Strange  as 
it  may  seem  to  thus  attempt  to  adopt  a  people  into  the  body  of  a  church 
by  autocratic  action,  the  attempt  was  a  success,  insomuch  as  the  Yakuts 
as  a  people  abandoned  the  gross  forms  of  idolatry  which  had  been  their 
portion  for  generations.  Human  sacrifice  had  even  been  common 
among  them,  and  it  was  also  customary  for  them  to  bury  the  favorites 
of  a  great  man,  alive  with  him,  that  he  might  have  as  good  service  here- 
after as  in  this  life.  But  these  horrors  are  now  abandoned,  although  a 
belief  in  Shamanism  still  exists  among  some  of  them.  A  horse-hair 
attached  to  the  bough  of  a  forest  tree  in  the  days  of  the  old  dispensation, 
was  thought  to  be  a  sure  charm  against  bad  spirits,  and  these  evi- 
dences of  the  old  faith  are  occasionally  seen  even  now. 

A  HORSE-EATING  PEOPLE. 

The  horse,  in  fact,  is  as  much  their  mainstay  as  the  cow  is  with  the 
Caffre  of  Africa,  or  the  reindeer  with  many  of  the  Hyperboreans. 
Though  they  have  large  herds  of  cattle,  they  use  them  more  for  riding 
than  for  food,  while  the  horse  is  most  prized  as  a  meat  creature.  The 
strongest  evidence  which  can  be  given  a  newly-made  husband  that  his 
bride  will  be  acceptable  during  their  future  life,  is  for  her  to  present  him  at 
the  wedding  feast  with  a  horse's  head,  nicely  boiled  and  garnished  with 
horse  sausage.  So  fond  are  they,  in  fact,  of  equine  flesh,  it  is  an  ancient 
saying  that  four  Yakuts  will  eat  a  horse ;  and  yet  they  have  the  same 
feeling  for  their  domesticated  beasts  as  other  tribes  have  for  the  tame 
reindeer.  Not  understanding  this  distinction,  a  European  who  was  travel- 
ing with  a  party  of  them,  finding  their  stock  of  provisions  reduced  to  a 
few  cranberries  and  nuts,  suggested  that  they  kill  one  of  their  horses. 


YAKUT    MANUFACTURERS.  35 1 

The  Yakuts  replied  that  they  never  so  far  forgot  themselves,  until  no 
morsel  of  food  had  passed  their  lips  for  five  whole  days.  They  are  often 
seen  with  their  arms  around  their  horses'  necks,  embracing  them  as  if 
they  were  human  beings;  but  while  journeying  they  keep  them  on  such 
slender  rations  as  to  appear  to  have  no  regard  for  them.  They  explain 
this  treatment  on  the  theory  that  they  are  more  animated  and  really 
stronger  when  given  just  enough  to  keep  them  from  starving  ;  at  least, 
that  this  treatment  is  far  preferable  to  a  generous  diet.  Should  one  of 
their  horses  be  injured  on  the  journey  so  as  to  become  permanently  use- 
less, however,  they  throw  aside  their  girdles  and  proceed  to  the  feast. 
When  unable  to  obtain  the  flour  which  the  Russian  merchants  barter  for 
their  furs,  they  peel  the  bark  from  the  fir  or  larch  tree,  and  taking  the 
inner  portion  pound  it  in  a  mortar,  mixing  the  "meal  "  with  milkordried 
fish.  IVIelted  butter  is  also  drunk  in  enormous  quantities,  often  prepared 
in  such  a  way  as  to  produce  intoxication.  Potatoes,  turnips  and  cab- 
bages form  about  the  entire  vegetable  diet  of  the  Yakut,  and  the  cultiva- 
tion of  these  articles  is  almost  confined  to  Yakutsk  and  vicinity. 

The  Yakuts  prize  the  milk  they  obtain  from  mares  much  more 
highly  than  cow's  milk,  and,  in  truth,  it  is  said  to  be  far  more  nourishing. 
From  this  milk  they  make  a  fermented  drink  which  is  highly  intoxicat- 
ing. At  certain  seasons  when  the  milk  can  be  obtained  in  abundance, 
they  indulge  in  a  regular  jubilee,  draining  huge  bowls  of  the  stuff,  while 
the  weaker  sex  look  jealously  on,  or  smoke  themselves  into  a  state  of 
semi-consciousness.  This  drink  is  called  "aruigui,"  or  milk  brandy  — 
the  same  word  which  is  in  use  by  the  Turkish  Tartars.  Their  words 
for  the  Deity,  for  their  fishing  gear,  for  iron  and  many  other  things,  are 
also  Turkish,  which,  in  addition  to  traditions  of  a  southern  origin  which 
are  common  among  them,  make  it  quite  probable  that  they  were  driven 
north  by  their  fierce  Tartar  neighbors.  In  short,  their  language  has  so 
much  of  the  Turkish  element  in  it  that  it  can  be  generally  understood  in 
Constantinople.  These  facts  bearing  upon  tJieir  apparent  origin,  coupled 
to  their  good-nature  and  mild  disposition,  seem  to  license  the  Russian  to 
take  every  possible  advantage  of  them  and  domineer  over  them  to  his 
heart's  content. 

YAKUT  MANUFACTURES. 

Notwithstanding  their  lack  of  independence  the  Yakuts  are, 
undoubtedly,  the  most  thrifty  and  industrious  of  all  the  nations  of 
Northern  Asia.  They  make  beautiful  ornamental  work  out  of  deer- 
skins, sewing  into  them  the  most  intricate  and  tasteful  figures.  The 
felt  floor-cloths  which  they  make  up  into  mosaic  patterns  are  so  skill- 


352  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

fully  manufactured  that  the  Russians  purchase  them  to  send  into  Europe. 
They  are  also  noted  as  workers  of  iron,  and  the  steel  blades  which  they 
manufacture  are  so  finely  tempered  that  they  will  cut  through  copper  or 
pewter  as  easily  as  the  best  European  blades.  The  handles  of  their 
knives  are  ornamented  with  figures,  which  are  first  cut  into  the  wood 
and  then  filled  with  tin.  The  sheaths  are  of  birch-bark,  covered  with 
leather  on  which  are  also  metallic  ornaments.  It  is  quite  certain  that 
these  arts  were  not  learned  from  the  Russians,  but  rather  from  the 
nomads  of  the  steppes  and  mountains. 

The  Yakuts  have  the  low  stature  and  the  complexion  common  to 
the  Mongolian;  but,  unlike  either  Mongols  or  Tartars  of  pure  blood,  some 
of  their  women  are  quite  pretty. 

When  riding  his  ox  or  horse  the  Yakut  wears  a  yellow  leather  robe. 
His  water-proof  boots  are  made  of  horse  skin,  steeped  in  sour  milk, 
smoked  and  thoroughly  rubbed  with  fat  and  fine  soot.  The  sole  is  made 
from  the  same  leather,  and  the  point  of  the  toe  turns  upward.  These 
boots,  which  are  greatly  prized  by  the  Russians,  are  called  "  torbosas,'' 
and  form  a  not  unimportant  source  of  the  Yakut's  revenue.  When 
the  Yakut  is  at  home  he  lives  in  a  "  yurt,"  with  a  fiat  roof  through  which 
is  cut  a  smoke  hole.  His  fire-hearth,  opposite  the  low  door,  is  made  or 
clay  raised  above  the  floor.  The  wooden  walls  of  his  hut  are  also  cov- 
ered with  a  thick  layer  of  clay.  Round  the  sides  of  the  room  the  floor 
is  elevated  for  a  width  of  six  feet  or  more  ;  here  the  Yakut  sleeps  and 
works  at  his  various  occupations.  Those  who  are  not  employed  are  sit. 
ting  on  rude  stools  before  the  fire,  and  although  they  thoroughly  enjoy 
that  occupation,  they  are  very  hospitable,  and  are  not  loth  to  give  up 
their  seats  to  the  stranger  or  friend  who  comes  in  from  without.  The 
furnishings  of  an  average  yurt  consist  of  these  stools,  an  iron  pot  in  the 
fire-place,  a  few  skins  to  sleep  on.  and  any  quantity  of  fishing-gear.  A 
half  a  dozen  dogs  or  more  complete  the  picture. 

The  industrious  habits  of  the  Yakuts  make  them  more  retiring  than 
most  of  the  tribes  of  Siberia,  and  they  do  not  rove  for  the  mere  love  of 
moving  about,  but  only  to  find  pasturage  for  their  horses  and  cattle. 
Those  who  live  in  the  regions  of  the  far  north  have  neither  of  these 
animals  to  depend  upon,  and  are  obliged  to  hunt  and  fish  in  order  to 
exist,  using  their  great  packs  of  dogs  to  drag  them  to  and  fro. 

THE  YAKUTS'  CITY. 

The  province  of  Yakutsk,  to  which  these  people  give  the  name,  is 
as  large  as  half  of  Europe,  and  its  capital  (which  also  goes  by  that  name) 


THE    YAKUTS     CITY. 


JDJ 


they  proudly  call  the  city  of  the  Yakuts.  In  their  city  are  the  govern- 
ment buildings,  the  wooden  houses  of  the  Russians,  and  their  owri 
winter  huts,  which  are  more  metropolitan  than  those  already  described. 
The  temperature  at  Yakutsk  takes  freaks  occasionally  of  dropping  to  60 
degrees  or  70  degrees  below  zero,  and  these  are  the  times  when  the 
Yakuts'  houses  of  ice  come  into  good  service. 

They  are  thus  described  by  an  eye-witness  :  The  winter  dwellings 
of  the  people  have  doors  of  rawhides,  and  log  or  wicker  walls  calked  with 
manure  and  flanked  with  banks  of  earth  to  the  height  of  the  windows. 
The  latter  are  made  of  sheets  of  ice,  kept  in  their  place  from  the  out- 
side by  a  slanting  pole,  the  lower  end  of  which  is  fixed  in  the  ground. 
They  are  rendered  air-tight  by  pouring  on  water,  which  quickly  freezes 

round  the  edges.  The  flat  roof  is 
covered  with  earth,  and  o\er  the 
door,  facing  the  east,  the  boards 
project,  making  a  covered  place  in 
front.  Under  the  same  roof  are 
jX  the  winter  shelters  for  the  cows. 
'.  The  fire-place  consists  of  a  wicker 
}  frame  plastered  over  with  clay, 
j  room  being  left  for  a  man  to  pass 
between  the  fire-place  and  the  wall. 
The  hearth  is  made  of  beaten  earth, 
and  on  it  there  is  at  all  times  a  blaz- 
ine  fire  of  larchwoodloos.  Young- 
'calves  are  often  brought  into  the 
"^^^  house  to  the  fire,  while  their  moth- 
ers cast  a  contented  look  throufrh 
the  open  door  at  the  back  of  the 
fire-place.  Behind  the  fire-place,  too,  are  the  sleeping  places  of 
the  people,  which  in  the  poorer  dwellings  consist  only  of  a  continuation 
of  the  straw  laid  in  the  cow-house. 

The  summer  huts  of  the  town  natives  are  formed  of  poles  about 
twenty  feet  long,  which  are  united  at  the  top  into  a  roomy  cone,  covered 
with  pieces  of  bright  yellow  birch-bark,  which  are  not  only  joined 
together,  but  handsomely  worked  along  the  seams  with  horse-hair  thread. 
Yakutsk  has  the  questionable  honor  of  being  the  coldest  town  in 
the  universe.  In  the  winter  the  earth  freezes  to  the  depth  of  fifty  feet. 
And  yet  in  what,  in  a  temperate  climate,  would  be  considered  the  sever- 
est weather,  the  Yakut  women  will  go  about  the  streets  with  bare  arms. 
A  tourist  says  that  one  day  when  the  thermometer  stood  at  9  degrees,  he 

23 


354  PANORAMA    OK    XATIOXS. 

"found  the  children  of  both  sexes  running  about  quite  naked,  not  only 
in  the  houses  but  in  the  open  air.  In  fact,  the  great  cold  is  not  thought 
a  grievance  in  Siberia,  for  a  man  clothed  in  furs  may  sleep  at  night  in 
an  open  sledge  when  the  mercury  freezes  in  the  thermometer  ;  and, 
wrapped  up  in  his  pelisse,  he  can  lie  without  inconvenience  on  the  snow, 
under  a  thin  tent,  when  the  temperature  of  the  air  is  thirty  degrees 
below  zero." 

FALLEN    STARS. 

Roaming  along  the  shores  of  the  Arctic  Ocean  far  to  the  north  of 
the  metropolitan  Yakuts,  is  a  degraded  tribe  called  the  Vakughirs. 
They  have  a  legend  which  says  that  at  one  time  their  hearths  on  the 
banks  of  the  Kolima  River  were  more  numerous  than  the  stars  in  the 
heavens,  but  now  they  are  reduced  to  a  few  hundred.  On  the  banks  of 
other  rivers  which  water  their  ancient  territory  are  great  burial  mounds, 
from  which  have  been  dug  corpses  armed  with  bows,  arrows  and  spears  ; 
so  that,  in  contrast  with  their  present  weakness,  the  above  hyperbole  is 
allowed  when  dwelling  upon  their  former  greatness.  During  the  spring 
and  autumn,  clouds  of  gnats  and  mosquitoes  drive  the  reindeer  from  the 
woods  into  the  streams  of  the  Yakughirs'  country.  Now  is  the  time  for 
them  to  issue  forth  and  prove  their  ancient  prowess,  as  well  as  to  reap  a 
harvest  of  food  and  clothing.  Concealing  themselves  in  their  canoes  on 
both  sides  of  the  stream,  they  await  the  approach  of  the  reindeer  squads, 
each  headed  by  an  antlered  chief.  When  the  pestered  brutes  have  fairly 
taken  to  the  water,  the  Yukatjhir  warriors  unmask  their  batteries  of 
long  spears,  and,  cutting  off  escape  from  either  shore,  slaughter  them  by 
the  hundreds.  What  portion  of  the  animals  they  do  not  use  for  food, 
clothing  and  shelter  they  dispose  of  to  traveling  merchants  or  at  district 
fairs  for  tobacco  and  brandy.  Men,  women  and  children  smoke  and 
drink. 

THE  TUNGOOSES. 

Between  the  Yenesei  and  the  Lena  rivers  in  the  north,  and  along  the, 
northern  slopes  of  the  Alta  Mountains  to  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk,  in  the 
south,  dwell  the  Tungooses.  They  may  be  said  to  occupy  most  of  South- 
eastern Siberia.  Of  the  tribes  of  Siberia  they  are  among  the  most  inde- 
pendent and  hardy,  and  for  centuries  gave  China  no  end  of  trouble  ;  a 
branch  of  their  race,  in  fact,  are  rulers  of  that  great  empire.  A  thousand 
years  before  Christ's  time  these  people,  whom  the  Chinese  called  Tung- 
hoo  (Eastern  barbarians),  were  living  in  the  forests  and  mountains 
north  of  the  Celestial   Empire,  feeding  and  eating  their  swine  ;  greasing 


THEIR    FOREFATHERS.  355 

Aeir  bodies  in  winter,  the  better  to  repel  the  severe  cold  ;  in  summer 
going  virtually  naked  ;  covering  themselves  with  hogs'  skins  when  forced 
to  wear  a  little  clothing  ;  dwelling  in  subterranean  caverns,  deep  or  shallow, 
according  to  the  standing  of  the  dweller  as  a  member  of  the  tribe; 
stamping  with  their  feet  upon  the  meat  to  make  it  tender,  and  sitting 
upon  it  to  thaw  it  out  ;  burying  their  dead  at  once,  and  sacrificing  a  hog 
to  the  manes  ;  or  using  the  corpses  as  a  bait  for  martens,  thus  gathering 
many  soft  and  beautiful  furs — a  terror  to  their  savage  neighbors,  and  a 
menace  even  to  the  Empire  of  China.  But  for  more  than  a  millen- 
nium the  barbarians  and  the  Celestials  had  intercourse  with  each  other, 
the  Tungooses  sending,  now  and  then,  tributes  of  arrow  heads,  bows, 
cuirasses  and  marten  skins  as  evidences  of  their  friendship  and  depend- 
ency. China  was  busy  gathering  into  her  embrace  the  Mongols  and 
Tartars  who  surrounded  her,  and  about  twelve  hundred  years  ago  suc- 
ceeded in  uniting  the  hordes  or  tribes  of  her  barbarous  neighbor  into 
one  nation.  But  it  afterwards  slipped  from  her  control,  and  as  an  inde- 
pendent kingdom,  extended  its  sway  over  part  of  Corea.  Now  subject 
to  China,  now  to  Kussia  now  independent,  the  Tungooses  got  so  that 
they  could  read,  fatten  cattle,  work  in  iron,  build  fortified  cities,  cultivate 
silk  and  hemp,  and  continued  industriously  in  the  ways  of  war. 

THEIR  FOREFATHERS. 

The  northern  tribes,  however,  from  whom  most  of  the  Tungooses 
of  the  present  are  descended,  continued  in  their  savage  ways,  and  never 
were  incorporated  into  the  Mantchoos  of  the  Chinese  Empire.  They  were 
ten  days  to  the  north  of  their  more  civilized  brethern,  and  lived  in  an 
excessively  cold  country.  In  the  winter  they  retired  to  the  caves  of  the 
mountains.  Those  who  could  not  raise  swine,  on  account  of  the  severity 
of  their  climate,  lived  by  fishing  and  dressed  in  fish  skins.  Many  of  the 
characteristics  of  these  diverse  tribes  are  seen  in  the  Tungooses,  as  they 
are  now  found  in  Southeastern  Siberia. 

As  we  have  stated,  they  are  very  independent,  and  although  many 
of  them  have  been  brought  into  the  pale  of  the  Greek  Church  and  pay 
a  willing  tribute  of  furs  to  the  Russian  Government,  they  cannot  be 
driven,  even  by  an  overbearing  Cossack  official.  They  are  brave  and 
robust,  fine  archers  and  excellent  horsemen  ;  of  good  form  and  agile, 
with  small  well-formed  noses,  thin  beard,  black  hair  and  an  agreeable 
expression  of  countenance.  Their  senses  are  wonderfully  acute  and 
their  memory  for  the  natural  objects  they  meet  in  their  wanderings,  is 
truly  wonderful.  It  is  said  that  they  will  minutely  describe  these  through 
a  journey  of  a  hundred  miles,  so  as  to  point  out  the  road.      Like  the 


OD^ 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


Indian,  they  follow  game  by  the  slightest  marks  left  upon  the  moss, 
grass  or  leaves.  Over  nearly  a  third  of  Siberia,  they  pitch  their  rein- 
deer tents,  both  riding  the  deer  and  using  him  as  a  pack  animal  ;  travel- 
ing over  such  a  vast  expanse  of  country,  their  memory  must  constantly 
be  in  exercise. 

There  are  settled  rearers  of  cattle  among  the  Tungooses,  but  as  a 
race  they  are  nomads.  Some  prefer  to  wander  in  the  forests  and  sel- 
dom venture  upon  the  treeless  wastes  ;  they  are  called  Forest  Tun- 
gooses. Those  who  choose  the  opposite  life  are  known  as  Tungooses 
of  the  steppes,  and  are  divided,  according  to  the  animals  of  draught 
they  employ,  into  the  Reindeer,  the  Horse  and  Dog  Tungooses.  When 
dressed  for  a  journey,  they  do  not  differ  greatly  in  appearance  from 
other  fur-clad  Siberians,  except  that  their  fur  hood,  which   often   hangs 

^  loose  from  the  neck,  is  apt  to  be  of  quite 
an  artistic  pattern — made  of  the  legs  of 
red,  black  and  silver-grey  foxes,  sewed 
together  in  alternate  stripes  and  bordered 
with  sable,  beaver  or  otter.  They  cut 
their  hair  short,  with  the  excption  of  a 
long  lock  on  either  side,  of  which  the 
young  are  very  proud. 

THE  NATIVE  HUNTSMAN. 

When  the  household  provisions  are 
exhausted,  the  Tungoose  points  out  to  his 
wife  the  direction  of  his  journey,  and 
their  ultimate  camping  place.  This  may 
be  scores  of  miles  across  the  dreary  steppes. 
But  they  have  every  foot  of  the  country 
mapped  in  their  minds.  So  shouldering; 
his  clumsy  Siberian  rifle,  and  calling  his  dog,  he  leaves  his  better  half  to 
pack  the  tent,  the  property  and  the  children  on  the  reindeers'  back. 
Arriving  at  the  proposed  camping  place,  the  wife  pitches  the  tent  and 
awaits  the  return  of  her  husband.  The  man  has  donned  his  birchwood 
snow  shoes  and  entered  a  forest.  Taking  his  hand  for  a  moment  from 
his  fur  glove,  the  hunter  runs  it  into  a  deer  track  in  the  snow,  and  decid- 
ing that  the  animal  has  lately  passed,  proceeds  cautiously  on  his  way, 
restraining  his  too  eager  and  obtrusive  dog.  Arriving  at  length  to  an 
opening  in  the  forest,  he  cautiously  peers  through  the  branches  of  a 
tree,  and  sees  a  noble  animal  with  its  head  down,  scarping  the  snow 
from  the  litchens  with  its  long  horn,  or  tearing  up  the  crust  with  its  feet 


A  TUNX.OOSE. 


MOUNTING    THE    REINDEER.  337 

and  rooting-  around  in  the  soft  snow,  underneath,  like  a  pig.  It  is  a 
welcome  sight  to  our  Tungoose,  and  silently  breaking  two  forked  sticks 
from  the  tree,  he  places  his  weapon  upon  the  rest,  and  waiting  until  the 
animal  presents  a  fair  mark,  speeds  his  tiny  bullet  to  a  vital  spot. 

Though  the  wild  reindeer  is  a  standard  article  of  food  among  the 
Tungooses,  the  tame  reindeer  is  never  killed  except  under  the  severest 
stress  of  circumstances.  The  rule  is  that  the  native  must  go  at  least 
eight  days  without  food,  before  he  can  slaughter  his  household  god. 
And  though  he  should  be  starving  he  would  long  hesitate  before  he  laid 
violent  hands  upon  another's  property;  for  if  the  Tungoose  be  convicted 
of  theft  or  robbery,  he  is  an  outcast  from  the  race. 

MOUNTING  THE  REINDEER. 

When  the  Tungoose  uses  his  reindeer  foi  riding,  he  is  obliged  to  be 
very  careful  how  he  mounts  his  steed,  which  has  very  strong  shoulders 
and  a  remarkably  weak  back.  Whether  the  deer  isa  pack  animal  or  a 
riding  one,  the  saddle  is  always  placed  close  to  the  neck,  and  girthed 
from  the  back  part  just  behind  the  fore-legs  of  the  steed.  The  saddle 
is  nothing  but  a  flat  cushion,  bent  upwards  behind  so  that  the  rider  will 
not  sli[)  down  upon  the  weak  back  of  the  reindeer.  The  rider  takes  a 
pole  about  five  feet  long,  and  holding  the  bridle  in  his  right  hand  and 
the  staff  in  the  other,  he  places  his  left  foot  in  the  saddle,  and  vaults 
into  it  from  the  right  side  of  the  animal.  Whether  man  or  woman,  the 
rider  is  obliged  to  mount  in  this  fashion,  for  should  an  attempt  be  made 
to  get  into  the  saddle  by  using  the  shoulder  as  a  support  —  which  is  the 
only  part  of  the  reindeer  capable  of  bearing  a  weight  —  the  unavoidable 
jerk  will  displace  the  whole  apparatus.  Without  doubt,  the  Tungoose 
has  studied  the  subject  in  all  its  bearings,  and  hit  upon  the  only  possible 
way  of  mounting  a  reindeer  without  breaking  its  back.  Once  mounted, 
an  equilibrium  is  maintained  (to  say  nothing  of  grace)  by  keeping  the 
heels  in  motion,  like  two  trip-hammers,  behind  the  animal's  shoulders  ; 
the  mounting  staff  also  being  used  as  a  balancing  pole. 

TRAPPING  AND  EATING. 

When  the  Tungooses  set  out  upon  a  trapping  excursion,  they  often 
leave  their  families  hundreds  of  miles  away.  Each  man  harnesses  him- 
self to  a  light  sled,  upon  which  he  places  his  provisions,  and  scant 
baggage.  After  the  company  have  built  a  yurt,  each  man  starts  out  to 
set  his  traps,  and  dig  pit-falls  in  the  frozen  earth.  These  are  visited 
•dailv,  and  within   a  couple   of   months,  foxes,  squirrels,  sables,  beavers. 


358 


PANURA.MA    OF    NATIONS. 


wolves  and  bears  have  all  become  a  prey  to  their  ingenuity.  An  ingen- 
ious method  of  capturing  the  bear  is  to  fasten  a  wooden  platform, 
covered  with  barbed  iron  spikes,  to  a  tree,  placing  at  the  farther  end  a 
piece  of  meat.  The  trap  is  placed  so  high  from  the  ground  that  the  bear  is 
oblii/ed  to  stand  on  his  hind  lees  to  reach  even  its  middle,  to  sav  nothinof 
of  the  tempting  piece  of  meat  beyond.  But  the  animal  is  sure  to  make 
the  attempt,  and  to  become  so  impaled  that  he  is  easily  killed  by  the 
huntsman. 

The  season  being  over  the  party  disperses,  the  provident  going  to- 
one  of  the  numerous  town  fairs  which  are  being  held,  and  bartering  the 
skins  for  food,  weapons  of  the  chase  or  other  necessaries.  The  improvi- 
dent, who  perhaps  will  be  in  the  majority,  end  their  season  of  hardship 
and  danger  by  days  of  carousal  and  brandy-drinking,  and  return  home  as 
empty-handed  as  when  they  left,  with  the   exception,  it  may    be,    of  a 

_  ,._,_, . ^ =: — s^-^; ^ ^  goodly  supply   of 

meat  which  they 
and  their  families 
immediately  pro- 
ceed to  devour  en 
masse. 

The  quantities 
of  food  which 
these  natives  will 
devour  at  a  sitting 
is  almost  incred- 
ible. Equally  re- 
markable is  the 
length  of  time 
HUNTERS  OF  SIBERIA.  duriugwhich  they 

will  go  without  a  mouthful.  A  moderate  meal  of  three  healthy 
Tungooses  is  thus  enumerated  by  a  veracious  traveler:  A  gallon 
kettle  of  hot  tea;  a  four-quart  pailful  of  boiled  fish  and  soup;  the 
same  pail  twice  filled  with  boiled  beef  — all  eaten  and  bones  eagerly 
cracked  ;  the  pail  again  filled  with  a  native  mash  and  also  emptied  ; 
an  unmentionable  quantity  of  dried  fish,  skin  and  all.  The  traveler 
then  records  the  fact  that  the  arrival  of  others  made  it  necessary  for  his 
dainty  friends  to  betake  themselves  to  a  camp-fire  outside  his  tent,  and 
that  the  last  he  heard  of  them  they  were  busy  preparing  other  food,  and 
loudly  cracking  other  beef  bones  to  get  at  the  marrow.  If  they  are  able 
to  keep  awake  after  such  a  meal,  one  of  their  number  is  likely  to  bring 
forth  a  greasy  pack   of  cards,   or    a  chess   board —"vi-Jences  of    both 


AMOOR    RIVER    PEOI'LE.  359 

Russian  and  Chinese  civilization  —  and  if  they  can  find  sufficient  shelter, 
they  will  play  far  into  the  night,  their  hearty  laughter  being  interspersed 
with  strong  puffs  from  their  pipes  of  tobacco.  Both  men  and  women 
are  passionately  fond  of  the  weed. 

AMOOR   RIVER    PEOPLE. 

Allied  to  the  Tungooses  are  the  Lamuts,  Monzhurs  and  Gilyaks 
of  the  Amoor  River,  whose  principal  prey  is  the  rich  salmon  and  the 
beautiful  sable.  The  most  striking  feature  of  their  physiognomy  are 
their  cheek-bones,  which  sometimes  protrude  to  such  an  extent  as  to 
hide  the  remainder  of  the  face,  when  viewed  in  profile.  In  their  excur- 
sions up  and  down  the  river  in  their  light,  carved  canoes,  the  women 
do  the  paddling,  and,  of  course,  do  it  gracefully  and  well.  The  man 
sits  in  the  stern,  guiding  the  craft  and  dreamily  smoking  his  long- 
stemmed  pipe.  Literally  speaking,  he  treats  his  dog  with  more  tender- 
ness than  his  wife;  the  former  he  considers  a  sacred  animal,  uses  him 
with  consideration  during  his  lifetime,  and  knows,  after  he  himself  dies, 
that  his  favorite  dog  will  be  sacrificed,  and  his  own  soul  released  from 
the  body  of  the  brute.  On  the  other  hand,  upon  his  wife  he  shifts  all 
the  burdens,  and  when  she  is  about  to  give  birth  to  their  child,  she  is 
thrust  out  of  his  hut,  and  left,  for  months,  to  herself  and  her  fate. 
Winter's  snows  or  blasts  have  no  effect  in  relaxing  the  hideous  severity 
of  this  custom,  and  it  is  made  the  more  unpardonable  from  the  fact 
that  all  are  forbidden  (by  whom,  the  people  do  not  pretend  to  know)  to 
furnish  the  unfortunate  woman  any  shelter  or  assistance.  However  it 
comes  about,  it  is  nevertheless  true  that  both  children  and  adults  seem 
weather-proof,  and  go  roaming  about  barefooted  in  a  temperature  which 
would  make  any  other  people  wrap  their  furs  about  them. 

THE    KAMTCHATDALES. 

The  entire  peninsula  of  Kamtchatka,  100,000  square  miles  in  area, 
was  at  one  time  inhabited  by  this  tribe  ;  but  disease,  intemperance,  Rus- 
sian oppression  and  suicide  are  fast  placing  them  in  the  category  of 
extinct  races.  They  have  the  Mongolian  features,  with  the  flat  face  of 
the  Tartar.  The  climate  of  the  peninsula  is  quite  severe  for  nine 
months  of  the  year,  although  the  temperature  is  seldom  what  could  be 
called  Arctic,  since  twenty  degrees  or  twenty-five  degrees  below  zero  is 
an  unusual  fall  of  the  mercury. 

Along  the  Kamtchatka  River  the  soil  is  fertile,  and  the  Russian 
settlers  here  raise  oats,  barley,  rye,  potatoes  and  garden  vegetables  ; 


360  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

no  tea  and  sugar  have  been  introduced  by  the  Russians.  Bread  is  now 
made  of  rye,  which  the  Kamtchatdales  raise  and  grind  for  themselves  ; 
but  previous  to  the  settlement  of  the  country  by  the  Russians,  the  only 
native  substitute  for  bread  was  a  baked  dough  made  from  the  grated 
tubers  of  the  purple  lily.  Wild  cherries,  blueberries  and  cranberries 
are  picked  in  the  fall,  and  frozen  for  winter  consumption.  A  dish  com- 
posed of  sour  milk,  baked  curds  and  sweet  cream,  covered  with  pow- 
dered sugar  and  cinnamon,  is  worthy  of  a  place  on  an  American  table. 
In  every  river  and  lake  in  the  peninsula  are  m\riads  of  ducks,  geese 
and  swan,  which  are  driven  by  organized  squads  of  men  into  some 
narrow  stream,  across  which  is  spread  a  net.  Into  this  they  rush, 
helter-skelter,  where  they  are  killed  with  clubs,  and  cleaned  and  salted 
for  winter  use. 

..       .  A  KAMTCHATDALE  VILLAGE. 

L^nlike  the  Koriaks,  who  live  to  the  north  of  them,  the  Kamtchat- 
dales have  fixed  habitations  and  live  principally  by  fishing.  Their 
villages  are  few  in  number  and  widely  scattered,  whilst  their  only  means 
of  transport  are  dog-sleds,  pack-horses  or  canoes,  the  country  being 
absolutely  without  a  road  throughout  its  Soo  miles  of  length,  and  250 
miles  of  breadth.  These  settlements  are  usually  situated  on  an  eleva- 
tion near  some  river  or  stream,  surrounded  by  scattered  clumps  of  poplar 
and  yellow  birch,  and  protected  by  high  hills  from  the  cold  northern 
winds.  Here  and  there,  between  the  log  houses  are  the  conical  struct- 
ures, elevated  out  of  the  reach  of  the  dogs'  noses,  and  used  for  storing 
the  fish  ;  while  sprinkled  around  indiscriminately  are  the  square  frames 
of  horizontal  poles,  in  which  salmon  are  piled  and  drying.  Half  a 
dozen  canoes,  turned  bottom  upward,  and  covered  with  fish  nets,  on  the 
beach ;  dog  sledges  leaning  against  every  house,  the  canines  them- 
selves tied  to  heavy  poles  and  snapping  viciously  at  flies  and  mosquitoes  ; 
a  domed  and  gaudily  painted  Greek  church  in  the  very  center  of  these 
fishy  odors  and  fishy  things — this  is  the  general  mould  into  which  all  the 
native  villages  of  Kamtchatka  are  run. 

Until  recently  the  inhabitants  supported  themselves  almost  entirely 
on  the  products  of  the  chase,  but  since  animals  partially  disappeared, 
and  the  people  have  declined  in  vigor,  they  devote  most  of  their  atten- 
tion to  the  milder  amusement  of  catching  herrings,  cod  and  salmon. 
They  depend  mainly  for  subsistence  upon  the  salmon,  which  every  sum- 
mer run  into  the  rivers  of  the  North  to  spawn,  when  they  are  speared, 
caught  in  seines,  and  trapped  in  weirs  by  the  millions.  These  fish, 
which  are  dried  in  the  open  air,  are  the  staple  article  of  food  for  the 
Kamtchatdale  and  his  do.2r. 


A    KAMTCIIATDALE    VILLAGE. 


?6i 


The  mean  annual  temperature  on  the  eastern  coast  of  the  peninsula 
is  twenty-eight  degrees,  and  on  the  western  forty-three  degrees,  the 
averaci-e  temperature  of  summer  on  the  eastern  coast  being  fifty-five 
degrees,  and  that  of  winter  nineteen  degrees.  As  a  result  of  this  not 
disagreeable  division  of  summer  and  winter  temperature,  the  natives 
have  changes  of  clothing  and  of  dwellings.  In  winter  they  dress  in  fur 
and  wear  nankeen  in  summer ;  while  in  cold  weather  they  live  in  very  low 
or  subterranean  cabins  and  in  summer  raise  their  huts  on  poles  some 
thirteen  feet  from  the  ground.  The  roofs  are  covered  with  a  rough 
thatch  of  long  coarse  grass,  or  with  overlapping  strips  of  tamarack  bark, 
and  project  at  the  ends  and  sides  into  wide  overhanging  eaves.     The 


m-mm 


m, 

?*■'■: 


■VhC^uH. 


SIBEMAN  DOG  SLEDGE. 

window  frames,  although  occasionally  glazed,  are  more  frequently 
■covered  with  an  irregular  patchwork  of  translucent  fish  bladders,  sewn 
together  with  thread  made  of  the  dried  and  pounded  sinews  of  the  rein- 
deer. The  chimneys  are  long,  straight  poles,  arranged  in  a  circle  and 
plastered  over  thickly  with  clay. 

It  is  the  natives  of  Northern  Kamtchatka  who  have  the  "zininia," 
or  winter  settlement,  composed  of  low,  sheltered  houses  away  from  the 
coast,  in  which  they  reside  from  September  to  June;  and  the  "letova," 
or  summer  fishing  station,  located  near  the  mouth  of  the  river  or  stream, 
and  consistine  of  the  elevated  huts  to  which  thev  remove  in  June,  and 
around  which,  in  the  salmon  season,  the  usualh-  inert   natives  ply  their 


362  I'AXORA.MA    OF    NATIONS. 

avocations  with  actual  vigor.  Here  the  fish  are  plump,  fat  and  hard, 
while  those  who  ascend  nearer  the  source  of  the  stream,  sometimes 
working  their  wa)^  in  water  which  scarcely  covers  them,  are  lean,  dry  and 
almost  colorless ;  and  further  on,  propelled  by  their  destructive  instinct 
they  choke  the  streams  and  rivulets  with  their  decaying  bodies. 

As  a  rule,  the  natives  live  a  peaceable,  lazy  life,  being  nominally 
governed  by  their  own  chiefs,  who  are  under  the  jurisdiction  of  a  Russian 
commissar)'.  The  chief  dut)'of  this  official  is  to  collect  the  small  annual 
tribute  of  furs  which  is  due  the  imperial  government, 

A  lofty  range  of  volcanic  mountains  traverses  the  country  in  a 
southwesterly  direction,  and  earthquakes  are  frequent  and  violent.  The 
Kamtcliatdales  have  reason  to  stand  in  dread  of  these  internal  forces, 
and  therefore  sacrifice  clogs  to  the  evil  spirits  of  the  mountains.  They 
believe  in  the  immortality  not  only  of  man  but  of  all  creatures;  that 
crimes  punished  in  this  world  are  passed  over  in  the  next;  that  in  the 
hereafter  the  rich  are  to  become  poor  and  the  poor  rich  ;  that  Katchu, 
the  Creator,  left  heaven  after  he  had  made  the  earth,  and  came  to 
Kamtchatka,  where  his  son  and  daughter  married,  and  became  the 
parents  of  offspring.  These  Divine  children  clothed  themselves  with  the 
leaves  of  trees  and  fed  upon  bark.  The  son  of  Katchu  invented  nets, 
and  took  to  fishing  to  meet  the  wants  of  a  rapidly  increasing  famil)'. 
Of  .all  these  gods  the  pagans  have  idols,  although  as  a  people  they 
profess  to  be  members  of  the  Greek  Church. 

THE  TRUE   HYPERBOREANS. 

In  the  Tchuktchis  and  the  Koriaks,  who  hold  the  extreme  north- 
eastern regions  of  Siberia  against  all  efforts  of  the  Russians  either  to 
subdue  or  dislodge  them.,  we  .find  the  vanguard  of  that  people  who  are 
scattered  along  the  Asiatic  and  North  American  coasts  for  a  distance 
of  nearly  six  thousand  miles,  the  most  widely  extended  nation  in  the 
world.  The  Asiatic  tribes  appear  to  have  in  their  constitutions  far  more 
of  the  fierce  blood  of  Tartary  than  the  kindred  people  across  the  strait, 
and  it  requires  no  great  stretch  of  the  imagination  to  understand  how, 
from  their  ancestors  might  have  sprung  the  fathers  of  the  North  Ameri- 
can savage,  who  wandered  down  the  coast  of  the  Western  Continent 
and  spread  themselves  throughout  the  vast  expanse  of  their  adopted 
country. 

Ethnologists  have  even  attempted  to  trace  a  similarity  in  some  of 
their  present  customs  with  those  of  the  North  American  Indian,  instanc- 
ing their  remarkable  proficiency  in  the  use  of  the  bow  and  arrow  (com- 
mon also  to  the  ancient  Tungoosesi;  the  shaving  of  the  head,  punct  "r- 


EACH    MAN    HIS    OWN    MASTER. 


363 


ing  of  the  body  and  thj  wearing  of  huge  earrings.  They  are  tall, 
vigorous  and  athletic,  and  their  lower  limbs  are  not  so  short  as  those  of 
the  North  American  Esquimaux.  Impatient  of  restraint,  bold  and  self- 
reliant,  they  wander  over  their  country's  wilds  with  their  great  herds  of 
reindeer;  now  stopping  to  give  them  welcome  pasturage  and  pitching 


WINTER   ANU  SUMMER   HUTS. 

their  circular  tents  on  the  steppes  ;  now  braving  the  howling  storm  form 
the  Arctic  seas,  and  the  famished  Arctic  wolves  who  furiously  cast  their 
shadowy  forms  into  the  midst  of  their  terrified  herds  ;  or  creeping  into 
their  tents,  covered  with  reindeer  skins  fastened  together  with  long 
thongs  of  seal  or  walrus  hide,  they  crawl  into  their  pologs,  or  tightly- 
sewed  compartments,  and  breathing  the  fumes  from  the  flaming  moss 
and  oil  of  their  wooden  lamps  and  from  the  large  fire  which  is  throwing 
forth  as  much  smoke  as  heat,  they  enjoy  the  howling  winds  outside,  and 
proceed  to  sleep  the  hours  away. 

EACH  MAN  HIS  OWN  MASTER. 
So  far  as  can  be  learned,  these  people  have  no  laws,  no  institutions, 
no  acknowledged  leaders.  They  sometimes  club  together  for  mutual 
protection  and  convenience  and  are  temporarily  guided,  as  to  their  route 
of  travel,  by  an  esteemed  member  of  the  community,  but  if  they  are 
unable  to  agree,  the  company  breaks  up  and  each  man,  taking  his  wives. 


564 


PANORAMA    OK    NATIONS. 


reindeer  and  baggages  pursues  his  separate  way.     Each  man   among 
them  is  as  good  as  another. 

Rank  or  caste  is  unknown,  and  the  ingenious  Shaman  is  put  to  his 
best  tricks  to  overawe  them.  Although  they  sacrifice  dogs,  they  have 
few  superstitions  compared  to  the  majority  of  the  pagan  tribes  of  Siberia. 
One  of  their  most  singular  customs,  or  superstitions  —  or  call  it  what  you 
will  —  is  that  which  makes  it  an  actual  impossibility  to  obtain  from  them 
a  live  reindeer.  They  are  passionately  fond  of  licjuor,  especially  of  that 
produced  from  a  species  of  toad-stool  and  called  muk-a-mur.  The 
natives  can  not  cultivate  it  themselves,  as  the  Qrrowth  of  the  funo-us 
requires  a  greater  shade  of  timber  than  can  be  afforded  by  their  barren 
steppes,  and  as  its  effects  are  so  shattering  to  the  system  that  its  sale  is 
made  a  penal  offense  b)-  even   Russian  law,  they  find  it  very  difficult  to 

obtain  the  muk-a-mur.  But  for  neither 
this  drink  nor  for  quantities  of  tobacco, 
of  which  also  they  are  great  lovers,  was 
a  Koriak  or  a  Tchuktchis  ever  known  to 
exchange  a  live  reindeer ;  once  killed, 
however,  the  most  insignificant  trinket  will 
tempt  him.  This  feeling  is  on  a  par  with 
that  which  is  evinced  by  the  Tungoose, 
further  south,  who  would  almost  starve  to 
death  rather  than  kill  a  tame  reindeer  for 
food. 

The  people  who  are  settled  along  the 
shores  of  the  ocean  support  themselves 
chiefly  by  killing  whales, seals  and  walruses. 
As  to  their  amusements  they  are 
narrowed  down  to  trials  of  skill  with  the 
bow  and  arrow,  wrestling  bouts  and  marriages.  The  young  Koriak 
Avho  has  soft  designs  upon  a  maiden  must  serve  her  father  a 
number  of  years,  chopping  the  gnarled  cedar  from  the  frozen  ground 
and  cutting  it  into  firewood,  watching  his  herds  of  reindeer,  making 
sledges,  hunting  and  tloing  an\  thing  to  make  life  more  easy  and  pros- 
perous for  the  head  of  the  family.  Then  he  is  summoned  to  learn  his 
fate  and  undergo  a  barbarous  ordeal.  He  and  his  intended  are  brought 
to  a  large  tent  containing  many  apartments,  or  pologs,  ranged  round  it 
inside.  In  the  center  is  a  fire,  around  which  are  a  number  of  men  and 
women  who  ar<'  busilv  eneatred  over  such  delicacies  as  marrow,  frozen 
tallow,  etc.,  and  in  a  lively  discussion  of  the  probable  outcome  of  the 
trial.      They  cease  their  eating,  drinking   and  jabbering,  at   the  regular 


TCHUKTCHIS  CHILDREN. 


EACH    -MAN     Ills    OWN     MASTER.  365 

beatino-  of  a  laree  bass  drum,  and  the  tall  master  of  ceremonies  enters 
with  an  armful  of  willow  switches  which  he  proceeds  to  distribute  in  all 
the  pologs.  The  music  continues,  it  being  varied  by  a  wild  chant  sung- 
by  the  drummer,  when  the  curtains  of  the  pologs  are  thrown  up  and 
the  women  divide  their  forces  so  as  to  guard  the  entrance  of  each. 
The  musician  now  redoubles  his  exertions,  and  the  men,  who  remain 
around  the  fire,  take  up  the  chant  and  work  themselves  into  a  state  of 
wild  excitement  over  whatever  is  to  come. 

The  master  of  ceremonies  gives  a  signal,  and  the  girl,  who  is  the 
center  of  attraction,  raises  the  curtain  of  the  first  polog  and  passes  in; 
reappears  almost  immediately,  and  raises  the  curtain  of  the  next,  and 
so  on  around  the  tent,  working  in  and  out  like  an  angleworm.  But  the 
eager  young  Koriak  does  not  have  so  easy  a  passage  around,  for  the 
women  who  have  been  stationed  at  the  curtain  of  the  pologs  do  every- 
thin<T  they  can  to  impede  his  progress — tripping  him  up  and  smothering 
him  in  the  curtains  and  beating  him  with  the  switches.  The  drum  is 
booming,  the  men  are  shouting,  and  the  women  screaming,  as  the  dark- 
faced  girl  dashes  round  the  tent  followed  by  her  luckless  wight.  She 
at  last  brings  up  in  the  last  polog  and  all  eyes  are  strained  to  see  if  she 
lifts  the  curtain  and  emerges,  for  if  she  does,  that  poor  young  man  is 
a  discarded  lover.  But  all  is  still  as  he  plunges  madly  on,  and  amid 
shouts  of  laughter  and  applause  rejoins  his  bride,  breathless  but   happy. 

If,  in  generations  to  come,  the  descendants  of  this  young  Koriak 
couple,  or  the  children  of  those  Tchuktchis  children  should  be  found  in 
North  America,  their  personal  appearance  will  be  found  to  be  similar, 
although  they  will  have  acquired  many  habits  and  beliefs  which  tU-velop 
from  climate,  experience,  soil,  mountains,  seas — in  fact,  from  anything 
capable  of  producing  a  strong  impression  upon  an  ignorant  but  observing 
nature.  They  will  retain  faint  memories  of  their  Asiatic  origin,  which, 
as  they  descend  from  father  to  son  and  from  mother  to  daughter  and 
become  weakened  as  they  spread  from  tribe  to  tribe,  will  be  designated 
by  the  more  lofty  title  of  tradition. 

Singular  to  relate,  this  is  what  has  actually  happened.  The  tradi- 
tions of  all  the  great  American  tribes  of  Indians,  such  as  the  Iroquois, 
the  Algonquins  and  the  Choctaws  point  to  an  Asiatic  origin.  Among- 
the  Hyperboreans  of  Asia  there  are  several  tribes,  now  nearly  extinct, 
which  have  quite  disappeared  from  history,  leaving  behind  only  mounds- 
of  earth  along  the  banks  of  Siberian  rivers,  in  which  are  buried  the- 
bows,  arrows  and  spears  of  the  lost  peoples.  Pressed  north  and  east 
by  hordes  of  Tartars  and  Mongols,  who  in  turn  were  crowded  on  by 
more   powerful   tribes,   the   Arctics  were  crushed  into  the  extremity  of 


366 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


the  continent,  and  there  was  nothing  for  them  to  do  but  to  venture 
across  the  strait  and  see  what  lay  beyond.  They  crossed  the  Rubicon 
and  lienceforth  were  known  as  Americans,  whether  Esquimaux  or 
Indians.  They  swarmed  over  the  northern  coasts,  around  Hudson 
Bay,  Labrador  and  the  Gulf  of  St,  Lawrence,  and  down  the  western 
coast  of  British  America  into  the  interior.  Ere  long  the  two  waves 
met;  the  straight,  tall,  athletic  warriors,  with  their  generally  regular 
features,  having  passed  to  the  south,  met  the  broad-shouldered,  massive 
and  slow  people  from  the  north  and  drove  them  back  into  the  icy 
regions.  Thus  the  Algonquins  pressed  back  the  Esquimaux  and  the 
Dakotas,  or  "men  of  the  salt  water."  But,  as  the  novelists  say,  we 
anticipate.  We  have  crossed  the  strait  when  we  merely  should 
have  reached  it. 


THE  ESQUIMAUX. 

HE  Hyperboreans  of  the  Western  Continent  were  given  a 
name  by  the  Algonquins,  that  great  tribe  of  British-American 
Indians  who  disputed  with  them  the  country  around  the  Gulf 
of  St.  Lawrence  and  finally  expelled  them.  By  them  the 
Esquimaux  were  known  as  eaters  of  raw  meat  and  fish  ;  hence 
the  name  Esquimaux,  or  raw  eaters.  They  call  them- 
(J\  selves  Innuit,  or  men,  and  are  divided  into  Greenlanders, 
Labrador  Esquimaux,  the  Iglulik  or  central,  the  Western,  and 
the  Tchuktchis  in  Asia.  The  early  Scandinavians  called  them 
Skroellingar,  or  wretches,  and  they  were  reconfirmed  in 
their  opinion  of  the  Esquimaux  when  a  body  of  raw-meat  eaters  came 
over  from  Labrador,  some  time  in  the  fourteenth  century,  and  expelled 
the  Norwegians  from  Greenland. 


DOCTORS  DISAGREE. 

Nearly  every  traveler  will  differ  in  his  description  of  the  Esquimaux. 
If  he  happens  to  first  see  them  in  a  boat,  with  their  long  bodies  (from 
the  waist  up)  and  their  broad  shoulders,  he  will  always  fancy  them  as  above 
the  medium  height ;  whereas  if  he  catches  his  first  glimpse  of  them  on 
the  land,  done  up  in  their  great  furs  and  waddling  toward  him,  or  rolling 
along  on  their  short  legs,  he  pronounces  them  to  be,  as  to  size,  about  on 
a  par  with  the  diminutive  Lapps.  The  truth  is  they  are  of  medium 
height,  and  might  be  above  it  if  they  did  not  squat  so  much  in  their  low 
ice  houses,  or  sit  cramped  in  their  long  canoes  and  sledges,  and  thus 
retard  the  growth  of  their  legs. 

There  are  as  many  disagreements  about  their  color  as  In  regard  to 

their  size.     Some  say  their  skin  is  brown,  others  say  it  is  copper-colored, 

others  that  it  is  of  a  bluish  tinge,  and  others  still  that  their  bodies  are 

dark  gray  and  their  faces  brown  or  blue.      A   close  investigation  into 

their  filthy  habits  has  led  more   than  one  authority  to  insist  that  the 

Esquimau,  when  in  a  state  of  nature,  is  nearly  white  ;   that  the  child   is 

as  white  as  others  ;  but  eating  and  handling  grease  and  living  in  smok) 

^67 


3t>S  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

huts,  without  knowing  the  use  of  water  as  a  cleansing  agent,  are  calcu- 
lated to  give  the  skin  a  variety  of  shades.  Notwithstanding  this  differ- 
ence of  opinion  as  to  what  is  the  complexion  of  the  true  Esquimaux, 
there  are  probably  no  people  in  the  world  who  have  so  little  intermixed 
with  other  races  and  whose  features  and  general  physique,  as  well  as 
language,  is  so  uniform.  One  interpreter  who  can  speak  the  language 
can  guide  a  traveler  from  Alaska  to  Labrador,  and  from  Labrador  to 
Greenland,  holding  communication  with  all  the  tribes,  and  always  find- 
ing them  with  broad  egg-shaped  faces,  and  arched  cheek-bones  with  few 
angular  projections,  even  though  the  face  is  furrowed  and  weather- 
beaten. 

The  other  distinctive  features  of  the  face  have  been  thus  o-iven  :  "  The 
greatest  breadth  of  the  face  is  just  below  the  eyes;  the  forehead  tapers 
upwards  ending  narrowly  but  not  acutely,  and  in  a  like  manner  the  chin 
is  a  blunt  cone ;  both  the  forehead  and  the  chin  recede,  the  egg  outline 
showing  in  profile,  though  not  so  strongly  as  in  front  view.  The  nose 
is  broad  and  depressed,  but  not  in  all,  some  individuals  having  prominent 
noses  ;  yet  almost  all  have  wider  nostrils  than  the  Europeans.  The 
eyes  have  small  and  oblique  apertures  like  the  Chinese,  and  from  fre- 
quent attacks  of  ophthalmia  and  the  effects  of  camp  smoke  in  their 
winter  habitations,  adults  of  both  sexes  are  disfigured  by  excorated  or 
ulcerated  eyelids.  The  sight  of  these  people  is,  from  its  constant  exer- 
cise, extremely  keen,  and  the  habit  of  bringing  the  eyelids  nearly 
together  when  looking  at  distant  objects  has  in  all  the  grown  males 
produced  a  striking  cluster  of  furrows  radiating  from  the  outer  corner  of 
each  eye  over  the  temple." 

An  Esquimau  infant,  with  its  red  cheeks  and  comparatively  regu- 
lar features,  could  easily  be  mistaken  for  a  European  ;  but  the  sooty 
smoke  of  the  winter  hut,  the  atmosphere  close  and  hot,  alternating  with 
Arctic  blasts  when  the  family  move  off  on  a  hunting  or  fishing  excursion, 
and  the  blinding  rays  of  a  spring  sun,  soon  spoil  the  red  cheeks  and  the 
presentable  complexion,  and  as  youth  or  maiden  the  Esquimaux  face 
and  figure  are  early  fixed.  If  it  is  a  boy  his  constant  e.xercise  in  hunt- 
ing the  seal  and  walrus  give  him  when  quite  young  a  powerful  set  of 
arm,  back  and  shoulder  muscles. 

AN  ESQUIMAUX  COSTUME. 

The  outer  dress  of  the  natives,  both  male  and  female,  consists  of 
breeches  which  come  below  the  knees  with  a  long-sleeved  jacket,  and  a 
hood  with  a  hole  in  the  middle,  but  no  side  openings.  The  winter  gar- 
ments are  usually  of  seal-skin,  the  summer  ones  of  reindeer  —  although 


AN    ESQUIMAUX    COSTUME. 


369 


all  kinds  of  fur  are  used.  .Sometimes  even  the  skins  of  birds  and  fishes 
furnish  the  material,  and  the  Polar  hare  skins  are  employed  for  orna- 
ments. The  white  fur  of  the  deer  may  even  border  the  hood,  so  that 
when  it  it  drawn  up  over  the  head  the  contrast  makes  the  native  look 
like  a  very  unangelic  figure  going  around  with  a  halo.  Both  sexes  also 
wear  boots  which  come  up  over  the  hips  and  are  water  tight. 

The  distinction  to  be  made  in  the  costumes  of  male  and   female  is 


AN  ESQUIMAUX  GROUP. 

one  purely  of  quantity.     The  woman's  hood  is  large,  because  she  uses 

it  for  her  infant's  cradle  ;  while  her  boots  are  so  constructed,  with  pockets 

and  pouches,  and  a  large  sack  near  the  thigh  in  which  her  child  may  also  be 

safely  stowed  away,  that  her  limbs  look  as  large  and  clumsy  as  elephants' 

legs.      She  usually  puts  them  to  the  ground  with  the   same   caution   and 

deliberation  as  the  great-eared  beast.     When  our  lady  reaches  a  trading 

24 


370  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

settlement,  the  assertion  is  made  that  she  unloads  all  superfluous  baggage 
from  hood  and  boot,  and  frequently  departs  with  trinkets  and  necessi- 
ties  of    life  which   neither  she    nor  her  husband   thought  to  pay   for- 

Although  the  woman  is  treated  more  as  a  chattel  than  a  human 
being  by  the  man,  she  is  otherwise  conscientious  in  providing  for  his 
wants  ;  she  makes  all  his  clothes,  being  especially  skillful  in  dressing 
the  hair  of  the  reindeer-skin  so  as  to  render  it  soft  and  pliable.  She  is 
also  a  remarkable  needle-woman,  and  spends  the  long  winter  in  making 
fur  garments  which  are  both  air-tight  and  water-proof.  Knowing  her 
lord's  hatred  of  water,  she  makes,  among  other  things,  a  water-tight 
shirt  from  the  intestines  of  the  whale  or  the  skins  of  young  seals,  which 
he  puts  on  when  he  launches  his  canoe  and  starts  on  a  hunt. 

Although  put  in  the  background  as  far  as  social  position  is  con- 
cerned, and  being,  furthermore,  but  one  of  several  wives,  she  is  never- 
theless allowed  a  latitude  in  personal  adornment  which  is  denied  to  the 
Indian  woman  ;  for  while  her  lord  merely  cuts  his  hair  on  the  crown  and 
lets  it  hang  as  it  will  over  cheek  and  neck,  she  may  fashion  hers  into  a 
large  bow  on  the  top  of  her  head,  plaiting  her  side  locks,  tying  them 
together  with  strings  of  beads,  and  allowing  them  to  hang  down  in  a 
club-shaped  form  to  the  shoulder.  Fashions  somewhat  differ,  but  there 
is  a  general  similarity  of  mode  to  which  the  above  description  will 
apply.  The  women  also  tattoo  their  faces,  and  in  this  line  each  tribe 
has  its  own  ideas  of  beauty,  many  of  the  customs  reminding  one  of  the 
abominations  practiced  upon  the  human  face  by  the  most  degraded  of 
the  southern  tribes  in  all  parts  of  the  world  —  in  Africa  as  well  as  South 
America.  In  Greenland  the  women  take  a  fine  needle,  the  thread  being 
smeared  with  lamp-black,  and  stitch  their  faces  with  beautiful  lines  ; 
while  west  of  the  Mackenzie  River  is  a  tribe  whose  men  cut  a  hole  in 
each  corner  of  the  mouth,  which  they  fill  with  fancy  pieces  of  bone, 
stone  or  metal,  sometimes  fashioning  a  combination  ornament  consisting 
of  a  small  green  pebble  neatly  set  in  wood  or  bone. 

THE    ESQUIMAUX'  PRIDE. 

The  Esquimau  draws  his  life  from  the  sea,  and  is,  par  excellence, 
the  marine  hunter  and  fisherman  of  the  world.  He  therefore  devotes 
much  of  his  attention  to  his  boats.  These  are  of  two  kinds,  the  kayak, 
or  men's  boat,  and  the  umiak,  or  women's  boat.  The  former  is  sixteen 
feet  long,  the  frame  being  covered  with  seal  or  walrus  skin,  except  a 
hole  in  the  center,  and  the  entire  boat  fashioned  very  much  like  a 
modern  "shell."  The  whole  idea  is  to  provide  an  entire  shelter  for  the 
seal  hunter,   with  the  exception   of  the   face,  and    protect  him  against 


THE    ESQUIMAUX    BRIDE.  37I 

the  water.  The  frame  of  the  kayak  is  built  of  wood,  whalebone  or 
other  bone,  is  Hat  above  and  convex  in  the  bottom.  No  Indian  has  ever 
constructed  a  similar  boat,  which  is  roofed,  and  calculated  to  ride  a 
stormy  sea.  In  short,  being  protected  himself  from  the  water,  the  boat- 
man is  fearless  as  to  personal  safety,  and  if  he  is  capsized,  rights  him- 
self with  his  paddle,  and  proceeds  on  his  way  to  give  battle  to  the  polar 
bear  or  the  walrus. 

The  umiak  is  larger  and  much  broader,  being  regular  in  shape  and 
built  to  accommodate  ten  or  twenty  persons.  It  is  often  furnished  with 
a  sail  formed  of  the  intestine  of  the  walrus.  This  is  the  family  boat, 
or  it  may  be  the  common  property  of  two  families  who  live  in  the  same 
house  ;  in  it  are  therefore  sometimes  loaded  the  tent  and  lamps,  pots 
and  wooden  dishes,  and  one  or  two  sledges  with  dogs  attached.  The 
umiak  is  so  constructed  that  it  floats  only  a  few  inches  deep,  and  can  be 
used  either  as  a  boat  or  a  sledge.  When  launched  upon  the  water  it  is 
usually  propelled  by  the  women,  there  being  benches  provided  for  those 
who  row  or  paddle. 

The  pride  of  the  Esquimau  is  in  his  kayak,  his  weapons  and  his 
sledge.  Now  as  to  his  w^eapons.  A  bladder  filled  with  air  is  often 
attached  to  the  harpoon,  so  that  if  struck  the  animal  will  be  retarded  in 
his  motions  ;  or  should  the  hunter  miss  his  aim  his  weapon  will  not  be 
lost.  When  the  seal  or  walrus  is  struck  the  Esquimau  has  so  contrived 
it  that  the  head  of  the  harpoon  is  bent  out  of  the  shaft,  and  only  the 
head,  with  the  line  and  bladder,  remains  attached  to  the  animal.  With- 
out this  precaution  the  animal  in  its  struggles  would  be  likely  to  break 
the  shaft  or  make  the  barbs  slip  out  of  the  body.  The  harpoons  and 
lances  used  in  killing  whales  or  seals  have  long  shafts  of  wood  or  of  the 
narwhal's  tooth,  the  points  of  these  weapons  being  made  of  horns  and 
bones  of  the  deer ;  or  of  iron,  if  the  hunter  is  lucky  enough  to  fish  out 
a  piece  from  a  wreck  or  obtain  it  by  barter.  Among  the  Esquimaux  of 
the  Mackenzie  River  and  Alaska  region  native  copper  is  used,  which  they 
also  manufacture  into  ice  chisels.  The  point  is  so  constructed  in  these 
spears,  also,  that  it  is  disengaged  from  the  shaft  when  the  animal  is  struck, 
and  the  latter  becomes  a  floating  buoy  attached  to  the  head  by  a  string. 

The  native  bow  is  a  most  powerful  weapon,  and,  propelled  by  the 
strong  arm  of  the  Esquimaux,  will  bring  down  the  great  musk  ox  or 
break  the  leg  of  a  reindeer.  The  sinews  of  the  o.x  or  deer  will  furnish 
the  strings  to  other  bows,  or  be  rolled  into  cords  with  which  to  make 
nets  or  snares.  The  weapon  itself  is  formed  of  three  pieces  of  spruce 
fir  carefully  split  with  the  grain,  the  two  end  pieces  having  a  curve  in 
the  opposite  direction  to  that  of  the  central  one.  Along  the  back  fifteen 
or  twenty  nicely  twisted  sinews  are  firmly  bound. 


3/2 


PANORAMA    OF    NATION'S. 


EASY-RUNNING    SLEDGES. 


The  sledge  of  the  Esquimaux  is  made  of  drift-wood  or  bone  firmly 
joined  with  thongs.  The  bones  of  the  w'haie  are  fitted  together  with 
neatness  and  then  sewed  together  by  the  women,  to  make  the  body  of 
the  sledge,  or  a  number  of  salmon  are  packed  together  in  the  form  of  a 
cylinder  about  seven  feet  long,  encased  in  skins  taken  from  canoes  and 
welt  corded.  Two  of  these  cylinders  are  pressed  into  the  shape  of  run- 
ners, and,  having  been  left  to  freeze,  are  secured  by  cross  bars  made 
of  the  legs  of  the  deer  or  musk  ox.  The  bottom  of  the  runner  is  then 
covered  with  a  mixture  of  moss,  earth  and  water,  upon  wdiich  is  depos- 
ited about  half  an  inch  of  water,  which  congeals  in  the  act  of  applica- 
tion. These  sleds  travel  more  lightly  than  those  shod  with  iron,  but  as 
they  cease  to  be  of  service  when  the  temperature  rises  above  the  freez- 
ing point,  they  are  taken  to  pieces,  and  the  fish  being  eaten,  the  skins 
are  converted  into  bags  and  the  bones  given  to  the  dogs."  This  prac- 
tice of  coatinor  the  runners  of  the  sledges  with  ice  is  also  common  in 
Siberia,  and  so  anxious  are  the  Esquimaux  that  the  surface  shall  be  quite 
smooth  that  in  cold  winter  nights,  after  the  water  has  been  applied,  the 
native  will  use  his  naked  hand  to  polish  it,  viewing  the  result  of  his 
work  with  as  much  pride  as  the  greasy  apple-vender  when  he  looks  upon 
the  shiny  cheeks  of  his  fruit. 

HUNTING  AND  FISHING. 

The  dwelling  of  the  Esquimaux  consists  of  the  summer  tents  and 
winter  huts.  In  the  months  of  June,  July,  August  and  part  of  Septem- 
ber they  use  their  tents,  generally  adapted  for  less  and  rarely  more  than 
twenty  persons.  They  are  peculiar  in  shape,  being  formed  of  from  ten 
to  fourteen  poles,  with  one  end  raised  high  and  leaning  on  the  frame 
which  forms  the  entrance,  the  whole  covered  over  with  a  double  layer  of 
reindeer  skins.  During  the  summer  the  Esquimaux  are  generally  on 
the  move,  carrying  all  their  goods  with  them  in  the  family  boat,  hunt- 
ing and  fishing  as  they  go.  They  choose  their  routes,  however,  with 
reference  to  their  objects  —  whether  they  wish  to  hunt  reindeer,  seals  or 
whales,  or  to  fish  or  trade.  One  of  the  most  exciting  sports  in  which  the 
company  (or  band  of  five  or  six  families)  engage,  is  hunting  the  deer, 
which  migrate  to  the  south  to  escape  the  blasts  of  winter. 

The  plan  usually  is,  as  the  great  herds  of  deer  approach,  to  drive  as 
many  as  possible  upon  a  narrow  neck  of  land  between  two  bodies  of 
water.  Upon  the  land  they  are  met  by  huntsmen  with  their  powerful 
bows  and  arrows,  who  drive  them  into  the  water  where  they  are  received 


HUNTING    AND    FISHING.  373 

upon  the  sharp  points  of  the  spears  wielded  by  the  Esquimaux  in  their 
kayaks.  If  more  deer  are  killed  than  can  be  consumed,  part  of  the  meat 
is  dried  and  the  other  portion  is  left  in  clefts  of  rocks  out  of  the  reach 
of  wild  animals.  Should  it  become  tainted  before  cold  weather  comes 
on,  it  is  all  the  better  to  the  Esquimaux's  taste,  who  eat  it  raw  or  after 
it  has  been  a  little  cooked.  Another  delicacy  which  they  greatly  enjoy 
at  this  season  of  the  year  is  the  half  digested  lichens,  or  moss,  which 
they  find  in  the  bodies  of  the  dead  deer.  They  also  drink  the  warm 
blood,  and  eat  the  entrails  when  they  have  become  crisped  by  the  frost. 
Flocks  of  geese,  salmon,  trout  and  other  fish,  and  berries  of  half  a  dozen 
varieties,  are  enjoyed  during  this  feasting  season.  The  killing  of  whales, 
on  the  coast,  in  August  and  September,  must  also  be  undertaken  semi- 
periodically  to  furnish  oil  for  their  lamps  and  winter  feasts. 

Taking  their  dogs  with  them,  having  built  a  snow  hut  at  a  conve- 
nient distance,  the  hunters  start  out  toward  the  sea  in  quest  of  seals  or 
walruses.  Their  useful  brute  assistants  guide  them  to  the  breathing  holes 
of  their  victims.  Having  erected  a  wall  of  ice  to  protect  himself  from 
bitter  winds,  for  the  winter  is  yet  scarcely  passed,  the  hunter  with  spear 
uplifted  waits  patiently  for  the  first  rise  of  the  air  bubble  which  tells  him 
that  the  wary  seal  is  coming  to  the  surface.  No  sooner  is  its  smooth 
head  above  water  than  the  weapon  flies  to  a  vital  spot,  the  hunter  throws 
a  loop  of  his  harpoon  line  around  his  body  and  braces  his  feet  against 
a  notch  which  has  been  cut  in  the  ice  for  that  purpose.  If  all  this  is 
done  in  proper  time,  well  and  good ;  but  if  his  antagonist  happens  to  be 
^a  great  walrus,  or  even  a  great  seal,  and  he  has  not  planted  his  feet  so 
that  the  strain  will  come  upon  his  body  longitudinally  he  may  be  dragged 
into  the  air-hole  and  drowned  before  assistance  can  arrive,  or  be  thrown 
across  it  and  have  his  back  broken.  Such  accidents  are  not  uncommon. 
The  sport  of  seal  hunting  is  usually  attended  with  little  danger. 
When  the  sleek  animals  mount  the  cakes  of  ice  to  bask  in  the  spring  sun, 
they  allow  the  Esquimau  to  approach  them  with  his  awkward,  sprawl- 
ing motions  which  they  take  to  be  their  own. 

ESQUIMAUX  AS  TRAVELERS. 

These  summer  expeditions,  however,  are  not  undertaken  solely  for 
the  purpose  of  hunting  and  fishing.  The  Esquimaux  not  only  take  long 
journeys  to  barter  with  other  tribes,  but  to  points  along  the  coast  where 
Asiatic  merchants  have  established  a  trade  with  them.  The  greatest 
territory  for  this  species  of  barter  is  Alaska,  or  rather  its  coast  opposite 
to  Asia,  such  as  Kotzebue  Sound,  Point  Barrow  and  Cape  Prince  of 
Wales.     To  such  points  as  these  come  from  the  Asiatic  Hyperboreans 


174 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


and  merchants  iron  and  copper  kettles,  women's  knives,  double-edged 
knives,  dolphin  skins,  tobacco,  arrow  heads,  guns  and  ammunition, 
plumbago,  feathers  for  arrows  and  head-dresses  ;  from  the  East  come 
sledges  and  boats  laden  with  whale  and  seal  oil,  whalebone,  walrus  tusks, 
thongs  of  walrus  hide.  The  Asiatic  Tchuktchis,  or  Esquimaux,  find 
this  trade  so  important  that  a  settlement  of  200  people  has  been  formed 
on  a  rocky  island  in  Behring's  Strait  for  carrying  on  the  traffic.  Upon 
other  adjacent  islands,  traders  have  established  themselves  and  have 
been  entrusted  by  these  commercial  Hyperboreans  with  furthering  their 
interests  in  exchans/inLT  tobacco,  clothes  and  other  articles,  for  furs, 
fossil    ivory,  etc.,  collected  on  the  banks  of  Alaskan  rivers.     The  natives 


STARTING  ON  A  JOURNEY. 

seem  to  be  pleasure-seekers  in  their  travels,  for  as  they  move  along  from 
settlement  to  settlement,  several  of  which  are  permanent,  stops  are  con- 
tinually being  made,  that  the  parties  may  combine  in  a  dance  or  other- 
wise enjoy  themselves.  It  is  not  surprising,  then,  with  their  passion  for 
barter  and  their  love  of  travel,  that  Russian  knives  should  be  passed 
from  hut  to  hut  until  they  are  found  nearly  as  far  east  as  Hudson's  Bay. 

WINTER  HUTS. 


Many  islands,  capes  and  sounds  along  the  shores  of  the  ocean  are 
therefore  almost  deserted  during  the  summer  months,  but  the  huts  are 
reoccupied  in  the  winter.      The  winter  huts  are  varied  in    structure, 


WINTER    HUTS.  375 

Generally  they  are  built  of  stones  and  turf,  the  spars  and  pillars  which 
support  the  middle  of  the  roof  being  of  wood.  Only  the  Esquimaux  of 
the  middle  regions  have  vaults  of  snow  for  their  habitations;  whilst  the 
western  Esquimaux  build  their  houses  chiefly  of  planks,  merely  covered 
on  the  outside  with  turf.  Some  of  the  very  far  northern  Esquimaux 
are  oblised  to  use  bones  or  stones  instead  of  wood. 

The  passage  leading  into  the  houses  is  long  and  very  narrow,  con- 
sisting of  two  inclined  planes  pitched  toward  the  middle,  so  that  in 
entering  you  first  go  down,  then  up,  which  is  a  double  protection  against 
cold  draughts.  The  interior  consists  of  a  single  apartment,  and  the 
sleeping  or  resting  ledge,  at  the  side,  is  divided  into  separate  portions 
for  the  families  who  occ"Upy  the  house.  Each  of  these  stalls  is  separ- 
ated from  the  other  by  a  low  screen,  its  lamp  standing  on  the  floor  in 
front  of  it.  In  Greenland  these  compartments  are  sometimes  divided 
by  skins  attached  to  the  posts  that  support  the  roof,  and  each  room  has 
a  window  of  dried,  transparent    seal   skin. 

The  snow  huts,  being  circular  in  form,  are,  of  course,  arranged  differ- 
ently. This  is  also  true  of  the. western  Esquimaux,  who  have  a  cookr 
ing  place  in  the  center  of  the  floor;  while  in  the  hut  of  wood  the  passage 
leading  to  it  has  generally  a  small  side  room,  with  a  cooking  place,  and 
also  provision  or  store  houses.  More  than  three  or  four  families  seldom 
occupy  one  dwelling.  In  South  Greenland,  however,  houses  have  been 
discovered  over  sixty  feet  in  length,  with  accommodation  for  ten  families, 

FEASTS  AND  PASTIMES. 

In  the  larger  settlements,  especially  among  the  western  Esquimaux 
the  community  often  unite  to  build  a  public  hall,  the  floor  and  inside, 
walls  being  formed  of  dressed  logs.  The  building,  called  a  Kashim,  is 
larger  than  a  dwelling  house  and  is  used  for  a  variety  of  purposes.  Here 
the  men  feast  and  both  sexes  dance.  The  able-bodied  males  of  some 
of  the  tribes  retire  to  the  Kashim  at  sunset  and  occupy  it  as  a  sleeping 
apartment,  leaving  the  old  men  and  children  with  the  Shaman  (native 
magician  or  priest)  to  sleep  in  the  common  huts.  The  Shaman  appears 
early  in  the  morning  and  performs  his  charms,  which  shall  protect  the 
Esquimaux  huntsmen  and  bring  them  good  luck.  At  the  close  of  the 
hunting  season  a  grand  feast  is  held,  to  which  the  successful  hunters 
liberally  contribute.  Their  great  deeds  are  there  lauded,  and  they 
appear  as  heroes  indeed.  The  women  are  not  admitted  to  these  festivi- 
ties until  they  have  been  initiated  with  certain  formalities.  The  Kashim 
is  not  in  common  use,  either,  among  the  Labrador  or  Greenland  Esqui- 
maux,  but    the  latter  know   of  it  by  tradition  and  both  they  and  the 


3/6 


PANUKAMA    U¥    NATIONS. 


Labrador  natives  have  words  for  it  in  their  own  kinguages.  It  is  called 
a  place  of  assembly  for  council,  and  points  to  the  time  when  the 
Esquimaux  were  a  people  with    quite  complex  rules  of  society. 

When  the  Esquimaux  house  is  tightly  closed  for  the  winter  with  a 
slab  of  ice,  and  the  lamps,  fed  with  whale  oil  and  trimmed  with  wicks  of 
moss,  commence  to  add  their  sickening  fumes  to  the  emanations  from 
the  bodies  of  a  score  of  people,  naked  to  the  waist,  and  to  the  odors  of 
rotting  skins  and  putrefying  fish,  it  ceases  to  be  a  wonder  that  the  infant 

grows  old  very  rap- 
idly. During  their 
long  confinement 
what  time  is  not 
passed  i  n  eating 
and  sleeping  is 
mostly  occupied  by 
the  women  in  mak- 
intr  garments,  and 
by  the  men  in  man- 


ufacturing  fish- 
hooks, spear-heads, 
knife-handles  and 
in  making  orna- 
ments  for  their  ca- 
noes. They  are 
very  ingenious  in 
making  the  appa- 
ratus for  certain 
eames  with  which 
they    pass    their 

N- vi^^is^H^Haie  ■■■■iiMiiB        III  ^1  time   and   their 

/c.^^^SB^^SB^fesi.  -MBllHBiiwMlH^^^^'^       models    of    boats, 

sledges,  deer,  men, 
women  and  chil- 
dren carved  from  ivory  and  walrus  tusks  are  surprisingly  accurate 
The  models  are  cut  by  continually  chopping  with  a  knife,  one  end 
of  the  ivory  resting  on  a  soft  stone  ;  after  which  the  figure  is  pol- 
ished by  being  rubbed  with  a  gritty  substance,  a  constant  tlow  of  saliva 
keeping  the  ivory  wet.  Human  figures  thus  carved  show  an  intimate 
knowledge  of  anatomv.  The  natives  on  the  coasts  of  Labrador  are  said 
to  evince  the  greatest  talent  in  this  accomplishment.  There  is  no  evi- 
dence to  prove  that  they  worship  these  figures,  since  they  barter  them 
as  freely  as  their  fish  and  oil. 


A  GREENLAND  HOUSE-WIFE. 


THEIR    CHRISTIANITY.  -7)11 

This  practice  seems  to  have  originated  in  the  ancient  cus- 
tom, when  the  tribes  were  continually  at  war  with  the  Indians  and 
with  each  other,  of  sending  out  artificial  animals  for  the  purpose 
of  destroying  their  enemies.  In  their  old  tales  we  meet  with 
bears  and  reindeers  of  this  description.  Common  also  was  the 
belief  in  the  "  tupilak,"  composed  of  various  parts  of  different 
animals,  such  as  the  teeth  of  the  bear  and  the  tusks  of  the  walrus, 
and  which,  if  smuggled  into  an  enemy's  country,  were  supposed  to  be 
particularly  dangerous.  Even  to  this  day,  upon  the  occurrence  of  any 
calamity,  the  afflicted  people  are  ready  to  accuse  another  tribe  with  hav- 
ing caused  the  trouble  through  their  Shaman,  and  retaliation  is  made  by 
slaying  one  or  more  of  the  enemy.  When  the  desire  for  barter  or  travel 
overcomes  the  passion  for  blood,  the  matter  is  compromised  by  the 
people  who  have  killed  the  most  men  paying  blood-mone)'  for  the  sur- 
plus. 

THEIR  CHRISTIANITY. 

Within  the  past  centurj-  Christianit)-  has  made  decided  progress 
among  the  Esquimaux,  especially  among  those  of  Greenland  ;  but  Sha- 
manism, the  heathen  superstitions  which  are  scattered  from  Lapland  to 
Behring's  Strait  and  personified  in  the  Shaman,  is  still  alive  in  their 
midst.  Even  those  who  have  become  Christians  have  engrafted  the 
new  upon  the  old. 

The  ancient  belief  was  that  there  were  two  great  spirits  and  many 
lesser  ones.  The  Supreme  Ruler  was  termed  Tornarsuk.  Theirheaven 
w^as  in  the  under  world,  to  which  access  was  obtained  by  various  en- 
trances from  the  sea  and   throuijh  mountain  clefts.     The  abode  beneath 

O 

the  land  was  heaven,  because  it  was  conceived  as  a  warm  place,  rich  in 
food.  Those  who  went  to  the  upper  world  would  suffer  from  cold  and 
famine.  They  were  called  ball-players,  on  account  of  their  sport  with 
a  walrus-head  wich  gave  rise  to  the  aurora  borealis.  Tornarsuk  dwelt, 
of  course,  in  the  warm  heaven  beneath.  Some  of  the  natives  represented 
him  as  the  size  of  a  finger,  others  as  a  bear ;  but  as  a  general  rule,  they 
attempted  to  give  him  no  description. 

Another  great  spirit,  though  a  minor  one,  was  an  old  woman  who 
sat  in  her  dwelling  in  front  of  her  lamp,  beneath  which  was  placed  a 
vessel  receiving  the  oil  that  kept  flowing  down  from  the  lamp.  From 
this  vessel,  or  the  dark  interior  of  her  house,  she  sent  out  all  the  food 
animals ;  at  certain  times  she  withheld  the  supply,  causing  want  and 
famine.  It  was  the  task  of  the  priest  to  induce  her  to  again  send  out 
the  supply.      His  journey  was  across  horrid  abysses,  in  which  a  gigantic 


0/ 


8  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


wheel  was  revolving  as  slippery  as  ice  ;  having  safely  passed  a  boiling 
kettle  with  seals  in  it,  he  arrived  at  the  house,  in  front  of  which  were 
terrible  watch-dogs  ;  within  the  very  passage  of  the  house,  he  had 
still  to  cross  an  abyss  over  a  bridge  as  narrow  as  a  knife  edge. 

The  Angakok,  or  priest,  or  Shaman,  had  his  familiar  spirit  which 
he  could  employ,  except  upon  very  special  occasions.  This  was  sup- 
plied him  by  the  Supreme  Being.  His  education  commenced  with 
childhood,  and  before  his  Tornak,  or  spirit,  was  given  to  him,  he  had  to 
repair  to  a  certain  deep  cave  and  rub  two  stones  together  until  he 
heard  the  voice  of  his  Deity  arising  from  the  depths  of  the  earth ,  or 
to  allow  vermin  to  suck  his  blood  until  he  or  she  (for  women  were 
admitted  to  the  priesthood)  became  unconscious. 

The  Angakok  had  other  assistants  to  lighten  his  duties,  called 
Innuce,  those  of  a  marine  nature  who  fed  on  fox-tails,  the  inhabitants  of 
rocky  shores  who  carried  off  the  natives,  pigmies  and  giants,  with  scores 
of  dogs,  weather  spirits  and  those  who  controlled  the  diet  ;  these,  with 
hundred  of  others,  which  the  y\ngakok  called  to  his  aid  in  expelling 
witches,  curing  diseases,  bringing  luck  to  the  hunter,  protecting  the 
boatman  from  harm,  etc.,  etc. 

When  the  priest's  assistance  was  required,  the  company  assembled 
in  a  dark  house,  he  was  tied  with  his  hands  behind  his  back  and  his 
head  between  his  legs,  being  then  placed  on  the  floor  beside  a  drum 
and  a  suspended  skin.  The  auditors  then  sung  a  song,  after  which  the 
Angakok  invoked  his  spirit,  rattling  the  skin  and  playing  upon  the 
drum  at  the  same  time,  although  his  hands  were  tied.  The  arrival  of 
the  spirit  was  said  to  be  accompanied  by  a  peculiar  sound  and  light. 
Then  questions  were  propounded  by  the  Shaman,  the  answers  seeming 
to  proceed  from  without.  If  the  priest  desired  to  make  a  flight,  his 
own  spirit  and  that  of  his  guardian  were  believed  to  shoot  through  the 
roof  of  the  house.  After  a  spell  of  unconsciousness  the  .Shaman  nar- 
rated his  communications,  which  might  be  either  in  the  way  of  infor- 
mation or  advice,  and  showed  that  he  had  been  entirely  released  from 
his  bonds.  During  the  following  day  no  work  was  allowed  to  go  on  in 
the  house. 

This  art  was  principally  exercised  in  discovering  the  causes  of 
accidental  disasters;  in  ascertaining  the  whereabouts  of  missing  persons; 
in  giving  counsel  as  to  rules  of  abstinence,  travel,  hunting,  etc.;  in  pro- 
curinor  favorable  weather  and  in  curing-  sickness.  The  education  of 
children  was  managed  without  any  corporal  punishment,  but  to  threaten 
them  with  the  vengeance  of  evil  spirits  was  enough  to  keep  them  in 
check. 


SOCIAL  AND    HUNTING    REGULATIONS.  3-9 

The  milder  features  of  the  old  belief  are  still  in  existence  even 
among  those  Esquimaux  who  have  embraced  Christianity.  "Through 
their  tales,"  says  one,  "  they  still  preserve  a  knowledge  of  their  ancient 
religious  opinions,  combi*ied  somewhat  systematically  with  the  Christian 
faith.  Tornarsuk,  in  being  converted  into  the  devil  by  the  first  mis- 
sionaries, was  only  degraded,  getting,  on  the  other  hand,  his  real  exist- 
ence confirmed  forever.  In  consequence  of  this  acknowledgment,  in 
part,  of  Tornarsuk,  the  whole  company  of  Innuae,  or  spirits,  were  also 
considered  as  still  existing.  The  Christian  heaven  coming  into  collis- 
ion with  the  upper  world  of  their  ancestors,  the  natives  very  ingen- 
iously placed  it  above  the  latter,  or,  more  strictly,  beyond  the  blue  sky. 
By  making  Tornarsuk  the  principle  of  evil,  a  total  revolution  was 
caused  with  regard  to  the  general  notions  of  good  and  evil  ;  but  in  the 
same  way  as  the  ancient  belief  in  the  world  of  spirits  has  been  kept  up, 
many  of  the  Esquimaux  also  maintain  their  old  faith  respecting  the  aid 
to  be  eot  from,  it  and  have  habitual  recourse  to  it.  The  kavakers  in 
their  hazardous  occupation  still  believe  themselves  taken  care  of  by 
their  invisible  spirits."  The  Greenland  and  the  Labrador  Esquimaux 
have  the  Gospels  ;  many  of  the  old  tribes  are  still  adherents  to  the  old 
faith,  a  few  general  features  of  which  have  been  given  above. 

SOCIAL  AND  HUNTING  REGULATIONS. 

The  Esquimaux  when  untouched  by  Danish  or  other  foreign  in- 
fluence, seem  to  have  no  ideas  regarding  courts  of  justice  and  although 
custom  has  apparently  established  certain  rules  of  conduct  and  regula- 
tions of  society,  no  laws  have  originated  in  their  midst;  that  is,  their 
tales  and  traditions,  which  extend  back  over  a  thousand  years,  show  no 
such  evidences,  neither  does  their  present  life  reveal  anything  of  the 
kind.  There  are  no  Esquimaux  chiefs,  although  trading  companies 
often  select  some  native  who  is  recognized  as  a  leader,  on  account  of  his 
wealth  and  superior  management,  to  direct  the  hunting  operations  of  the 
tribe  and  act  as  an  agent.  The  constitution  of  society  is  patriarchial. 
Except  in  Greenland  it  is  not  customary  for  more  than  one  family  to 
occupy  the  same  house,  although  the  head  of  a  family  has  often  to  pro- 
vide for  a  large  collection  of  widows,  and  orphans  of  deceased  relatives. 
When  his  vieor  fails  him  and  he  is  no  longer  a  successful  hunter,  he  is 
placed  with  the  women  in  the  social  scale  and  nuist  row  with  them  in  the 
family  boat.  Polygamy  and  the  exchange  of  wives  is  approved  of, 
under  certain  conditions.  In  cases  of  divorce  it  is  customary  for  the  son 
to  follow  the  mother.     When  a  man  dies,  the  oldest  son   inherits  the 


;So 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


boat  and  tent  and  is  considered  the  family  provider.  If  no  grown  up 
son  exists  the  nearest  relative  takes  his  place  and  adopts  the  children  of 
the  eleceased. 

If  anyone  picks  up  pieces  of  driftwood,  or  other  goods  lost  at  sea, 
he  has  only  to  carry  them  up  to  high-water  mark  and  put  stones  upon 
them,  in  order  to  make  them  his  property ;  the  right  to  a  seal  is  lost 
■when  the  hunting  bladder  becomes  detached;  if  two  hunters  should,  at 
the  same  time,  hit  a  reindeer  it  belongs  to  the  one  whose  bullet  or  arrow 
reaches  nearest  the  heart,  the  owner,  however,  giving  the  unlucky  hunts- 


LABRADOR  ESQUIMAUX. 

man  a  part  of  the  flesh  ;  in  South  Greenland,  where  bears  are  rarely 
seen,  it  is  said  that  if  a  bear  is  killed  it  belones  to  whoever  first  discov- 
ered  it. 

Except  in  the  introduction  of  firearms  and  such  articles  as  bread, 
coffee,  sugar  and  tobacco,  the  hunting  customs  and  food  of  the  Esqui- 
maux are  essentially  the  same  as  they  were  a  thousand  years  ago.  They, 
however,  show  agreat  aptitude  in  learning,  and  where  schools  have  been 
established,  particularly  in  Greenland  and  Labrador,  both  old  and  young 
are  anxious  to  attend.  In  these  countries  and  on  the  coasts  of  Alaska, 
they  also  seem  to  be  acquiring  some  notions  regarding  the  benefits  of 
regular  laws  ;  so  that  before  long  Esquimaux  states  and  kingdoms  maj. 
arise  in  the  frozen  regions  of  North  America. 


"fi'i^f"!^ 


.M&mm 


NORTH  AMERICAN   INDIANS. 


ALASKA. 

ME  regions  of  Alaska  which  are  really  known  are  confined 
to  the  coast,  and  the  district  inhabited  by  others  than  the 
native  Indians  is  virtually  included  in  the  region  about  Sitka, 
or  New  Archangel.  What  has  been  learned  of  the  interior  of 
the  country  has  come  through  rather  indefinite  native  sources. 
Fort  Yukon,  at  the  junction  of  the  Yukon  and  Porcupine 
Rivers,  is  the  most  northerly  station  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany, and  some  900  miles  east  of  the  coast.  The  traders- 
occasionally  obtain  information,  with  furs,  from  the  natives,  but 
the  former  is  scant  indeed.  Sitka,  as  capital  of  the  territory, 
and  St.  Paul,  on  Kadiak  Island,  as  the  main  depot  of  the  seal  fisheries, 
are  where  tourists  mostly  seek  news  of  the  country.  The  Yukon  and 
the  smaller  rivers  have  been  explored,  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  no 
stories  told  about  the  salmon  can  be  too  large. 

Geologically,  Alaska  will  prove  a  pregnant  field  for  scientists,  and 
lovers  of  the  grand  and  the  beautiful  will  be  attracted  even  more 
strongly.  All  along  the  Pacific  Coast  there  are  glaciers  filling  the 
mountain  gorges,  and  terminating  at  the  sea  in  magnificent  masses  of 
overhano^ine  ice.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  of  these  grand  exhibi- 
tions,  of  which  nature  is  so  wonderfully  lavish,  is  the  Muir's  Glacier,  of 
Glacier  Bay,  a  product  of  the  Sitka  Mountains.  The  swiftest  and 
strongest  pen  falls  far  behind  the  reality  in  describing  this  frozen  river, 
which  stands  as  high  as  the  loftiest  cathedral,  is  two  miles  across  and 
forty  miles  in  length. 

REMNANTS  OF  THE  GREAT  TRIBES. 

The  Athabascans  compose  a  great  family  which  has  left  its  mark  all 
over  the  western  portions  of  British  America,  in  the  names  of  rivers  and 
lakes,  although  its  own  name  was  given  it  by  the  Algonquins.     The 

tribes  of  Alaska  and  British  America  are  mild  and  industrious,  greatly 

3S1 


PRESENT    WAYS    OF    LIVING.  383 

resembling  the  Esquimaux  in  their  mode  of  living,  especially  in  the  skill 
which  they  show  in  the  construction  and  use  of  their  fishing  Weapons 
and  their  taste  in  carving  their  ornaments.  Unlike  the  Esquimaux, 
however,  who  are  most  unsatisfactory  as  historical  subjects,  they  retain 
traditions  of  a  journey  from  the  icy  regions  and  islands  of  the  great 
northwest.  Another  peculiarity  which  distinguishes  them  both  from 
Esquimaux  and  other  Indians  is  a  heavy  beard  ;  otherwise  they  have 
square  heads,  short  hands  and  feet,  and  greatly  resemble  a  Siberian 
Tungoose. 

The  tribes  of  this  family,  comprise  the  native  interior  population  of 
Alaska;  the  Esquimaux  occupying  the  northern  coasts,  and  the  Aleuts 
the  Aleutian  and  adjacent  islands.  The  latter  have  been  classed  both 
as  Esquimaux  and  as  Indians,  but  have  been  in  contact  with  the  Rus- 
sians for  so  many  years  as  factors,  or  traders,  that  they  have  lost  their 
national  characteristics.  In  Alaska,  the  Athabascans  are  known  as  Ke- 
naians,  a  tribe  by  that  name  dwelling  on  the  peninsula  of  Kenai,  between 
Cook's  Inlet  and  Prince  William  Sound.  These  tribes  are  principally 
settled  along  the  Yukon  River,  which,  from  the  Rocky  Mountains,  cuts 
through  the  country  for  eighteen  hundred  miles  and  empties  into  Behr- 
ing  Sea. 

PRESENT  WAYS  OF  LIVING. 

The  waters  of  all  the  rivers  and  streams  abound  in  salmon.  They 
are  caught  and  dried  by  the  Indians,  some  of  whom  use  the  typical 
birch-bark  canoe  in  their  journeys  up  and  down.  The  work  of  catching 
salmon  in  Alaska  rivers  is  not  difficult;  during  the  spawning  season  the 
streams  are  simply  black  with  them,  and  it  is  no  uncommon  sight  to  see 
the  banks  piled  up  with  dead  fish  to  a  height  of  three  feet,  the  waves 
having  cast  ashore  those  which  were  weak  and  injured. 

Even  now  the  Esquimaux  and  the  Athabascans  come  into  conflict, 
although  their  habits  and  beliefs  are  in  many  ways  similar ;  but,  as  a 
rule,  they  are  mostly  employed,  either  individually  or  by  traders,  in  col- 
lecting fossil  ivory,  hunting  the  fox,  beaver,  marten,  otter,  mink,  lynx 
and  wolverine ;  occasionally  also  fishing  for  the  ulikon,  which  is 
abundant  in  some  sections  and  celebrated  as  the  fattest  of  known  fish. 
Other  ocean  game  engages  their  attention  and  taxes  their  ingenuity, 
which  seems  never  to  be  found  wantinof. 

The  most  original  of  their  hooks,  and  which  was  especially  photo- 
graphed from  the  real  thing  for  us,  is  so  constructed  that  when  the 
fish  snaps  at  his  bait  he  not  only  gets  hooked,  but  finds  his  head 
wedged  into  a  sort  of  framework,  so  that  he  can  not  break  away  in  either 


TOTEiM  POLES  AND  INDIAN  HUTS,  KURT  MANGELL,  ALASKA. 


THE  Indian's  totem.  385 

direction.  The  fish  line,  or  rope,  is  made  from  a  number  of  strands 
which  consist  of  tousjh  wood  fibre,  all  twisted  toQ^ether  in  the  neatest 
and  most  substantial  fashion.  The  hook  is  fastened  into  a  piece  of  wood 
which  is  grotesquely  carved  to  represent  a  man  plajing  a  flute. 

The  Alaska  Indians  are  as  fond  of  playing  cards  as  many  of  their 
Siberian  ancestors,  but  most  of  the  American  natives  show  Yankee  skill 
in  making  their  own  implements  of  the  game.  They  consist,  in  some 
cases,  of  little  round  pieces  of  hard  wood,  in  shape  like  a  finger,  which 
are  smoothed  and  polished  ami  car\ed  into  faces  and  figures.  The  man- 
ner in  which  they  play  their  games  has  not  yet  transpired,  but  the  form 
of  their  cards  would  preclude  much  shuffling. 

The  center  of  the  fur-seal  industry  is  1,400  miles  west  of  Alaska,  on 
the  Pribylov  Islands,  in  the  very  heart  of  Behring  Sea,  but  within 
American  waters.  It  is  monopolized  by  the  Alaska  Commercial  Com- 
pany of  San  Francisco,  and  by  Act  of  Congress  seals  may  only  be  killed 
in  June,  July,  September  and  October;  firearms  may  not  be  used,  or 
other  means  employed  to  drive  the  seals  away;  neither  female  seals,  nor 
those  less  than  one  year  old,  can  be  killed.  The  act  also  limits  the  num- 
ber to  be  killed,  in  addition  to  those  required  for  food  by  the  natives,  to 
100,000  annually.  St.  Paul  and  St.  George  are  the  two  islands  of  the 
above  group  where  the  seals  resort  for  breeding  purposes,  the  shores 
being  well  drained  and  gently  sloping,  and  peculiarly  adapted  to  the 
habits  of  the  animals.  The  males  usually  arrive  early  in  June,  as  many  as 
possible  selecting  and  defending  a  few  square  feet  of  land  upon  which 
to  establish  their  families  when  the  females  appear,  about  a  month  later. 
Only  to  the  brave,  however,  flock  the  fair,  the  result  being  that  more 
males  are  bachelors  than  heads  of  families.  The  bachelor  seals  have 
their  separate  grounds,  and  they  are  the  ones  who  are  the  victims  of  the 
hunter.  Armed  with  thick  clubs  about  five  feet  in  length,  and  with 
knives,  the  natives  drive  the  seals  from  their  hauling  grounds  which 
the  animals  have  themselves  selected,  to  the  killing  grounds  which 
the  men  have  laid  out.  The  next  process  is  simply  to  knock  them  on 
the  head,  stab  them  to  the  heart,  and  skin  them.  The  skins  are  then 
salted,  piled  in  bins  where  they  are  allowed  to  pickle  for  several 
weeks,  and  then  rolled  into  bundles  of  two  skins  each,  with  the  hairy  side 
out,  ready  for  shipment. 

THE  INDIAN'S  "TOTEM." 

Returning  to  the  continent,    it    is  found  that  among  the    Kenai 

Indians  there  are  more  distinct  traces  of  Asiatic  blood  than  among  the 

Aleuts.     They  have  their  Shaman  as  do  the  Siberian  tribes,  and  uphold 

25 


386  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

a  species  of  caste.  After  burning  the  dead,  tlie  aslies  are  generally 
placed  in  a  leather  bag,  which  is  suspended  to  a  painted  pole;  some  of 
the  tribes,  however,  put  the  corpse  on  a  staging,  or  even  bury  it  decently 
and  erect  a  wooden  tomb  over  it.  Marriage  is  not  allowed  between 
members  of  the  same  clan  or  family,  the  children  belonging  to  the 
mother's  clan.  Trousers  and  shoes  are  fastened  to  a  kind  of  leather 
tunic  ;  which  latter  is  worn  of  greater  length  by  the  women,  rounded  in 
front  and  trimmed  with  shells.  The  men  paint  their  faces  and  wear 
shells  in  the  nose,  while  the  women  tattoo  lines  on  the  chin.  Personal 
beauty  is  said  to  favor  the  men,  who,  however,  are  in  the  minority. 
When  girls  arrive  at  a  marriageable  age  they  are  separated  from  the 
rest  for  one  year,  and  wear  a  peculiar  bonnet  with  fringe  over  the  face. 
The  winter  houses  of  some  of  the  tribes  are  underground,  as  are  the 
Esquimaux,  and  they  are  all  given  as  much  to  barter  a?  the  Arctic  race. 
Their  money  is  either  shells  or  beads. 

The  Alaskans  are  divided  into  many  tribes,  and  each  tribe  has  its 
peculiar  totem,  or  symbol,  as  was  the  case  with  the  Iroquois  of  New 
York,  or  the  Six  Nations;  and  the  totem  is  still  an  institution  with  many 
of  the  tribes  of  the  United  States.  There  are  Beaver,  Crow,  Rat, 
Turtle  and  all  other  kinds  of  Indians  amongf  the  Alaskans,  and  each 
tribe  has  in  front  of  its  village  a  totem  pole,  on  which  is  carved  the 
figure  or  combination  of  figures  which  constitutes  its  coat-of-arms.  These 
may  even  be  seen  in  fascinating  variety  along  the  coast  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Sitka. 

The  totem  originates  in  the  wide-spread  Indian  tradition  that  the 
red  man's  creation  results  from  the  union  of  a  spirit  with  some  of  the 
lower  animals,  and  the  bird,  beast  or  fish  which  he  fixes  upon  as  one  of 
his  parents  becomes  his  totem.  There  are  tribal  totems  and  family 
totems.  As  to  the  latter,  the  skin  of  the  totem  is  "  carefully  stuffed, 
bedecked  with  ornaments  and  feathers,  is  tied  to  a  staff  and  carried 
about  in  the  hand  on  grand  full-dress  occasions.  In  eood  weather  it  is 
stuck  up  in  front  of  the  door  of  the  lodge,  and  when  the  head  of  the 
family  dies  it  is  suspended  to  the  top  of  a  strong,  high  pole,  which  is 
firmly  planted  beside  his  grave.  It  is  the  family  crest,  the  title  of  honor, 
the  symbol  of  its  ancestry  and  descent,  and  whatever  may  be  the  name  of 
the  individual  of  that  family,  his  signature  is  a  rude  representation  of 
the  creature  to  which  he  believes  he  owes  his  origin."  The  above 
applies  more  particularly  to  the  tribes  of  the  Western  plains. 

THE    FLATHEADS. 
Upon  their  reservation   in   Wasliington  Tcrritor\-  is  a  small  band 


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388  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

of  Chinooks,  a  tribe  of  Indians  who,  at  one  time,  lived  on  the  coasts  of 
Oregon  and  Washington  and  the  l^anks  of  the  Cokunbia  River.  They 
woukl  be  unworthy  of  mention  were  it  not  that  they  still  conform  to  a 
custom  which  was  in  vogue  with  the  ancient  tribes  of  Mexico,  Central 
America  and  Peru,  and  with  the  mound-builders  whose  skulls  have  beer» 
excavated  in  the  valleys  of  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio.  Either  by  bind- 
ing a  piece  of  board  or  tightly  braided  grass  upon  their  infants'  heads, 
and  suspending  them  so  that  the  feet  are  the  highest  portions  of  their 
bodies,  the  Chinooks  manage  to  flatten  the  soft,  little  craniums  out  of 
all  natural  shape.  These  Indians  are  small  and  unprepossessing,  are 
filthy  in  their  habits,  but  are  shrewd  and  intelligent,  ingenious  in  the 
construction  of  their  household  utensils  and  fishing  weapons,  as  well  as 
being  of  quite  an  artistic  turn  of  mind.  The  Indians  known  as  P'lat- 
heads  are  not  flatheads,  in  fact,  they  having  never  adopted  the  cus- 
tom of  thus  disfiguring  themselves.  They  are  located  on  a  reservation 
in  Western  Montana,  and  are  a  remarkable  instance  of  instinctive 
elevation.  When  they  were  half  starved  and  naked,  they  voluntarily 
sent  for  a  missionary  and  invited  others  to  settle  among  them  who  could 
improve  their  condition.  Willing  to  work,  they  made  rapid  progress  in 
agriculture  and  industrial  pursuits,  obtained  horses  and  cattle  and,  w'hat 
was  better,  schools  and  churches.  The  Flatheads  are  naturally  peace- 
able, but  they  have  fought  bravely  against  the  .Sioux  when  attacked^ 
They  belong  to  the  Selish  family. 

A  few  hundred  of  the  Athabascans  live  on  the  banks  of  the  Colum- 
bia River,  Oregon,  and  they  and  other  small  tribes,  although  the)'  do- 
not  attempt  to  fix  the  time,  have  traditions,  which  are  borne  out  by 
geological  evidences,  that  several  of  the  peaks  of  the  Cascade-  Moun- 
tains were  active  volcanoes.  The  Nez  Perces,  the  Wallawallas,  and 
other  minor  tribes  occupy  reservations  or  native  grounds  in  Idaho  and 
Oregon,  on  the  Columbia  or  Snake  River. 

V        THE    APACHES. 

To  set  a  fierce  Apache  against  one  of  these  fishing,  hunting  and 
tradino;  Indians  is  a  wonderful  contrast,  and  remarkable  when  it  is  con- 
sidered  that  they  are  of  the  same  stock.  Only  a  few  hundred  of  the 
1 5,000  or  20,000  who  have  fortified  themselves  in  the  Sierra  Nevada 
and  Rocky  Mountains,  along  the  rivers  of  the  United  States  and  Mex- 
ico, periodically  issuing  forth  to  harass  settlers  and  give  the  national 
troops  a  brisk  campaign,  have  been  brought  under  government  control. 
I'or  fifty  years  previous  to  the  war  one  of  their  wontlerlul  chiefs  lirought. 
imposing  forces  into  the  field,  Ijut  with  his  tleatli  tin-  trilic  has  scattered,. 


390  PAXORAMA    OK    NATIONS. 

although  the  fragments  are  still  troublesome  enough.  The  Apaches 
fight  upon  the  tly,  being  mounted  upon  small,  \viry  ponies,  which  are 
guitled  by  a  simple  cord  passed  under  the  jaws.  Their  principal  weapon 
is  a  very  long,  iron-pointed  arrow,  which  they  shoot  with  the  most 
unerring  precision.  The  chief,  or  captain  of  a  band,  in  addition  to  the 
breech-cloth,  or  Ijlanket,  wears  a  buckskin  helmet,  ornamented  with  a 
feather.  The  common  warrior  goes  dashing  at  his  enemy  bareheaded, 
and  if  he  kills  him  disdains  to  take  his  scalp.  Both  sexes  ornament 
themselves  with  pearl  shells  or  rough  carvings  of  wood,  and  wear  high 
buckskin  moccasins.  Their  feet  being  thus  confined  are  so  small  that 
an  Apache's  trail  is  easily  recognized. 

When  in  their  mountain  retreats  the  Apaches  live  in  lodges  built 
of  light  boughs  and  twigs,  resting  from  their  labors  of  the  field  and 
allowing  the  women  to  do  all  the  work  of  collecting  fuel,  besides  per- 
forming the  regular  duties  of  the  household.  Their  songs  are  not 
weirdly  sweet,  and  their  card-playing,  of  which  they  are  very  fond,  is 
probably  not  according  to  Hoyle;  but  their  smoking  is  sedate  and 
quite  proper.  The  women  as  they  move  about,  perhaps  carrying  infants 
in  osier  baskets  at  their  backs,  are  seen  to  wear  short  petticoats  and  no 
ornaments.  The  African,  the  Polynesian,  the  Australian  and  the 
Esquimau,  however  much  they  may  abuse  their  wives,  generally'  allow 
them  the  feminine  luxury  of  adorning  their  persons,  but  the  Indian 
even  cuts  off  this  enjoyment.  When  the  Apache  travels  he  loads  his 
wife  with  provisions,  upon  a  horse,  fastening  the  basket  cradle  of  his 
papoose  to  the  saddle. 

Should  the  warriors  not  return  from  battle  the  women  cut  off  their 
long,  loose  hair  as  a  sign  of  mourning. 

Montezuma  seems  to  be  an  Apache  deity,  although  the  savage  pro- 
fesses a  belief  in  a  Supreme  Being.  White  birds  and  the  bear  are 
sacred  to  them,  and  the  hog  they  consider  unclean. 

The  Lipans  were  formerly  the  most  powerful  of  the  tribes  in  the 
present  state  of  Texas,  with  the  possible  exception  of  the  Comanches. 
They  have  figured  prominently  in  border  troubles,  being  generally 
friendly  to  the  Texans.  Although  both  Texas  and  the  General  Govern- 
ment attempted  to  fix  them  upon  reservations,  they  were  too  restless  to 
settle  down.  Now  they  were  in  Texas,  now  in  New  Mexico  and  at  last 
accounts  they  were  without  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States. 

THE  NAWAJOS. 

The  Navajos  are  as  bitter  toward  the  Mexicans  as  all  the  Apache 
tribes,  but  some  of  their  bands  ha\e  always  been  friendly  to  the   United 


THE    ALGOXC^UIXS.  39I 

States.  They  occupy  a  tract  of  country  between  the  San  Juan  and 
Little  Colorado  Rivers,  in  Northeastern  Arizona,  the  government  reser- 
vation of  6,000  square  miles,  lying  in  part  within  the  boundaries  of  New 
Mexico.  Even  those  who  are  not  under  guardianship,  cultivate  the  soil 
of  the  table-lands,  raise  live-stock  and  make  beautiful  woolen  blankets. 
This  manufacture  is  so  highly  prized  that  a  blanket  will  bring  as  high  as 
$150.  From  a  very  early  day  the  Navajos  have  possessed  sheep,  cattle, 
goats  and  horses,  and  were  spinners  of  cotton  and  wool.  They  weave 
their  own  cloth,  choosing  to  attire  themselves  in  red  and  other  bright 
colors.  Bows,  lances  and  rawhide  shields  are  the  weapons  of  the  Navajo 
when  he  goes  upon  the  war-path,  his  head  dress  being  the  same  as  that 
of  the  Apache. 

THE  ALGONOUINS. 

Hundreds  of  nomadic  tribes  belonging  to  the  Algonquin  family 
scoured  the  country  now  included  in  the  British  possessions  east  of  the 
territory  of  the  Athabascans,  up  and  down  the  St.  Lawrence  and  Ottawa 
Rivers  and  around  the  shores  of  the  Great  Lakes.  The  Algonquin 
tribe,  which  gives  the  name  to  the  family,  is  supposed  to  have  been  par- 
ticularly partial  to  the  region  adjacent  to  the  Ottawa  River,  and  there  is 
now  a  remnant  of  them  at  the  Lake  of  the  Two  Mountains. 

The  chief  band  of   the  Algonquin  tribe  was  called    Kichisipirini 
"men  of  the  great  river."     The  Iroquois  Indians  early  came  in  conflict 
with  this  great  family,  and  were  driven  south  of  Lake  Ontario  where  the^' 
formed  the  confederation  of  the  Six  Nations. 

As  the  Chippewas,  Menomonees  and  Pottawattamies,  the  family 
appeared  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Michigan  and  paddled  their  canoes  in 
the  lakes,  rivers  and  streams  of  the  Northwest.  The  Chippewas  are 
now  living  on  reservations  in  Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  Michigan,  Kansas 
and  Indian  Territory,  numbering,  with  the  Ottawas,  nearly  20,000.  The 
Menomonees  occupy  a  reservation  in  Northeastern  Wisconsin.  About 
1,000  of  them  remain.  The  Pottawattomies  are  in  Indian  Territory  and 
Kansas,  and  number  1,700.  There  are  less  than  1,000  representatives 
of  the  Foxes,  Sacs,  Miamis  and  other  tribes  who  formerly  counted  their 
thousands,  and  ranged  over  the  garden  States  of  the  West  as  their  hunt- 
ing grounds.  With  other  wrecks  of  the  Red  Man's  race  they  have  been 
gathered  into  the  Indian  Territory. 

THE  CHIPPEWAS. 

The  Chippewas,  or  Ojibways,  comprised  one  of  the  great  Algon- 
quin nations,  driving  the  Sioux  from  the  headwaters  of  the  Mississippi 
and  the  Red  River  of  the  North,  warring  with  the  Sacs,  the  Foxes  and 
Iroquois,   firml)-  establishing  themselves  on  the  lands  north  of  Lake  Su- 


392  PANORAMA    OK     iXATIUNS. 

perior,  and  then  spreading  southward  over  Northern  Wisconsin  and  the 
northern  peninsula  of  Michigan.  Some  of  the  tribes  moved  east  to  Lake 
Erie,  where  the)'  joined  the  IMiamis,  others  moving  southwest  and  wrest- 
ing vast  tracts  of  land  from  hostile  bands  along  the  Chippewa  and  Mis- 
sissippi rivers.  Numbers  of  the  Chippewas  have  not  been  gathered  to 
any  reservation,  their  principal  country  lying  on  the  southern  shores  of 
Lake  Superior  and  the  western  shores  of  Lake  Huron. 

A  historic  spot  is  Madeline  Island,  a  small  tract  of  land  opposite 
Bayfield,  Northern  Wisconsin;  for  here  the  great  Chippewa  chiefs  signed 
away  all  their  lands  in  Wisconsin  and  Michigan  to  the  General  Govern- 
ment. Upon  it  were  also  located  the  headquarters  of  the  American  Fur 
Company  and  the  Jesuit  missions.  Father  Marqu(-tte  himself  living  there, 
for  a  time,  to  labor  with  the  Chippewas.  Only  a  few  fisherman  now 
remain  upon  the  island,  although  on  the  opposite  shores  of  the  lake 
the  natives  still  roam  about,  hunting  and  fishing,  guiding  sportsmen  and 
the  pleasure  seekers,  making  canoes,  mats,  baskets  and  maple  sugar. 

The  ancient  religion  of  the  Chippewas,  and  which  is  still  held  by  a 
few  thousand  of  the  children  of  the  woods  around  Lake  Superior,  con- 
sists in  a  belief  in  the  Manitous,  or  the  Good  and  the  Evil  Spirits.  They 
have  a  priesthood  called  the  Medas,  whoare  the  veritable  sorcerers  found 
among  the  Siberian  tribes;  for  each  of  their  priests  has  his  manitou,  or 
spirit,  revealed  to  him  in  a  dream. 

The  Chippewas  are  tall  and  well-developed,  and  their  power  as 
forest  fighters  was  celebrated  all  over  the  Northwest,  their  weapons 
being  superior  to  those  of  most  neighboring  tribes.  At  a  suprisingly 
early  day  they  obtained  firearms,  and  even  their  arrows  and  spears  were 
pointed  with  good  steel.  The  name  Odjibewa,  or  Chippewa 
(although  the  accent  really  comes  on  the  second  syllable),  signifies 
the  dwellers  in  a  contracted  place.  INLiny  of  the  descendants  of  the 
wild  Odjibewas  have  settled  in  Northern  Wisconsin  and  Michigan, 
being  engaged  principally  in  the  lumber  trade. 

The  Menomonees,  unlike  most  of  the  western  tribes,  increased  in 
power  from  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  to  the  beginning  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  and  even  as  late  as  1830  they  held  a  large  portion  of 
Northeastern  and  Eastern  Wisconsin.  But  little  by  little  they  ceded 
their  lands  to  the  United  States,  and  in  1S52  removed  to  their  reservation 
on  the  upper  Wolf  River,  in  the  northeastern  part  of  that  State. 

INDLAN    PIONEERS. 

And  where  are  the  Pequots,  the  Narragansetts,  the  Powhatans,  the 
Pampticoes,  and  other  tribes  of  the  New  England  States  antl  the  South, 


THE    CHEVEX.NES.  393 

who  SO  warmly  welcomed  the  white  immigrants?  There  is  a  little 
settlement  of  Narragansetts  near  Charlestown,  R.  I.,  and  the  last  heard 
of  them  they  had  not  yet  decided  to  become  citizens. 

Wisconsin,  however,  has  to  tell  another  story.  Early  in  the  "20's" 
remnants  of  Narragansetts,  Pequots,  Mohicans  and  other  tribes  of 
former  power,  who  had  emigrated  from  the  land  of  the  Oneidas,  near 
Utica,  N.  Y.,  removed  to  Green  Bay,  and  afterwards  to  the  shores  of 
Lake  Winnebago,  southwest  of  that  locality.  Here  they  formed  the 
Brothcrtown  colony,  proceeded  to  clear  land,  and  established  churches 
and  schools.  Since  then  the  inhabitants  have  generally  kept  pace  with 
other  portions  of  the  county  (Calumet)  in  material  and  mental  improve- 
ment, having  sent  several  representatives  to  the  legislature,  and  developed 
educated  and  refined  citizens.  Others  have  become  wealthy  and,  have 
sent  their  children  to  colleges  and  universities.  With  the  Brothertown 
Indians  also  came  the  Stockbridges,  a  New  York  tribe,  who  had  been 
granted  a  small  tract  of  land  by  the  Oneidas,  but  who  sighed  for  inde- 
pendence. The  story  of  their  advancement  and  incorporation  into  the 
body  politic  of  a  great  State  is  similar  to  that  of  their  friends  and 
co-workers. 

THE  CHEYENNES. 

West  of  the  Mississippi  River  were  two  great  isolated  tribes  of  the 
Algonquins  —  the  Cheyennes  and  Blackfeet.  The  Cheyennes  are 
divided  between  Indian  Territory  and  Montana  reservations,  being,  in 
both  cases,  intermixed  with  their  auxiliary  tribe,  the  Arapahoes. 

In  personal  appearance  the  Cheyennes  meet  all  the  romantic  ideas 
regarding  the  noble  red  men,  exceeding  in  stature  all  of  the  tribes  of 
the  plains  except  the  Osages.  The  wars  which  they  have  waged  with 
the  Government  are  the  most  costly,  both  financially  and  in  the  loss  of 
human  life,  which  have  been  experienced  of  late  years;  the  campaign 
of  1864-65  is  said  to  have  cost  the  United  States  $40,000,000.  The 
Cheyennes  were  first  known  as  living  on  the  Cheyenne  River,  a  branch 
of  the  Red  River  of  the  North.  They  were  driven  away  by  the  Sioux, 
and  in  the  early  part  of  the  century  were  camping  near  the  Black  Hills, 
on  the  Cheyenne  River.  From  the  first  the  Cheyennes  were  great 
horsemen,  and  to-day  they  are  noted  dealers.  Finally  the  tribe  split, 
the  northern  portion  joining  their  old  enemies,  the  Sioux,  and  the  south- 
ern the  Arapahoes  of  Arkansas. 

The  Blackfeet  are  scattered  from  Hudson's  Ba)'  to  the  Missouri 
River.  The  Kena,  or  Blood  Indians,  are  a  northern  branch  of  the 
same   nation,  the   two   separating  on   the   Saskatchewan    River,  British 


394  PANORAMA    UF    NATIONS. 

America,  and  the  Satsika,  or  Blackfeet  (as  the  Crows  dubbed  them), 
going  south  to  the  Missouri.  Other  difficulties  in  the  northern  body 
brought  another  spht,  the  seceders  following  a  chief  named  Piegan. 
And  so  it  comes  to  pass  that  about  half  of  those  who  remain  of  the 
original  Blackfeet  are  in  Montana.  They  number  some  7,000^  of  whom 
1,500  are  on  their  Montana  reservations,  being  divided  into  Blood  and 
Piegan  Indians  and  Blackfeet  proper. 

THE  ARAPAHOES. 

The  Arapahoes  have,  for  many  )-ears,  resided  near  the  headwaters  of 
the  Arkansas  and  Platte  rivers.  They  are  a  member  of  the  Blackfoot 
confederacy,  but  are  going  out  with  the  buffalo.  Some  of  them 
occupy  reservation  land  adjoining  the  Cheyennes,  in  the  Indian  Territory. 
The  Gros  Ventres,  said  to  be  of  the  same  stock  as  the  Arapahoes, 
occupy,  with  a  number  of  the  latter,  a  portion  of  the  Blackfeet  reserva- 
tion in  Montana.  Their  chiefs  are  chosen  for  their  valor,  and  the 
women  are  the  w-orkers,  building  large  and  comfortable  lodges  capable 
of  accommodating  100  persons.  One  part  is  assigned  to  their  horses, 
dogs,  cattle  and  chickens,  and  another  is  divided  into  sleeping  and 
living  apartments. 

OTHER  NOTED  WESTERN  TRIBES. 

The  vicissitudes  of  the  Shawnees,  a  war-like  Algonquin  tribe,  form 
the  experience  of  the  average  Indian,  and  make  one  wonder  that  he  is 
not  more  stolid  and  hopeless  than  he  actually  appears.  They  seem  to 
have  first  appeared  as  a  distinct  tribe  in  Southern  Wisconsin,  going 
toward  the  east.  Having  infringed  upon  the  territory  of  the  Six  Nations 
(over  two  centuries  ago),  they  were  driven  south,  some  going  into 
Florida.  Fifty  years  afterward  bands  of  them  commenced  to  appear  in 
Pennsylvania  and  New  York,  having  returned  to  the  north.  They 
fought  with  the  French,  the  English  and  the  Spaniards,  having  now 
ranged  as  far  west  as  Missouri.  In  the  war  of  181 2  they  endeavored  to 
unite  the  tribes  of  the  west  against  the  Americans  but  were  unsuccessful. 
It  is  possible  that  at  the  present  day  they  could  muster  seven  hundred 
individuals  from  the  Indian  Territory,  but  it  is  doubtful. 

The  great  and  warlike  tribe  of  the  Illinois  is  now  reduced  to  about  one 
hundred  souls,  who  occupy  a  few  acres  on  their  reservation  in  the  Indian 
Territory.  Two  of  their  powerful  chiefs,  father  and  son,  were  called 
Chicago,  the  former  visiting  P^-ance  in  i  700,  where  he  received  much 
favorable  notice.  The  F"rench  missionaries  had  converted  them,  and  in 
their   wars  with  the  Iroquois,   Sacs  and  Foxes,   they  rendered  France 


THE    PAWNEES.  395 

valuable  serv'ices,  although  they  were  driven  from  their  villages  and  suf- 
fered terrible  losses.  Peoria  and  Kaskaskia,  in  Illinois,  received  their 
names  on  account  of  tribes  who  belonged  to  this  famil)'. 

The  Foxes  and  Sacs,  kindred  tribes,  first  came  into  view  in  the 
vicinity  of  Detroit,  but  they  were  driven  west  by  the  Iroquois,  warred 
against  the  Sioux  and  French,  settled  on  the  Fox  River,  Wisconsin,  and 
at  Prairie  du  Chien  (the  name  of  one  of  their  chiefs),  but  finally,  after 
having  ceded  immense  tracts  of  land  on  the  Missouri  and  Wisconsin 
rivers,  located  west  of  the  Mississippi  River.  They  hunted  and  fished, 
cultivated  land,  and  were  the  bone  and  sinew  of  the  Black  Hawk  War, 
which  they  waged  against  the  government  for  the  possession  of  Rock 
Island.  The  few  hundred  who  did  not  choose  to  be  removed  from  reser- 
vation to  reservation  bought  a  tract  of  land  in  Iowa,  and  became  indus- 
trious farmers  and  farm  laborers. 

THE  PAWNEES. 

The  Pawnees,  a  noted  tribe  in  the  annals  of  Nebraska,  lought  many 
a  pitched  battle  with  the  Arapahoes,  the  Sacs,  the  Foxes  and  the  Sioux. 
Finally  they  forgot  their  wild  ways  and  located  north  of  the  Nebraska 
River  anil  west  of  the  Loup,  and  under  the  guardianship  of  the  Govern- 
ment built  houses  and  schools  and  cultivated  farms  ;  but  their  old  enemies, 
the  Sioux,  came  down  upon  them,  burning  their  villages  and  massacring 
their  people.  The  Sioux,  with  devastating  epidemics  of  small-pox,  and 
cholera,  almost  swept  the  Pawnees  out  of  existence.  Until  their  crops 
were  swept  away  by  locusts,  however,  they  continued  to  reside  stub- 
bornly but  peacefully  upon  their  native  soil.  In  1874,  a  general  council 
of  the  tribe  determined  upon  removal  to  the  Indian  Territory  and  there 
2,000  of  them  now  are,  with  manual-labor  schools  and  clay  schools,  culti- 
vating their  lands  and  governing  themselves.  They  are  under  the 
especial  charge  of  the  Friends. 

THE  DAKOTAS. 

The  traditions  of  the  Dakotas  are  more  pregnant  in  thought  to  the 
student,  who  is  forced  to  trace  the  progenitors  of  the  American  Indian  to 
Asia,  than  those  of  anv  other  of  the    Indian  families.      Their  lano-uage 

-  o  o      » 

also,  is  Mongolian  in  its  structure.  According  to  their  traditions  they 
were  driven  back  from  the  Mississippi  River  by  the  Algonquins,  after 
they  had  slowly  advanced  from  the  Pacific  Coast  and  the  Northwest. 
Only  one  tribe,  the  Winnebagook  (W'iiinebagoes),  pushed  through  the 
ranks  of  their  enemies,  settling  on   tiie  shores  of   Lake  Michigan,  where 


396 


I'.WOUAMA    OF    XATIOXS. 


thf)-  were  held  in  check.  There,  in  the  regions  adjacent  to  Green  Bay, 
they  lorded  it  over  many  of  tlie  tribes  with  such  a  high  hand  that  they 
were  attacked  and  nt-arly  exterminated  by  an  alHed  Indian  force.  Yet 
they  were  still  warlike  and  troublesome,  and  after  they  had  ceded  over 
two  million  and  a  half  acres  of  their  lands  to  the  Government,  they  were 
removed  west  of  the   jMississiijpi,   then   hither  and   thither,  to   Dakota, 

Minnesota,  Ne- 
braska —  and 
where  not? 
There, as  in  other 
States,  they  com- 
menced to  culti- 
vate land,  build 
cottages  and 
schools,  and 
dress  and  live 
like  white  men. 
It  was  formerly 
the  practice  of 
the  agents  to  de- 
pose and  appoint 
their  chiefs  at 
will  ;  now  they 
are  elected. 
The  Winneba- 
goes  left  in  Wis- 
consin are  self- 
supporting  and 
peaceable. 

Other  tribes 
of  the  Dakota 
famil\-  have 
*'" i \' e n    us    the 


A  SIOUX  WARRIOR. 


followincr 


graphical  names: 

Missouri,  Kansas,  Iowa,  Osage,  Omaha  and  Sioux.  There  were  also 
the  Upsarokas,  or  Crows.  A  few  of  the  family  yet  remain  within 
the  P)ritish  possessions,  but  the  majority  of  them  are  on  reservations 
in  the  northeastern  part  of  Indian  Territory,  in  Eastern  Nebraska,  in 
Southern  Dakota  and  Montana. 


■jhe  SIOUX.  397 

THE    SIOUX. 

The  Sioux  are  still  the  powerful  tribe  of  the  family,  as  they  always 
have  been,  and  were  the  arch  enemies  of  the  Algonquins,  especially  the 
Chippewas.  The  fortunes  of  war  were  various,  the  Sioux  preferring  to 
fight  upon  the  plain  and  the  Chippewas  in  the  woods,  but,  as  has  been 
stated,  the  Sioux  were,  after  a  century  or  so  of  warfare,  driven  from  the 
headwaters  of  the  Mississippi  to  the  south.  By  the  early  part  of  this 
centur)-  the  bulk  of  the  nation  was  upon  the  Missouri  River,  although 
native  villages  were  scattered  from  Northern  Minnesota  to  the  Black  Hills. 
During  the  first  part  of  our  civil  war  the  Sioux  commenced  to  prepare 
for  a  general  uprising,  on  account  of  dissatisfaction  with  the  w-ay  they 
were  being  treated  by  the  Government  and  its  agents,  and  eventually 
the  whole  of  Minnesota  and  the  regions  bordering  on  the  Missouri, 
with  the  Western  Plains,  were  the  scenes  of  their  massacres  and  hos- 
tilities. The  discovery  of  gold  in  the  Black  Hills,  and  subsequent 
troubles  with  Sitting  Bull,  Red  Cloud  and  Spotted  Tail,  on  account  of 
their  reluctance  to  part  with  their  grounds,  are  matters  of  recent  record. 
Some  of  the  most  warlike  bands  fled  to  British  territory,  others  agreed 
to  go  to  their  immense  Dakota  reservation.  There  30,000  of  them  are 
supposed  to  cover  34,000,000  acres  of  land.  Churches  and  schools 
have  been  established  among  them,  and  the  younger  generation  show 
aptitude  and  patience.  The  settled  bands  have  their  tribal  form  of 
government,  and  are  raisers  of  live-stock,  and  agriculturists  ;  notwith- 
standing which,  the  Sioux  may  yet  be  called  an  uncertain  quantity  in 
the  Indian  problem. 

When  first  known,  the  Crows  occupied  territory  in  the  basins  of  the 
Yellowstone  and  Big  Horn  Rivers,  Southern  Montana,  and  they  now 
hold  a  reservation  on  the  site  of  their  old  camping-grounds.  Like  the 
Northern  Cheyennes  and  Sioux,  with  whom  they  often  came  in  conflict, 
they  were  expert  horsemen  and  brave  warriors,  although  not  great  in 
numbers.  In  personal  appearance  they  are  tall  and  remarkable  for  the 
extraordinary  length  of  their  hair.  They  are  so  cleanly  in  their  habits 
that  a  Crow  lodge  is  easily  recognizable,  it  being  generally  made  of 
buffalo  skins  so  dressed  that  they  are  almost  white. 

THE    SHOSHONES. 

This  is  both  the  name  of  a  tribe  and  of  a  family.  Various  mem- 
bers of  the  family  have  roamed  from  Idaho  to  New  Mexico.  The 
tribes  which  are  best  known  are  the  Comanches  and  the  Utes,  or  Utahs. 
The  Comanches  call  themselves  "live  people";  their  modes  of  warfare 


igS  PANORAMA    UK    NATIONS. 

and  the  extent  of  territor)'  they  have  covered  in  their  wars  with  the 
Spaniards,  with  .the  Osages,  Pawnees  and  other  Western  trii^es,  as 
well  as  with  travelers  crossing  the  plains,  certainly  entitle  theni  to  that 
appellation.  Being  almost  constantly  mounted,  the  Comanche  has 
become  somewhat  heavy  of  foot,  but,  with  the  Apache,  he  is  the  ideal 
warrior  on  horseback.  Only  a  few  of  the  troublesome  tribes  have  been 
collected  upon  reservation  lands. 

THE    UTES. 

The  Utes  roam  over  a  great  portion  of  the  southwestern  sections 
of  the  United  States,  hunting  and  raiding.  In  districts  where  game  is 
plentiful  they  are,  physically,  noble  looking,  but  are  miserable  in 
appearance  and  pitiful  specimens  of  the  race  in  other  localities.  Their 
arms  vary  with  their  territory,  some  using  a  primitive  club,  bow  or  lance, 
others  an  improved  rifle.  As  a  rule,  in  dressing  the  hair  the  men  wear 
braided  queues,  and  the  women  cut  their  hair  short.  It  is  said  that 
their  wives  and  children  are  often  sold  into  slavery  to  neighboring 
tribes.  The  Utes  have  a  small  reservation  in  Southern  Colorado,  and 
the  Shoshones  proper  have  one  in  Wyoming,  but  the  whole  tribe  and 
family  of  Utes  and  Shoshones  seem  to  be  irreclaimable. 

THE    KIOWAS. 

The  Kiowas  are  a  branch  of  the  same  family,  being  wild,  restless 
and  troublesome;  but  they  have  been  assigned  lands  in  the  south- 
western part  of  Indian  Territory,  which  was  leased  from  the  Chicka- 
saws.  They  share  their  reservation  lands  with  the  Comanches  and 
Apaches  —  that  is,  when  they  are  not  off  on  raids.  The  hair  is  worn  the 
same  as  that  of  the  Utes,  except  the  men  do  theirs  up  in  three  or  four 
long  plaits,  instead  of  one.  The  Kiowas  long  hunted  on  the  Platte, 
had  immense  herds  of  horses,  and  were  at  constant  war  with  the  Paw- 
nees and  Sioux,  their  weapons  being  the  bow  and  arrow,  lance  and  war 
club.  They  also  carried  shields.  When  they  were  not  pasturing  their 
herds  on  the  grassy  bottoms  of  the  Red  River,  hunting  the  buffalo 
between  the  Canadian  and  Arkansas  rivers,  or  fighting  furiously  with 
their  powerful  enemies  of  the  plains,  they  were  uneasily  shifting  their 
quarters  from  point  to  point,  carrying  their  skin  lodges  as  they  went. 
They  have  given  the  Government  untold  trouble,  having  several  times 
invaded  Texas  and  murdered  many  settlers.  Two  of  their  chiefs  are 
now  under  sentence  of  imprisonment  for  life,  but  it  seems  impossible  to 
effectually  quell  them. 


THE    PUEBLOS.  399 

THE  PUEBLOS. 

The  villages  of  these  semi-civilized  Indians  who  form  the  native 
population  of  New  Mexico,  are  called  pueblos ;  hence  the  name  which 
has  become  attached  to  the  tribe.  The  Spaniards  occupied  the  country 
during  the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  century,  established  schools  and 
churches  among  them  and  supplied  them  with  cattle  and  sheep.  They 
were  citizens  under  the  rule  of  Mexico,  and  the  Supreme  Court  has 
decided  that  they  are  now  citizens  of  the  United  States,  although  the 
State  laws  dej^rive  them  of  their  rights.  They  have  never  strenuously 
insisted  upon  their  rights,  however,  and  seem  satisfied  to  be  left  in  the 
enjoyment  of  their  ancient  village  government,  which  consists  of  a  gov- 
ernor and  a  court  of  three  elders.  The  Pueblos  are  still  semi-civilized 
and  have  shown  no  marked  improvement  within  the  past  three  hundred 
years. 

They  raise  grain, vegetables  and  cotton,  and  manufacture  pottery,  spin- 
ning and  weaving  with  rude  machines.  "  Their  houses  are  sometimes 
built  of  stone,  laid  in  mortar  made  of  mud,  but  more  generally  of  sun-dried 
brick  or  adobe.  These  buildings  are  generally  large,  of  several  stories, 
and  contain  many  families.  In  some  of  the  pueblos  the  whole  com- 
munity, amounting  to  from  300  to  700  souls,  are  domiciled  in  one  of 
these  huge  structures.  The  houses  are  sometimes  in  the  form  of  a  hol- 
low square  ;  at  other  times  they  are  on  the  brow  of  a  high  bluff  or 
mountain  terrace,  difficult  of  approach.  The  first  or  lower  story  is 
invariably  without  openings,  entrance  to  the  house  being  effected  by 
ladders.  Each  upper  story  recedes  a  few  feet  from  that  below  it,  leav- 
ing a  terrace  or  walk  around  or  along  the  whole  extent  of  the  structure, 
from  which  ladders  lead  to  those  above.  The  upper  stories  have  doors 
and  windows,  but  no  stairways.  In  most  instances  a  single  family  occu- 
pies one  apartment,  and  as  its  number  increases  another  apartment  is 
added  where  there  is  sufficient  space,  or  it  is  built  above  and  reached  by 
a  ladder.  This  mode  was  practiced  by  these  Indians  three  centuries  ago. 
In  every  village  there  is  at  least  one  room  large  enough  to  contain  sev- 
eral hundred  persons,  in  which  they  hold  their  councils  and  have  their 
dances." 

THE  HURON-IROQUOIS  FAMILY. 

The  Hurons  occupied  a  tract  of  country  about  as  large  as  Delaware, 
near  Georgian  Bay,  Lake  Huron,  when  the  French  first  penetrated  into 
their  country.  Within  this  space,  however  there  were  30,000  Indians 
living  in  bark  lodges,  and  separated  into  many  villages.      But  the  Iro- 


400  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

quois  invaded  their  territory,  killing  a  French  missionary  and  his  con- 
verts, destroying  their  largest  towns  and  dispersing  those  of  the  tribes 
who  did  not  join  their  confederation  of  the  Six  Nations.  A  number 
of  the  Hurons  fled  to  several  islands  in  Lake  Huron,  and,  through  the 
the  assistance  of  the  French,  the  remnants  of  the  once  powerful  family 
were  removed  to  the  banks  of  the  River  St.  Charles,  a  few  miles  from 
Quebec.  There  their  descendants  quietly  reside,  being  faithful  Catholics 
and  numbering  two  or  three  hundred  people. 

A  few  miles  southwest  of  the  Hurons  proper  were  the  Dinondadies, 
another  tribe  which  belonged  to  the  Huron-Iroquois  family.  They 
cultivated  tobacco,  and  with  such  success  that  the  hrench  called  them 
Tobacco  Indians.  They  were  scattered  with  the  Hurons,  wandering  to 
Lake  Superior,  then  to  Detroit  and  Imally  to  the  headwaters  of  the 
Sandusky  River,  Ohio.  In  1832  they  sold  their  lands  and,  as  the  "Wy- 
andots,"  were  removed  by  the  Government  to  the  junction  of  the  Kansas 
and  Missouri  Rivers.  The  descendants  of  the  larger  band  are  still  liv- 
ing in  Kansas,  their  fathers  having  become  citizens,  founded  a  city, 
organized  a  county,  and,  in  many  cases,  intermarried  with  white  pioneers. 
A  few  are  on  reservation  land  in  the  Indian  Territory,  and  in  Canada, 
on  the  Detroit  River. 

THE    SIX  NATIONS. 

At  a  very  early  day  the  Tuscaroras  separated  from  the  six  nations 
of  Iroquois,  and  penetrated  into  the  Carolinas,  where  they  made  no  end 
of  trouble,  but  finally,  in  1713,  were  completely  routed  and  most  of  them 
rejoined  their  kindred  in  New  York.  Thus  the  confederation  was  again 
complete.  Besides  the  Tuscaroras  were  the  Onondagas,  the  Mohawks, 
the  Oneidas,  the  Cayugas  and  the  Senecas,  the  confederation  being  the 
most  formidable  and  permanent  which  ever  threatened  the  whites  of  the 
United  States.  The  league  was  called  "  Hodenosaunee,"  or  "  they  form 
a  cabin."  The  Onondagas  were  at  the  head,  their  chief  being  presi- 
dent of  the  council  of  fourteen  sachems  ;  and  at  Onondaga  the  council 
fire,  or  the  fire  of  the  cabin,  was  kept  burning.  Far  to  the  east  the 
Mohawks  held  "the  door."  This  tribe  called  itself  the  She  Bear, 
which  the  Algonquins  translated  into  their  language  as  Mahaqua  and 
the  English  into  Mohawk.  The  Onondagas  were  "  men  of  the  moun- 
tain," the  Oneidas  "tribe  of  the  granite  rock,"  and  the  Tuscaroras 
"shirt  wearers."  Each  tribe  was  divided  into  the  Turtle,  Bear  and 
Wolf  families,  and  occasionally  the  division  went  further.  To  further 
cement  the  union  it  was  forbidden  for  one  to  marry  within  his  own  tribe. 

In    the    conflicts    between    the  English  and  French,  the  Iroquois 


THE    FIVE    NATIONS.  4OI 

usually  sided  with  the  former,  as  the  French  had  generally  been  allies  of 
the  Algonquins,  who  were  the  inveterate  foes  of  the  Six  Nations.  Upon 
the  outbreak  of  the  Revolutionary  War  the  confederacy  was  split  asunder, 
a  portion  of  them  adhering  to  the  English,  the  Oneidas  and  Tuscaroras 
being  generally  friendly  to  the  Americans.  In  1777,  therefore,  the 
council  fire  at  Onondaga  was  extinguished  forever.  Previous  to  the 
war  of  181 2,  when  the  Iroquois  tribes  were  again  arrayed  against  each 
other,  the  MohawLs,  and  a  portion  of  the  Cayugas,  went  to  Canada,  and 
subsequently  they  were  followed  by  other  members  of  the  .Six  Nations, 
lands  being  granted  to  them  on  Ouinte  Bay,  Grand  River,  the  Thames, 
Sault  St.  Louis,  St.  Regis  and  Lake  of  the  Two  Mountains.  In  con- 
nection with  the  present  condition  of  the  Iroquois,  a  remarkable  fact  is 
noticed  —  viz.  :  that  there  has  been  little,  if  any,  decrease  in  their  num- 
bers since  they  were  the  most  prosperous.  Their  15,000  people  are 
nearly  divided  between  Canada  and  the  New  York  reservations,  with  a 
band  of  over  1,000  Oneidas  at  Green  Bay,  Wis.  The  Six  Nations  may 
be  called  converts  to  Christianity. 

THE    FIVE    NATIONS. 

The  Cherokees,  Creeks,  Choctaws,  Chickasaws  and  Seminoles,  all 
Southern  tribes  who  previous  to  the  war  held  slaves  and  were  in  arms 
against  the  United  States  Government,  constitute  now  the  Five  Nations 
of  the  Indian  Territory.  They  had  previously  developed  quite  a  com- 
plete system  of  self-government,  and  generally  retained  their  old  con. 
stitutions  when  they  were  removed  to  the  Indian  Territory  after  the  war. 

THE    CHEROKEES. 

The  Cherokees  have  their  peculiarities  of  language  and  organiza- 
tion which  entitle  them  to  be  considered  a  distinct  family.  They  for- 
merly occupied  portions  of  Tennessee,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina, 
Georgia  and  Alabama  in  the  valleys  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains,  the 
Upper  Tennessee  and  the  headwaters  of  the  Savannah  and  Flint 
Rivers.  They  consist  of  .seven  clans,  and  members  of  the  same  clan 
are  forbidden  to  marry.  They  fought  with  the  English  against  the 
French  with  such  effect  that  Louisiana  made  great  efforts  to  obtain 
their  friendship. 

With  the  capture  of  slaves,  in  their  wars,  the  Cherokees  com- 
menced to  give  more  attention  to  the  cultivation  of  land  and  less  to 
war.     The  nation  divided,  a  portion   crossing  the  Mississippi   and  the 

balance  remaining  on  their  own  lands.     They  were  aided  by  the  United 

26 


402 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


States  Government,  which  furnished  them  with  aij^ricultural  implements 
and  mills.  As  the  white  population  clamored  for  their  lands,  however, 
they  gradually  ceded  them  to  the  Government  until  they  were  in  pos- 
session of  but  a  mountainous  tract  of  8,000  square  miles  in  the  States 
of  Georgia  and  North  Carolina.  Gradually  they  were  crowded  out  of 
thtse  States  and  removed  to  the  Indian  Territory. 

Different  factions  of  the  eastern  and  western  divisions  prevented  a 
union  of  the  nation  until  1839,  but  by  the  commencement  of  the  war 
it  was  very  prosperous.  Printing  presses  were  at  work,  turning  off 
newspapers  and  books  both  in  English  and  Cherokee  ;  grain,  cotton, 
salt,  cattle  and  horses  were  all  elements  of  their  w^ealth.  At  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  civil  war  the  nation's  warriors,  wdio  numbered  over 
15,000,  divided  their  allegiance,  and  their  territory  was  ravaged  by  both 
armies.  The  slaves  of  the  Cherokees  were,  of  course,  emancipated, 
but  they  themselves  gained  in  habits  of  industry. 

Their  territory  now  comprises  about  5,000,000  acres,  two-thirds  of 
which  is  unfit  for  cultivation.  The  chief  of  the  nation  is  elected  for 
four  years.  The  country  is  divided  into  eight  districts,  and  the  citizens 
are  governed  by  a  National  Committee  and  Council,  elected  for  two 
years.  The  Cherokees  lead  the  five  nations  in  the  cultivation  of  wheat, 
corn  and  oats.  They  have  neat  villages,  schools,  churches  and  public 
buildings,  and  are  a  noteworthy  evidence  of  Indian  civilization. 

CREEKS  AND  SEMINOLES. 

The  Creeks  are  allied  to  the  Choctaws,  Chickasaws  and  Seminoles, 
and  occupied  a  territory  which  was  bounded  on  the  north  by  that  of  the 
Cherokees,  but  stretched  south  into  Florida.  Not  being  able  to  trace 
their  origin  beyond  a  certain  point,  they  claim  to  have  sprung  from  the 
earth  and  emigrated  from  the  northwest.  They  settled  principally  along 
the  streams  of  Georgia  and  Florida,  where  they  were  found  by  the 
English  and  called  Creeks. 

Two  bands  of  the  Creeks  who  remained  in  Florida  and  intermarried 
with  negroes  and  Spaniards  form  the  Seminole  Indians.  The  Creeks 
called  them  Seminoles,  or  Wanderers,  and  it  was  the  latter's  refusal  to 
be  bound  by  a  treaty  made  by  the  Creek  nation  with  the  United  States 
which  precipitated  the  war  In  Florida  which  was  so  disastrous  both  to 
them  and  to  the  United  States.  The  Creeks  were  divided  into  a  num- 
ber of  distrinct  tribes,  including  the  Alabamas  and  Natchez,  who  figured 
for  years  in  Southern  troubles,  but  fifty  years  ago  the  Government 
succeeded  in  removing,  all  but  a  few  hundred,  to  Arkansas.  The  civil 
war  split  them  asunder  as  It  did  the  Cherokees,  and  they  sufYered  severely. 


CHOCTAWS    AND    CHICKASAWS.  4O3 

After  the  war  both  sections  were  removea  to  their  reservation.  Their 
form  of  government  is  not  so  republican  as  that  of  the  Cherokees 
retaining  more  of  the  tribal  features. 

Notwithstanding  all  efforts  to  consolidate  them,  the  Seminoles  have 
retained  their  individuality  and  form  one  of  the  most  progressive  of  the 
nations.  They  have  missions  and  district  schools,  are  steady  and 
industrious. 

CHOCTAWS  AND  CHICKASAWS. 

The  Choctaws  and  Chickasaws  speak  the  same  language  and  have 
a  tradition  that  they  came  with  the  Creeks  from  west  of  the  Mississippi. 
The  Cnoctaws  attained  more  to  the  dignity  of  a  nation,  for,  with  their 
allied  tribes,  they  formerly  occupied  nearly  all  the  coast  territor)-  from 
the  Mississippi  to  the  Atlantic.  When  the  French  first  came  among 
them  they  were  in  the  habit  of  flattening  the  heads  of  their  children 
with  bags  of  sand,  and  therefore  became  known  as  Flatheads.  They 
were  allies  of  the  French,  and  did  splendid  service  for  them  against  the 
Natchez,  Chickasaws  and  other  hostile  tribes.  The  State  of  Georgia 
offered  them  the  rights  of  citizenship,  but  they  preferred  to  cede  their 
lands  and  move  with  the  Chickasaws  to  Arkansas. 

They  were  alread)-  a  nation,  in  fact,  as  in  name,  and  are  still  governed 
by  a  written  constitution,  substantially  adopted  in  1838.  They  are 
governed  by  a  chief  elected  for  a  term  of  four  years,  by  a  National 
Council  and  a  regular  judiciary.  Trial  by  jury  is  also  a  feature  of  their 
ofovernment.  Besides  exhibiting  other  evidences  of  the  white  man's 
civilization,  the  Choctaws  comprise  a  distinguished  member  of  the  Five 
nations  as  being  the  principal  lumbermen  of  the  group. 

The  Chickasaws  at  first  formed  a  part  of  the  Choctaw  nation,  but, 
subsequently  organized  a  government  of  their  own,  consisting  of  a 
Governor,  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives.  The  Chickasaw 
nation  embraces  a  decided  negro  element;  for  instead  of  giving  up  a 
proportion  of  their  lands  to  the  Government,  the  proceeds  of  which  were 
to  go  to  their  former  slaves,  the  nation  adopted  them  as  members  of  the 
ti  ibe. 

TRIBAL  GOVERNMENT. 

In  the  tribal  form  of  government  few  measures  originate  solely  with 
tT.  e  chief.  He  is  to  execute  the  decrees  which  are  discussed  and  adopted 
in  the  council,  and  is  the  head  warrior  of  the  band.  Not  alone  such 
m  amentous  matters  as  peace  or  war,  the  removal  of  the  camp,  or  the 
ir  itiation  of  a  large  band  of  warriors,  are  eloquently  considered  in 
council,  but  orators  are  not  found  wantinsj  to  discuss  in  all  their  bearings 


INDIAN    RELIGION    AND    MEDICINE.  405 

a  proposed  hunt,  or  a  medicine  dance.  Every  band  is  provided  with  a 
council  lodge  and  all  warriors  are  members  of  the  council.  The  vote  is 
taken  by  acclamation,  and  though  eloquence  and  personal  magnetism 
have  a  certain  sway  in  the  council  chamber,  the  real  power  lies  with  the 
chiefs,  sages  and  medicine  men.  The  "dog-soldiers"  of  the  Indians  of 
the  plains  are  the  young,  active  warriors,  who  have  no  standing  as  wise 
men,  but  they  elect  their  own  leader  and  maintain  a  strong  organization 
outside  of  the  council.  This  is  a  special  feature  of  Cheyenne  govern- 
ment, although  in  some  of  the  tribes,  since  the  tendency  has  been  toward 
a  popular  form,  the  dog-soldiers  have  become  subordinate  to  the  chief 
and  form  merely  his  body-guard  in  war. 

INDIAN  RELIGION  AND  MEDICINE. 

The  Indian  believes  in  the  Good  God  and  tne  Bad  God,  and  he 
speaks  of  the  latter  deity  with  the  greatest  disinclination.  Gods  and 
spirits  of  the  plains,  rivers  and  mountains  also  play  a  bold  role  in  his 
faith.  He  does  not  apply  morality  to  his  religion,  but  whatever  thwarts 
his  aims  he  attributes  to  the  Bad  God.  The  Good  God  helps  him  to  kill 
his  enemy,  steal  the  wife  of  a  friend  or  raid  a  white  settlement.  No 
prayers  are  necessarily  offered  to  the  Good  God. 

Death  by  strangulation  bars  the  Indian  out  of  the  Happy  Hunting 
Grounds,  for  his  soul  is  supposed  to  escape  through  the  mouth,  which 
opens  at  the  moment  of  dissolution.  It  was  formerly  a  universal  belief 
with  the  Indians  of  the  plains  that  scalping  an  enemy  annihilated  his 
soul.  This  is  now  quite  a  general  superstition ;  also  one  that  each  per- 
son killed  by  them,  and  not  scalped,  will  be  their  servant  in  the  ne.xt 
world.  They  have  their  good  omens  and  their  bad.  One  of  their  most 
common  ways  of  preparing  medicine,  which  they  use  as  it  turns  out 
good  or  bad,  is  to  take  earth,  sand,  ashes  of  plants  or  bones,  and,  mixing 
them  in  a  shallow  dish,  stir  the  ingredients.  If  by  the  combination  of 
colors  and  figures  the  Indian  is  convinced  that  his  Good  God  has  charge 
of  his  affairs,  he  places  the  mixture  in  tiny  deer  skin  bags  and  ties  them  in 
his  hair,  upon  the  tail  of  his  war  horse  and  around  the  necks  of  his 
women  and  children.  Should  the  mixture  prove  to  be  bad  medicine, 
or  an  indication  that  his  Bad  God  has  the  upper  hand,  the  stuff  is  taken 
outside  the  camp  and  secretly  buried.  The  exact  nature  of  this  mixture 
is  a  close  secret  between  the  individual  and  his  gods.  He  is  forever 
making  the  medicine,  and  takes  not  the  smallest  step  without  consult- 


ing It. 


The    Indians    have    different  ways  of  propitiating  the   Evil  One. 


4o6  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

When  he  brings  them  into  great  danger  a  common  vow  is  to  consecrate 
a  pony  to  his  service,  should  he  ahow  them  to  escape.  When  this  is 
done  the  animal  is  never  again  mounted,  is  treated  with  care  and  even 
tenderness. 

When  the  warrior  dies  the  pony  which  is  killed  for  him,  and  the 
weapons  which  are  laid  on  his  grave,  will  appear  as  phantoms  and  serve 
him  in  the  Happy  Hunting  Grounds.  If  he  falls  in  battle,  cut  or  shot  to 
pieces,  his  shade,  in  the  next  world,  will  appear  mutilated  and  imperfect. 
In  fact,  in  every  particular,  he  commences  his  spirit  life  in  the  beyond 
under  the  conditions  which  govern  his  material  life.  If  a  body  is  pierced 
with  arrows,  the  Indian,  particularly  the  Sioux,  believes  that  the  soul  will 
be  always  tormented  with  ghostly  arrows.  Should  a  warrior,  or  his 
enemy  be  killed  in  the  dark,  darkness  will  be  his  eternal  portion.  The 
fear  of  meetine  this  fate  has  deterred  more  than  one  savage  from 
murderous  midnight  attacks  upon  the  wagon  trains  of  the  plains. 

There  is  nardly  a  tribe  which  agrees  with  another  as  to  the  length 
of  time  which  it  required  for  a  soul  to  pass  from  this  earth  to  the  Happy 
Hunting  Grounds;  the  ideas  vary  from  one  to  two  days,  to  as  many 
months.  If  the  period  is  long,  food  and  water  are  brought  to  the  grave, 
generally  by  the  female  mourners.  The  entire  journey  is  conceived  to 
lie  over  a  dreary  space,  devoid  of  all  the  necessities  of  life;  hence  the 
provisions,  the  phantoms  of  food  and  water  to  supply  the  needs  of  the 
spirit  traveler. 

The  Medicine  Chief  of  a  band  of  Indians  divides  the  honors  with 
the  war  chief,  obtaining,  if  anything,  more  than  an  equal  share.  He  is 
always  dignified,  the  owner  of  the  most  attractive  wives  and  ponies,  holds 
no  social  intercourse  with  any  except  the  principal  men  of  the  tribe,  is 
the  spiritual  head  of  the  tribe  and  the  recipient  of  the  confidences  of  the 
women,  is  the  all-powerful  physician  of  both  body  and  soul,  and  when 
the  fighting  force  takes  the  field,  he  proves  his  faith  in  his  own  power 
and  religion  by  entering  into  the  heat  of  the  fight  and  the  thick  of  the 
carnacre.  With  the  weakening  of  the  authority  of  the  head  chief,  the 
Medicine  Chief  has,  if  anything,  gained  in  infiuence. 

The  Medicine  Chief  is  assisted  in  his  work  of  exorcising  evil  spirits 
by  a  band  of  women,  who  howl  to  the  drone  of  his  incantations.  Their 
wails  and  howls  draw  the  women  of  the  other  lodges  to  the  scene  of 
action,  and  this  deafening  chorus  is  intensified  by  a  muscular  young 
priest  who  beats  a  tom-tom  over  the  head  of  the  poor  patient.  When 
the  Medicine  Chief  dies,  his  successor  steps  into  the  coveted  position 
only  by  coming  forward  with  the  claim  that  he  has  found  the  medi- 
cine which  will  keep  away  the  Bad  God,  and  then  proving  it  by 
obtruding  himself  into  every  danger  and  coming  out  unscathed. 


THE    MEDICINE    UANXE.  407 

Many  of  the  western  tribes  of  Indians  have  a  mysterious  some- 
thing, which  is  in  careful  charge  of  the  head  chief  or  Medicine  Chief, 
it  being  wrapped  in  a  number  of  comphcated  coverings.  Its  influ- 
ences are  all  good,  and  it  is  always  carried  in  war,  or  on  important  expe- 
ditions, by  the  Medicine  Chief.  Each  tribe,  as  well  as  each  Indian,  has, 
of  course,  a  particular  medicine;  but  this  thing  is  different  —  it  goes 
withou  t  a  name.  The  tribal  medicine  of  the  Cheyennes  is  a  bundle 
of  arrows,  wrapped  in  skins  and  placed  in  a  small  case  of  stiff  raw-hide. 
It  was  captured  by  the  Pawnees,  some  years  ago,  and  the  whole  tribe 
was  thrown  into  a  panic,  expecting  instant  annihilation.  Runners  were 
dispatched  ;  but  the  medicine  was  not  regained  until  the  Cheyennes 
had  paid  the  Pawnees  three  hundred  ponies.  The  Utes  attribute  many 
of  their  late  troubles  to  the  capture  by  the  Arapahoes  of  a  little  squat 
stone  figure  which  they  had  adopted  as  the  "  tribal  medicine." 

THE  MEDICINE  DANCE. 

In  former  days  the  Medicine  Chief  had  power  of  life  and  death 
over  the  actions  of  the  dancers,  each  of  whom  was  placed  in  a  large 
ring,  his  eyes  fixed  upon  an  image  suspended  from  above,  and  hav- 
ing in  his  mouth  a  small  whistle  ;  as  he  danced  hour  after  hour,  he  con- 
tinued to  blow  upon  the  whistle  and  keep  his  head  painfully  thrown 
back  upon  his  shoulders.  Eight  or  ten  hours  of  this  distressing  per- 
formance would  generally  throw  some  of  the  warriors  into  a  faint. 
They  were  then  dragged  out  of  the  ring,  and  if  not  revived  by  the 
mystic  figures  which  the  priest  painted  upon  their  faces  and  bodies,  cold 
water  was  thrown  over  them.  He  might  order  them  back  until  they 
actually  danced  themselves  to  death.  In  case  the  dance  progressed  to 
the  end  of  the  appointed  time  without  the  occurrence  of  any  misfor- 
tune, the  tribe  were  assured  of  good  medicine,  which  generally  induced 
them  to  go  to  war. 

If  the  exhausted  warriors  could  not  be  revived,  the  dance  was  broken 
up  in  confusion.  The  women  shrieked  and  inflicted  ghastly  wounds 
upon  themselves.  The  men  howled  and  rushed  off  to  kill  their  horses 
for  the  use  of  the  warriors  who  had  preceded  them  to  the  Happy  Hunt- 
ing Grounds.  Bad  Medicine  had  been  proclaimed ;  the  Bad  God  had 
them  well  in  hand. 

The  Indians  still  have  their  medicine  dances  (in  lodges  which  the 
women  construct),  but  the  Medicine  Chief  is  no  longer  autocrat,  and 
whether  the  omen  is  good  or  bad  is  determined,  in  a  general  way,  by 
the  conduct  of  the  different  bands  toward  each  other,  by  the  attitude  of 
the  elements  toward  the  festivities  and  by  the  fervor  displayed  in  this 


408  .  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

aboriginal  revival.  The  dancers,  however,  gaze  at  the  same  dangling 
image  —  the  Good  God  (painted  white)  on  one  side,  and  the  Bad  God 
(black)  on  the  other;  some  enter  to  display  their  costumes,  some  to 
show  their  powers  of  endurance,  and  others  from  pure  religious  fervor 
or  because  they  hope  to  thus  propitiate  the  Bad  God  for  some  evil  he 
has  brought  to  them.  But  all  are  at  liberty  to  withdraw  when  they  see 
fit,  the  duration  of  the  dance  being  fixed  at  four  days.  A  United 
States  officer,  who  lived  for  over  thirty  years  among  the  Indians  of  the 
West,  is  authority  for  the  statement  that  some  of  the  dancers  keep  in 
motion  before  their  image,  blowing  constantly  upon  their  whistles,  for 
seventy-five  hours  without  sleep,  food  or  drink. 

Succeeding  the  medicine  dance,  and  occasionally  as  a  portion  of  the 
proceedings,  is  the  self-torture  of  the  braves.  Here  the  Medicine  Chief 
also  is  master  of  ceremonies,  and  with  his  own  hand  makes  the  incisions 
in  the  muscles  of  the  breast,  through  which  horsehair  ropes  are  passed 
and  tied  to  pieces  of  wood  ;  or  he  uses  his  broad-bladed  knife  on  the 
muscles  of  the  back,  lifting  them  from  the  bones  and  passing  a  rope 
underneath,  with  a  stick  at  the  end  so  as  to  keep  it  fast.  The  free  ends 
of  the  ropes  are  either  attached  to  poles  of  the  lodge  or  to  heavy  mov- 
able objects,  and  the  aim  is  to  tear  the  sticks  from  the  wounds  and 
obtain  freedom.  Sometimes  the  Indian  is  unable  at  once  to  do  this,  and 
must  remain  without  food  or  water  until  the  tissues  soften  ;  but  it  is 
good  medicine  to  tear  loose  at  once.  As  soon  as  freed,  the  warrior 
is  examined  by  the  Medicine  Chief,  and  if  all  is  right,  religious  cere- 
monies are  gone  through  with  and  his  wounds  are  properly  attended  to. 
He  is  honored  and  sung.  Should  one,  however,  during  this  fearful 
ordeal,  which  has  been  known  to  last  several  days,  show  any  sign  of 
weakness,  he  is  sent  away  a  disgraced  man. 

BURIAL    PLACES. 

Indian  tribes  who  live  in  somewhat  permanent  villages  select  reg- 
ular burial  grounds,  often  placing  the  corpse  upon  a  scaftold  which  is 
roofed  over  with  a  frame  work  covered  with  skins.  If  the  body  is  that 
of  a  warrior,  it  is  dressed  in  the  most  gorgeous  apparel,  and  hanging  from 
his  neck  is  his  medicine  bag.  His  weapons  are  by  his  side  and  his 
totem  bag  is  tied  to  his  lance  or  rifie.  At  his  girdle,  or  on  his  lance 
or  shield,  are  hung  all  the  scalps  he  has  taken  in  life.  Pots,  kettles  and 
other  utensils  which  he  will  need  in  his  spirit  journey  are  fastened  to 
the  platform  outside,  and  over  all  are  hung  streamers  of  red  and  white 
cloth  to  frighten  away  beasts  and  birds  of  prey. 


INDIAN    AXTIQCITIES.  4^9 

Caves  and  the  forks  of  trees  are  favorite  burial  places  for  wander- 
ing tribes.  Women  and  female  children  of  common  people  are  put  out 
of^'sight  with  as  little  ceremony  as  scalped  warriors,  or  those  who  die 
except  in  the  fight.  Indians  near  the  agencies  frequently  use  for  cof- 
fins the  boxes  which  are  sent  to  them  filled  with  soap  orcrackers. 

The  burial  customs  of  nearly  all  the  Western  tribes,  except  the 
Utes,  have  been  quite  carefully  investigated  by  travelers  and  army 
officers.  After  the  burial  of  one  of  their  number,  these  Indians  care- 
fully erase  every  footprint  which  may  lead  to  a  discovery  of  the  place  of 
interment.  Although  several  army  officers  were  present  at  the  funeral 
of  Ouray,  the  great  Ute  chieftain,  they  were  ordered  back  when  they 
attempted  to  accompany  the  body  to  the  grave.  The  corpse  was  wrapped 
in  a  blanket  thrown  across  a  horse  and  taken  away.  When,  a  few 
weeks  later,  it  was  removed  to  Ouray's  own  country,  the  officers  managed 
to  be  taken  along  by  the  Indians  and  found  the  body  in  a  natural 
cave  which  had  been  walled  up  with  rocks.  Another  Ute  grave, 
discovered  by  accident,  was  found  to  have  been  excavated  in  a  hill  and 
lined  with  walls  of  stone,  cemented  with  mud. 

INDIAN  ANTIQUITIES. 

Scattered  all  up  and  down  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio  Valleys  are 
those  remarkable  earth  mounds,  covering  areas  of  from  a  few  feet  to 
square  miles  in  extent.  Some  of  them  form  simple  hills  or  pyramids, 
while  others  are  portions  of  a  general  design  which  was  evidently  thus 
fashioned  upon  the  earth's  surface  to  con\ey  an  idea.  Thus  in  Adams 
county,  Ohio,  is  a  series  of  embankments  representing  a  serpent,  over 
i,ooo  feet  in  length,  which  is  disgorging  an  oval  figure,  supposed  to  be  an 
eo-gr  —  a  delineation  of  the  creation  of  the  earth. 

Figures  of  animals  have  also  been  traced  in  mounds  in  Wisconsin  ; 
in  fact,  it  seems  to  be  a  peculiarity  of  the  antiquities  found  in  that  State 
that  they  generally  represent  something  more  animate  than  mathematical 
figures,  either  the  bear,  the  buffalo,  the  raccoon,  the  lizard,  the  turtle,  the 
tadpole,  the  war  eagle,  or  man.  From  these  mounds,  as  in  those  of  other 
states,  skulls,  stone  carvings,  silver  and  copper  ornaments,  etc.,  have 
been  excavated.  Metal  from  the  Lake  Superior  regions,  mica  from  the 
Alleghanies,  and  shells  and  porphyry  from  Mexico  have  all  been  found 
in  the  same  mound,  indicating  that  the  civilization  of  which  these 
remains  are  an  index  was  widely  extended.  They  seem  to  have  been 
used  either  as  temple  sites,  burial  places,  observatories  or  for  purposes 
of  defense. 


4IO 


PANURAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


It  is  noticeable  that  the  mound-builders  have  been  influenced  by  the 
same  considerations  as  the  later  order  of  city-builders;  "hence  St.  Louis, 
Chicago,  IVIilwaukee  and  other  cities  of  the  West  are  founded  on  ruins 
of  pre-historic  structures.  River  terraces  and  river  bottoms  seem  to 
have  been  the  favorite  places  for  these  earth-works.  In  such  localities 
the  natural  advantai^^es  of  the  country  could  be  made  available  with  much 
less  trouble  than  in  portions  ot  the  country  lying  at  a  distance  from  the 
water-courses." 

Geology,  naturally,  comes  to  the  aid  of  the  student  who  is  curious 
to  approximate  to  the  era  when  the  mound-builders  flourished.  Their 
works  never  appear  upon  the  lowest  of  the  river  terraces  of  the  West. 
The  earth  of  the  mounds  is  usually  of  the  driest  description,  and  yet 
the  skulls  and  skeletons  which  have  been  unearthed  are  in  the  last  stages 
of  decay.  Putting  the  two  facts  together,  scientists  conclude  that  the 
mounds  were  constructed  when  the  rivers  occupied  the  higher  levels,, 
and  place  the  builders  in  an  era  at  least  200  or  300  B.  C.  In  the 
Titanic  birds,  beasts  and  reptiles  which  the\'  laid  upon  the  earth,  may- 
be traced  the  existence  of  the  totem,  an  institution  which  has  been 
noted  as  still  alive  among  the  Indians  of  this  country  and  Alaska. 


THE  MEXICANS. 


MYTHOLOGY    OF    MEXICO 

iRADITIONS  disagree  as  to  even  the  direction  from  which 
the  aborigines  came  who  settled  upon  Mexican  soil.  The 
tirst  historical  race  were  the  Toltecs,  who  left  a  written  account 
'  of  their  government.  Their  capital  was  Tula,  a  short  distance 
north  of  the  present  City  of  Mexico.  The  Toltecs  afterwards 
united  with  a  ruder  tribe  from  the  north.  Immigrations  from 
the  north  were  thereafter  continuous,  and  with  the  influx  came 
often  improved  methods  of  agriculture,  the  mechanical  arts, 
and  a  high  order  of  civilization.  From  various  unions  of  the 
immigrants  with  the  settled  population,  republics,  nations  and 
kingdoms  were  founded,  previous  to  the  arrival  of  the  Aztecs,  or 
Mexicans,  the  most  important  of  them  all. 

The  supposed  period  of  their  wanderings  varies  from  fifty  to  one 
hundred  and  sixty  years.  Traces  of  their  journeyings  exist  in  the 
remains  of  vast  fortresses,  houses  and  granaries  in  New  Mexico,  Arizona 
and  Mexico.  The  most  noted  ruins  are  those  found  near  Casas  Grandes, 
a  town  in  Chihuahua,  the  most  northern  district  of  Mexico.  The  largest 
edifice  was  built  of  mud  mixed  with  grave,  land  seems  originally  to  have 
been  from  three  to  six  stories  in  height.  For  fifty  or  sixty  miles  there- 
from, the  plain  and  banks  of  the  streams  are  covered  with  similiar  war- 
like ruins  and  artificial  mounds.  From  the  latter  have  been  e.xcavated. 
stone  axes,  corn  grinders  and  fine  pottery. 

ITS  FRIMITIVE  PEOPLE. 

The  doorways  of  these  structures  have  the  form  of  those  noticed  in 
the  ruins  of  Central  America  ;  and  antiquarians  are  not  wanting  who 
would  give  the  Aztecs  a  southern  origin.  At  all  events,  various  tribes 
who  spoke  the  same  language  settled  in  the  vicinity  of  Lake  Tezcuco 
during  the  thirteenth  and  first  part  of  the  fourteenth  century,  and  the 
Aztecs  established  a  city  therein,  approached  by  long  and  narrow  cause- 

4" 


412  PANORAMA    (jF    NATIONS. 

ways  and  defended  by  powerful  fleets.  They  absorbed  not  only  the 
first  settlers,  but  the  tribes  of  their  own  nation,  and  under  the  lead  of 
their  great  military  chieftain  Mexi  assumed  a  new  name,  and  eventually 
gave  it  to  millions  of  people.  The  Aztecs  were  cruel  in  the  extreme, 
but  held  the  reins  of  government  with  an  able  hand,  so  that  when  the 
Spaniards  came  their  empire  extended  over  the  whole  territory  of  the 
present  Republic. 

The  judicial  system  was  very  complete,  but  the  laws  were  most 
sanguinary.  P'or  embezzlement  of  the  taxes,  the  offender  was  put  to 
death  with  all  his  kindred  to  the  fourth  degree.  Drunkenness  in  youth 
was  a  capital  offense.     The  penalty  of  death  was  the  rule. 

The  Aztecs  had  no  system  of  writing.  The  laws,  however,  were 
few,  and  were  represented  by  paintings,  the  judges  being  attended  by 
artists  who  pictorially  described  the  suits  and  the  parties  thereto. 

Prisoners  of  war  were  devoured  or  enslaved,  and  thousands  of 
human  victims  were  sacrificed  to  their  god  of  war,  who  was  at  the  head 
of  their  thirteen  deities.  Their  god  of  the  air,  peaceable  and  benign, 
is  said  to  have  been  driven  from  tlie  country,  the  ruins  of  one  of  his 
temples  being  seen  to  this  day  at  Cholula.  The  inferior  deities  of  the 
Aztecs  numbered  several  hundred.  In  every  house,  however  poor, 
their  hideous  images  were  worshiped.  Mountains,  plains  and  cities 
were  covered  with  temples  erected  to  the  gods  of  high  and  low  degree, 
and  within  them  were  thousands  of  schools  and  colleges  taught  by  the 
priests. 

The  system  which  the  Aztecs  had  for  the  reckoning  of  time  was 
received  by  them  from  the  Toltecs.  Their  year  of  365  days  was  divided 
into  eighteen  months  of  twenty  days  each,  with  the  odd  days  added  to 
the  last  month.  After  the  termination  of  a  cycle  of  fifty-two  years  they 
added  thirteen  days,  to  allow  for  the  six  hours  by  which  the  tropical 
year  exceeded  their  civil  year.  The  year,  month  and  day  had  each  its 
hieroglyphic  sign,  and  at  the  end  of  every  cycle  a  solemn  astronomical 
festival  was  held.  Other  features  of  their  system  of  reckoning  time 
indicated  that  the  ancient  Mexicans  had  some  correct  ideas  of  the  revolu- 
tions of  the  sun  and  moon,  as  did  the  Hindus,  the  Persians,  the  Chal- 
deans and  other  Asiatic  people. 

Agriculture  and  the  manufacture  of  metals  and  cotton  were  at  a 
high  pitch  of  excellence.  Their  cotton  cloth  was  interwoven  with  rabbit 
hair  and  feathers,  their  substitutes  for  wool  and  silk. 

"  For  the  rapid  transmission  of  news,  towers  were  erected  at  intervals 
of  six  miles  along  the  high  roads,  where  couriers  were  always  in  waiting 
for  dispatches,  which  were  transferred  from  hand  to  hand  at  each  stage. 
Dispatches  were  thus  carried  300  miles  in  a  day." 


THE    HOLY    CROSS    AND    VIRGIN.  415 

THE  HOLY  CROSS  AND  VIRGIN. 

"It  is  strange,  yet  well  authenticated  and  has  given  rise  to  many 
theories,  that  the  symbol  of  the  cross  was  already  known  to  the  Indians- 
before  the  arrival  of  Cortes.  In  the  island  of  Cozumel,  near  Yucatan, 
there  were  several ;  in  Yucatan  itself  there  was  a  stone  cross;  and  there, 
an  Indian,  considered  a  prophet  among  his  countrjnien,  had  declared 
that  a  nation  bearing  the  same  as  a  symbol,  should  arrive  from  a  distant 
country.  More  extraordinary  still  was  a  temple  dedicated  to  the  Holy 
Cross  by  the  Toltec  nation  in  the  City  of  Cholula.  Near  Tulansingo 
also  is  a  cross  engraved  on  a  rock,  with  various  characters,  which  the 
Intlians,  by  tradition,  attribute  to  the  apostle  Saint  Thomas.  In 
Oajaca  also  there  existed  a  cross  which  the  Indians  from  time  immemorial 
had  been  accustomed  to  consider  as  a  divine  symbol.  By  order  of  the 
Bishop  Cervantes,  it  was  placed  in  a  sumptuous  chapel  in  the  Cathedral. 
Information  concerning  its  discovery,  together  with  a  small  cross  cut 
out  of  its  wood,  was  sent  to  Rome  to  Paul  the  Fifth,  who  received  it  on 
his  knees,  singing  a  hymn." 

It  is  likewise  remarkable  that  the  Aztec  god  of  war  was  said  to  have 
been  born  of  a  Holy  Virgin,  who  was  in  the  service  of  the  Great  Temple, 
and  that  when  *;he  priests  would  have  stoned  her  to  death,  having  knowl- 
edge of  her  disgrace,  a  voice  was  heard  saying :  "  Fear  not,  mother, 
for  I  shall  save  thy  honor  and  thy  glory."  Upon  which  the  god  was 
born,  as  he  is  represented,  with  a  shield  in  his  l(;ft  hand,  an  arrow  in  his 
right,  a  plume  of  green  feathers  on  his  head,  his  face  painted  blue  and 
his  left  leg  adorned  with  feathers. 

AN  ABORIGINAL  TRIBE. 

In  Yucatan  and  the  adjoining  districts  of  Mexico  and  Central 
America,  the  Maya  Indians  decidedly  predominate.  They  retain  their 
ancient  language,  which  is  distinct  from  the  Toltec  of  Mexico,  although 
their  former  system  of  reckoning  time  was  the  same  as  that  which  was 
passed  down  by  the  Toltecs  to  the  Aztecs.  The  ruins  of  the  Mayas' 
great  temples  are  supposed  to  be  found  at  Palenque,  Mexico,  although 
certain  archaeologists  insist  that  they  are  of  Toltec  origin  ;  the  truth  of 
the  matter  seems  to  have  been  that  the  two  races  were  closely  associated 
at  one  time,  that  they  were  both  civilized  and  retained  their  own  dis- 
tinctive alphabet  and  language,  but  absorbed  from  each  other  many 
features  of  their  national  life.  The  Mayas  cultivated  the  soil  and  were  of 
a  commercial  turn,  havingsailing  vessels,  and  money  consisting  of  shells, 
beans  and  copper ;  but  they  flattened  the  heads  of  their  infants,  painted 


414 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


and  tattooed  their  bodies,  filed  their  teeth,  wore  pieces  of  amber  in  their 
noses,  and  in  outward  appearance  were  savages.  Their  religion  was  bar- 
barous, the  victims  being  slain  with  arrows  and  thrown  into  a  sacred  pit. 
Arrows,  spears  and  copper  hatchets,  and  an  armor  made  of  quilted  cotton, 
with  salt  inside,  were  their  war  accoutrements.  They  had  drums  and 
wind  instruments,  and  were  fond  of  dancing  and  drinking  a  kind  of  mead. 

THE  MEXICAN  AS  HE  IS. 


Although  the  Indian  population  of  Mexico  was  distributed  among 
the  Spaniards  as  slaves  it  was  of  so  hardy  a  fibre  that  it  was  not  crushed. 
Under  priestly  leadership,  the  Indians  revolted  from  Spanish  tyranny, 
and  finally,  in  national  congress  assembled  (1813),  they  declared 
Mexico  independent.  The  quarrels  of  ambitious  leaders  were  followed 
by  a  re-establishment  of  Spanish  authority,  and  by  the  proclamation  of 
the  Republic,  in  1824, 

The  present  population  consists  of  Indians,  descendants  of  the  early 
Spanish  settlers  and  Spaniards  of  European  birth, 
and  mestizos  or  half-breeds.  Two-thirds  of  the 
population  is  of  Indian  blood,  and  probably  one- 
half  of  the  descendants  of  the  Toltecs  and  Aztecs 
now  roam  among  the  mountains  of  the  north, 
without  fixed  habitations.  The  native  population 
of  the  City  of  Mexico  devote  themselves  to  vari- 
ous menial  occupations,  such  as  those  of  water 
^  carriers,  domestics,  muleteers,  and  public  venders. 
r^  A  traveler  who  has  been  there,  states  that 

vJ  the  street  cries  of  these  venders  are  simply  ear- 


splitting.     At  dawn  the  coal  man  and  the  grease 
_''/i  man    start  the   concert,  being  ioined  somewhat 
later  by  the  butcher.     Then  follows  the  woman 
A  iMExicAN.  ^y}-jQ   buys    kitclien  stuff,  and  she  who  proposes 

to  exchange  fruit  for  any  hot  peppers  which  the  householder  may  have 
in  stock.  Their  cries  are  drowned  by  a  peddler  with  needles,  pins,  shirt 
buttons,  tape,  etc.,  and  behind  him  stands  an  Indian  with  tempting 
baskets  of  bananas  and  oranges.  A  little  woman  offers  "  little  fat  cakes 
from  the  oven,  hot";  while  at  midday,  cheese  and  honey  and  lottery 
chances  have  their  noisy  advocates,  and  towards  evening  "  chestnuts  hot 
and  roasted,"  "ducks,  oh  my  soul,  hot  ducks,"  and  maize  cakes.  These 
latter  are  mixed  with  a  little  lime  and  "have  been  in  use  all  through  this 
country  since  the  earliest  ages  of  its  history,  without  any  change  in  the 


MINERS    AND   MULETEERS.  415 

manner  of  baking  them,  excepting  that,  for  the  noble  Mexicans  in 
former  days,  they  used  to  be  kneaded  with  various  medicinal  plants, 
supposed  to  render  them  more  wholesome." 

".One  circumstance  must  be  observed  by  all  who  travel  in  Mexican 
territory.  There  is  not  one  human  being  or  passing  object  to  be  seen  that 
is  not  in  itself  a  picture,  or  which  would  not  form  a  good  subject  for  the 
pencil.  The  Indian  women,  with  their  plaited  hair,  and  little  children  slung 
to  their  backs,  their  large  straw  hats,  and  petticoats  of  two  colors  —  the 
long  strings  of  arrieros  with  their  loaded  mules,  and  swarthy,  wild-looking 
faces  —  the  chance  horseman  who  passes  with  his  sarape  of  many  colors, 
his  high  ornamented  saddle,  Mexican  hat,  silver  stirrups  and  leathern 
boots  —  all  is  picturesque." 

MINERS  AND  MULETEERS. 

Mexico  IS  an  elevated  plateau,  formed  by  the  expansion  of  the 
Cordilleras  of  Central  America.  Its  climate  is  both  tropical  and  tem- 
perate, and  its  products  partake  of  both  zones.  Wheat,  oats  and  corn, 
sugar-cane,  pineapples  and  oranges,  the  ash,  the  mahogany,  and  the  palm 
trees  are  all  found. 

The  chief  natural  wealth  of  Mexico,  and  which  is  being  gradually 
re-developed  by  American  and  European  enterprise,  consists  of  its  gold 
and  silver  mines.  The  gold  mines  are  on  the  west  side  of  the  Sierra 
Madre  Mountains,  north  of  Durango.  Silver  abounds  in  the  western 
declivities  of  most  of  the  mountains  and  in  the  "Vela  Madre"  lode  at 
Guanajuato,  it  has  been  discovered  in  beds  of  from  ten  to  fifty  yards  in 
depth,  being  mixed  with  sulphur,  antimony  and  arsenic.  Carbonate  of 
soda,  used  in  smelting  silver,  is  plentiful  on  the  surface  of  many  of  the 
lakes  and  table  lands. 

The  common  miners  are,  for  the  most  part,  of  the  Indian  race. 
They  work  nearly  naked,  and  sometimes  go  together  in  bands,  taking 
their  equal  share  of  the  "find,"  besides  being  paid  a  small  sum  by  the 
company  which  is  operating  the  mine.  On  issuing  from  the  mouth  of 
the  mine,  the  Indians  themselves  divide  the  lumps  of  ore,  rich  and  poor, 
into  a  certain  number  of  heaps  in  the  presence  of  an  overseer,  who 
determines  which  portion  shall  be  given  to  them.  There  are  subter- 
ranean offices  Avhere  the  tools  and  lanterns,  or  tapers,  are  kept.  These 
are  regularly  distributed  and  reclaimed. 

The  arriero,  or  muleteer,  is  an  institution  of  Mexico,  or  New  Spain. 
He  is  the  type  of  honesty  in  a  country  where  that  commodity  is  at  a  dis- 
count, the  most  precious  freight  being  unhesitatingly  delivered  to  his 


41  6  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

care.  The  Indian  occasionall)'  rises  to  the  dignity  of  a  proprietor,  as- 
well  as  a  driver  of  mules.  He  has  his  assistants,  or  mozos,  in  whom  the 
Indian  blood  al\va)s  predominates.  The  whole  ca\'alcade  are  armed 
with  such  weapons  as  are  at  hand,  as  a  protection  against  bandits,  who 
are  still  not  unknown.  This,  of  course,  is  when  the  journey  is  to  be  of 
some  distance.  It  sometimes  happens  that  the  arriero,  when  expecting 
to  pass  through  a  particularl\-  dangerous  country,  thinks  best  to  engage 
the  services  of  a  bandit  as  guide  and  protector,  and  when  the  good  silver 
dollars  have  been  fairly  passed  over  to  "  the  gentleman  of  the  road  "  the 
party  has  really  no  need  of  further  uneasiness. 

A  MEXICAN    BONANZA. 

The  American  agave,  which  is  often  confounded  with  the  aloe,  is- 
found  and  cultivated  on  the  highlands  of  Mexico,  and  is  especially  pro- 
lific around  the  city.  The  plant  often  shoots  up  to  a  height  of  thirty  feet, 
along  the  stem  being  branches  of  flowers,  and  at  its  summit  is  a  crowded 
head  of  large  fleshy  leaves.  After  flowering,  the  plant  dies,  but  the 
root  continues  to  send  up  new  shoots.  The  leaves  are  from  five  to  seven 
feet  long,  and  from  their  fibres  are  made  thread,  paper,  oakum,  ropes  and 
hammocks.  Cut  into  slices  they  are  also  used  for  feeding  cattle,  and 
the  juice  of  the  leaves,  or  of  the  roots  themselves,  makes  a  very  good 
soap.  The  thorns  which  terminate  the  gigantic  leaves  were  the  means 
by  which  the  Aztec  priests  tore  their  bodies  for  religion's  sake ;  they 
were,  furthermore,  the  nails  and  pins  of  Mexican  antiquity. 

But,  in  the  eyes  of  the  natives,  its  chief  value  consists  in  its  proper, 
ties  as  a  producer  of  "  pulque."  "  The  moment  the  experienced  Indian 
becomes  aware  that  his  maguey  (so  he  calls  it)  is  about  to  flower,  he 
cuts  out  the  heart,  covers  it  over  with  the  side  leaves  of  the  plant,  and 
all  the  juice  which  should  have  gone  to  the  great  stem  of  the  flower 
runs  into  the  empty  basin  thus  formed,  into  which  the  Indian,  thrice  a  day 
and  during  several  months  in  succession,  inserts  his  gourd,  a  kind  of 
syphon,  and  applying  his  mouth  to  the  other  end,  draws  off  the  liquor  by 
suction.  First  it  is  called  honey-water  and  is  sweet  and  scentless  ;  but 
easily  ferments  when  transferred  to  the  skins  or  earthen  vases  where  it  is 
kept.  To  assist  in  its  fermentation,  however,  a  little  old  pulque  is  added 
to  it,  and  in  twenty-four  hours  after  it  leaves  the  plant  you  may  imbibe 
it  in  all  its  perfection.  It  is  said  to  be  the  most  wholesome  drink  in  the 
world,  and  remarkably  agreeable  when  one  has  overcome  the  first  shock 
occasioned  by  its  rancid  odor.  At  all  events  the  maguey  is  a  source  of 
unfailing  profit,  the  consumption   of  pulque  being  enormous,  so  that 


MEXICAN    SrORTS.  417 

many  of  the  richest  families  in  the  capital  owe  their  fortune  entirely  to  the 
produce  of  their  magueys.  Besides,  there  is  a  strong  brandy  distilled 
from  pulque.  Together  with  the  maguey  grows  another  immense  pro- 
duction of  nature,  the  '  organos,'  which  resembles  the  pipes  of  an  organ, 
and  being  covered  with  prickles,  and  about  six  feet  high  makes  the 
strongest  natunl  fence  imaginable." 

MEXICAN    SPORTS. 

Though  no  more  elevating  than  a  prize  fight,  a  bull  fight  is  the  nat. 
ional  sport  in  Mexico  as  it  is  in  Spain.  A  greater  variety  of  classes 
countenance  it,  or  rather  thoroughly  enjoy  it,  than  in  the  United  States 
applaud  the  brute  contest  of  man  with  man. 

Mexican  bulls  are  much  smaller  than  those  of  Spain,  but  when  one 
bounds  into  the  ring,  lashing  liis  tail,  rolling  his  wild  eyes,  finally  fixing 
them  upon  the  matadors  and  picadors,  armed  with  their  colored  scarfs 
and  their  lances,  and  with  ii,ead  down  dashes  furiously  at  them,  now 
pricked  with  their  weapons,  now  matklened  by  exploding  fire-crackers, 
now  lifted  of?  his  feet  and  rolled  in  the  dust  by  a  mounted  picador,  now 
crushing  a  horsemen  to  the  ground,  bellowing,  covered  with  blood,  fran- 
tically charging  at  nothing,  at  bay,  waiting  for  renewed  strength,  stuck 
full  of  darts,  stabbed  to  his  death,  still  fighting  off  the  darkness,  stag- 
gering, dead  —  when  a  Mexican  bull  is  thus  goaded,  and  so  desperately 
and  hopelessly  strives  for  life  and  revenge,  few  would  wish  for  a  mam- 
moth brute  of  Andalusia  or  Castile  to  prolong  the  contest. 

The  ceremony  of  stamping  the  bulls  with  the  owner's  name  is  a 
great  treat  for  the  country  people,  and  especially  the  Indians,  who 
assemble  for  miles  around  to  see  the  sight.  They  occupy  every  tree 
and  point  of  ground  overlooking  the  enclosure,  while  within,  out  of 
harm's  way,  a  platform  is  erected  for  agents  and  small  farmers,  with 
their  gayly  dressed  wives  and  daughters.  The  men  themselves,  who  are 
the  principals,  are  not  averse  to  show,  as  witness  the  silver  rolls  and 
gold  linings  of  their  hats,  new  deerskin  pantaloons  and  embroidered 
jackets  with  silver  buttons.  Well,  sometimes  nearly  a  thousand  bulls 
are  driven  in  from  the  plains,  and  then  three  or  four  at  a  time  are 
forced  into  the  enclosure,  where  the  men  are  impatiently  waiting  with 
their  lassoes  to  receive  them.  Although  the  bellowing  brutes  frequently 
wound  or  kill  their  men,  their  ultimate  fate  is  inevitable.  They  are 
thrown  to  the  ground,  and  although  they  dash  their  heads  against  it  in 
rage  and  despair,  they  are  branded  with  the  evidence  of  their  serfdom. 
Some  of  the  bulls,  when  fairly  conquered,  seem  too  proud  to  utter  a 

27 


41 8  PANORAMA    OF     NATIONS. 

sound  ;  others,  when  the  iron  enters  their  flesh,  burst  out  into  roars 
which  start  the  echoes  for  miles  around.  After  a  great  number  of  the 
bulls  have  been  caught  and  branded,  it  is  customary  for  the  spectators 
to  be  treated  to  a  bull  feast.  The  dead  animal  is  given  by  the  proprie- 
tor to  the  torcadores,  and  buried  by  them  in  a  fire-hole.  It  is  then 
covered  with  earth  and  branches,  and  left  to  bake. 

Cock-fiehtincr  is  as  fashionable  a  sport  in  INIexico  as  bull-fi^ht- 
ing.  The  exhibition  is  attended  by  ladies  of  the  highest  society,  who 
sit  in  boxes  around  the  pit,  betting  with  the  gentlemen  on  their  favor- 
ites. Their  toilet  is  brilliant,  and  the  men  promenade  around  the  circle, 
attired,  whatever  their  station,  in  short  jackets.  "  The  President  of  the 
Republic,  his  suite  and  a  sprinkling  of  foreign  ministers  were  in  attend- 
ance";—  this  would  not  be  so  remarkable  a  truth  to  state.  As  a  small 
knife  is  fastened  to  the  leg  of  each  bird,  the  fights  are  sometimes  short 
and  most  bloody,  the  spectators  clapping  their  hands  and  otherwise 
giving  way  to  their  enthusiasm  when  a  more  than  usually  brilliant  stroke 
is  delivered. 

THE    CITY   OF    MEXICO. 

The  approach  to  the  city,  which  stands  on  an  extensive  plateau 
surrounded  by  lofty  mountains,  is  grand  in  the  extreme.  The  general 
figure  of  the  valley  of  Mexico  is  an  irregular  oval,  sixty  by  thirty-five 
miles,  and  in  the  center  is  the  city  itself,  around  which  cluster  so  many 
memories  of  the  ancient  empire  of  the  Aztecs.  Its  area  of  more  than 
1700  square  miles,  includes  five  lakes.  Once  within  the  city,  the 
most  striking  features  are  the  great  Plaza  Mayor,  pronounced  one  of 
the  finest  squares  in  the  Western  world,  and  its  broad,  raised,  paved 
streets,  lined  with  double  rows  of  trees,  extending  far  out  into  the 
country  and  all  converging  at  the  public  square. 

In  the  times  of  Montezuma  three  causeways  led  from  his  capital  to 
firm  land,  the  streets  were  intersected  with  canals  and  all  around  were 
thousands  of  skimming  canoes,  which  were  the  principal  means  of  com- 
munication with  the  outside  empire.  Only  one  of  the  canals  —  that  of 
Chalco  —  is  now  maintained.  The  causeways  remain,  enlarged,  and 
there  are  several  other  new  ones,  some  of  them  being  lined  with  pop- 
lars. They  became,  in  fact,  the  groundwork  of  more  than  one  grand 
thoroughfare,  for  which  the  city  is  noted,  and  along  two  of  them,  those 
of  Tacuba  and  Chapultepec,  fresh  water  is  brought  from  the  mountains. 

The  aqueduct  of  Chapultepec  is  over  two  miles  in  length  and  that 
of  Sante  Fe  six  miles.  The  hill  of  Chapultepec  formerly  sprung  from 
near  the  margin  of  the  lake,  and  at  its  foot  are  still  the  remains  of  an 
ancient  garden,  now  a  tangled  labyrinth  of  myrtle,  jessamine  and  sweet 


HOLV    WEEK.  419 

peas,  from  which  peep  out  stained  marble  fountams,  fish-ponds  and 
baths.  The  garden  encircles  the  base  of  the  rock,  which  is  about  a 
mile  in  circumference,  and  is,  all  in  all,  a  sad  but  beautiful  memento  of 
the  days  when  Montezuma  retreated  to  its  solitudes,  even  when  the 
Spanish  invaders  were  marching  rapturously  toward  his  Venetian  capital. 

Within  the  Plaza  Mayor  of  the  city  is  a  magnificent  cathedral, 
erected  on  the  ruins  of  the  wonderful  temple  of  the  Aztec  God  Mixitli. 
It  is  adorned  with  the  "  Kallenda,"  a  circular  stone  covered  with  hiero- 
glyphics representing  the  months  of  the  year.  This  is  a  mass  of  por- 
phyr)-,  24  tons  in  weight.  The  ancient  temple  included  not  only  the 
site  of  the  cathedral  and  the  plaza,  but  much  of  the  outlying  territory, 
for  its  massive  stone  walls  are  said  to  have  included  five  hundred  dwell- 
ings and  colleges  for  the  priests  and  seminaries  for  the  priestesses,  mys- 
terious minor  temples  and  sanctuaries,  consecrated  fountains,  gardens 
of  holy  tlowers,  towers  built  of  human  skulls,  and  squares  designed  for 
religious  dances.  We  are  told  that  "  five  thousand  priests  chanted 
night  and  day  in  the  great  Temple,  to  the  honor  and  in  the  service  of 
the  monstrous  idols,  who  were  anointed  thrice  a  day  with  the  most  pre- 
cious perfumes,  and  that  of  these  priests  the  most  austere  were  clothed 
in  black,  their  long  hair  dyed  with  ink,  and  their  bodies  anointed  with 
the  ashes  of  burnt  scorpions  and  spiders." 

The  Christian  cathedral  is  gothic  in  form,  with  two  lofty  towers,  the 
entire  structure  being  richly  ornamented  with  gold,  silver  and  precious 
stones.  Inside  is  a  quaint  balustrade  of  brass  and  silver,  which  was 
brought  from  China.  This,  with  afewkneelinof  Indian  women  and  beofo-ars, 
some  of  them  lepers,  includes  the  usual  sights  of  the  interior.  In  the 
courtyard,  without,  is  a  large  stone,  hollowed  in  the  middle,  upon  which 
the  ancient  Mexican  was  held  by  six  Aztec  priests,  while  the  seventh  cut 
open  his  breast,  and,  with  a  golden  spoon,  put  his  heart  into  the  mouth 
of  the  idol.  It  has  been  surmised  that  this  is  the  "  exceedinsflv  ereat 
stone  "  which  was  found  by  the  Mexicans  as  late  as  the  reign  of  Monte- 
zuma, when  it  was  recorded  that  it  was  brought  to  the  capital  with  great 
labor  and  pomp  for  the  sacrifices,  on  which  occasion  12,210  victims  were 
immolated.  The  stone  is  a  cylindrical  mass  of  porphyry,  twenty-five 
feet  in  circumference,  covered  both  on  the  surface  and  sides  with  sculp- 
tures in  relief. 

The  palace  of  the  Cortez,  in  the  same  square,  is  a  vast  irregular 
structure  containing  goverment  offices,  schools  and  public  institutions  of 
various  kinds,  but  is  falling  into  decay.  Nearly  a  hundred  churches  and 
-convents,  theaters,  and  a  circus  for  bull-fights,  with  memories  of  bye-gone 
ilays  clinging  to  every  square  mile  of  the  city  and  its  suburbs,  deserted 


420  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

houses,  gardens  and  chapels,  and  miraculous  Spanish  tales  springing  up 
from  countless  spots  of  holy  ground  —  such  is  the  region  which  is  so 
filled  up  with  strange  contrasts  of  the  old  and  the  new,  of  worldliness, 
religion  and  superstition. 

HOLY  WEEK. 

Holy  Week  in  ]\Iexico  collects  every  element  of  the  republic's 
population.  Inside  the  great  cathedral,  on  Palm  Sunday,  a  dense  for- 
est is  gently  waving  ;  for  an  army  of  half-naked  Indians  have  brought 
their  branches  of  palms  with  them,  and  are  swaying,  expectantly,  under 
the  knowledge  that  the  priests  will  soon  approach.  Each  palm,  which 
is  dried  and  ingeniously  plaited,  is  about  six  feet  high,  and  when  it  has 
been  blessed,  will  be  carried  home  and  placed  reverently  upon  the  wall 
of  the  little  hut. 

On  Holy  Thursday  all  of  Mexico  is  in  the  streets,  showing  its  best 
clothes  ;  for  no  carriages  are  permitted  abroad.  There  are  rich  senoras 
in  velvets,  satins,  diamonds  and  pearls ;  women  of  lower  rank  in  richly 
embroidered  muslins,  lace  trimmed  petticoats  and  white  satin  shoes; 
others  showing  their  Indian  blood  in  feature  as  well  as  by  their  gay- 
colored  petticoats  and  garments;  handsome  peasant  women,  attired  as 
richly  as  any  ;  graceful  children,  with  their  masses  of  hair  plaited  and  falling 
down  their  backs,  their  .costumes  determined  by  diverse  tastes  ;  men  of  all 
nationalities,  F/^nch,  German,  American,  Spanish ;  the  Mexican  with 
his  large  hat  and  embroidered  jacket — all  are  at  the  capital  to  enjoy 
themselves,  and  most  of  them  to  suspend  their  jabberings,  quarrelings 
and  flirtations,  and  fall  upon  their  knees  at  the  approach  of  anything 
which  is  considered  holy.  Around  the  great  square  the  scene  is  bewild- 
ering, especially  at  sunset  of  Good  Friday,  when  the  Procession  of  the 
Cross  attracts  tens  of  thousands  of  devout  Catholics  from  all  the  huts 
and  palaces  of  the  country.  Th-e  poor  Indians  appear  again  in  force; 
the  men  in  their  blankets,  the  women  trotting  along,  their  black  hair 
plaited  with  dirty  red  ribbon,  a  piece  of  woolen  cloth  w-rapped  around 
them,  and  a  little  mahogany  baby  hanging  behind,  its  face  upturned  to 
the  sky  and  its  head  jerking  vigorously,  but  escaping  dislocation. 

The  same  scenes,  only  on  a  smaller  scale,  are  repeated  in  the 
country  villages.  They  have  their  market-places  and  little  churches, 
monasteries  and  high-walled  gardens,  narrow  lanes,  Indian  huts,  roses 
and  trees,  and  the  scenes  in  Christ's  life  portrayed  by  living  actors  in 
the  most  public  places.  The  holy  dramas  and  the  festivities  are  accom- 
panied by  good  music;  which  w-ould  not  be  expected  of  every  American 
village,  though  it  is  true  of  every  Mexican  town.  Music,  it  Ixis  been 
said,  is  a  sixth  sense  in  Mexico. 


FEMALE    BEAUTY. 


421 


FEMALE  BEAUTY. 


Those  who  have  investigated  the  subject  of  female  beauty  are  posi- 
tive that  the  most  comely  Indians  are  not  found  in  the  towns  but  in  the 
country.  Even  those  who  come  to  the  city  with  their  fruit  and  vegeta- 
bles, although  very  gentle  and  polite,  are  not  as  a  rule  beautiful. 
Occasionally,  however,  there  flashes  out  from  this  general  monotony  a 
face  and  form,  soft  and  yet  dark-hued  ;  wonderful  black  eyes  and  hair, 
pearly  teeth,  and  delicately  molded  hands  and  feet,  arms  and  bust  alive 
with  lines  of  beauty  —  such  a  vision  as  might  have  captivated  Cortes 
himself,  and  which  may  be  a  modern  wit- 
ness to  the  far-famed  beauty  of  the  ancient 
Aztec  women  of  noble  blood. 

It  is  said  that  the  Indians  (men)  near 
the  City  of  Mexico,  arc,  many  of  them,  of 
noble  Aztec  blood,  although,  outwardly, 
they  seem  as  degraded  as  the  natives  of 
the  country  districts.  The  existence  of 
enormous  hidden  wealth  is  even  reported 
among  some  of  these  ragged  and-bare- 
footed  specimens. 

The  wives  and  daughters  of   farmers, 
who  ride  into  market  on  horseback  sitting 
in   front   of  their  servants,  are,   at   times, 
charming  types  of  bright,  healthy  beaut\ , 
but  it  is  seldom   that  one   is  startled  with 
an    apparition   of     beauty.       Usually    the 
women    of    the    better   classes   acquire    a  i:.-.j-^^ 
coarseness  and  a  corpulence  in  early  life 
because  of    the   quantities  of    meat    and  ^ 
sweatmeats  which  are  consumed  in  so  mild 
a  climate.      Indian  women  can  not  afford 
it.     Their    diet   is   mild  and   more  suited 
to   the    country,  and  they  take  sufficient 
fresh    air   and    exercise  to   shade    down    any  natural  tendency  to    cor- 
pulency. 

The  native  woman  is  etherialized,  also,  by  her  love  for  llowers 
which  seems  to  be  an  undying  passion  born  in  the  Mexican  blood.  In 
the  market-places  she  often  loads  her  little  stand  of  green  branches  with 
bright-hued  flowers,  which  she  sells  if  she  can,  and  with  which  she  be- 
decks herself  if  she   does  not  find  a  purchaser.     Many   of  the    Indian 


A   MEXICAN  GIRL. 


422  PANORAMA    OF    NATION'S. 

women  bring  their  fruit  and  \eyetaDies  by  way  of  the  canal,  and  their 
canoes,  as  they  ghde  along,  seem  moving  gardens  of  sweet  peas, 
poppies  and  roses,  each  with  a  flower-goddess  in  the  center.  In  the 
evening,  after  they  have  disposed  of  their  regular  "truck,"  they  crown 
themselves  with  garlands,  and  start,  singing,  on  their  homeward  journey. 
In  the  village  churches,  floor,  walls,  and  altar  are  decorated  with  these 
fresh  trophies,  and  a  christening,  a  marriage  and  a  funeral  are  occasions 
where  the  Indian  woman  buries  herself  and  all  around  her  in  nature's 
choicest  gifts  of  the  earth. 

IN  THE  SUBURBS. 

Before  the  Aztecs  nad  acquired  dominion  over  the  other  tribes  and 
states  they  were  obliged  to  live  not  only  upon  the  natural  islands  of  Lakes 
Tezcuco  and  Chalco,  but  upon  land  which  they  formed  by  weaving  to- 
gether the  roots  of  plants  and  twigs,  placing  upon  this  soft  soil,  which  they 
drew  from  the  bottom  of  the  lake,  and  upon  this  ground  sowing  their 
maize,  chili  and  other  necessary  plants.  Flowers  and  herbs  followed, 
and  the  lakes  were  soon  dotted  with  floating  gardens,  which  became 
gems  of  pure  beauty,  when  Tenochtitlan  was  the  mighty  capital  of  the 
Aztec  empire.  The  once  floating  gardens  have  now  become  fixtures  in 
the  marshy  grounds  between  the  two  lakes.  They  are  covered  with 
cauliflowers,  chili,  tomatoes,  cabbages  and  other  vegetables,  intermixed 
with  flowers.  The  gardens  are  separated  by  narrow  trenches  of  water, 
and  each  has  its  small  Indian  hut  and  flower-loving,  musical  occupants. 
Tinkling  guitars,  children  and  adults,  garlanded  with  roses  and  poppies 
and  oaily  dancing,  jars  of  pulque  and  long  festoons  of  dried  and  salted 
beef,  are  elements  which  may  be  combined  in  various  ways  to  make  up 
home  and  out-door  pictures  of  life  in  this  vicinit}'.  U. '.fortunately,  the 
stronger  brandy  is  apt  to  succeed  the  aiild  pulque,  and  the  music,  sing- 
ing and  dancing.  A  drunken  brawl,  the  flash  of  a  kni.i  i.'-  one  of  the 
little  huts,  or  on  the  sward  outside,  a  cry  of  pain  and  a  corpse,  is  fre- 
quently the  finis  of  this  Arcadian  picture. 

These  Indian  huts  have  usually  mud  floors,  and  small  altars,  with 
palm  leaf  branches  or  leaves  (which  have  been  blessed)  in  one  corner. 
The  Virgin  is  generally  represented  by  a  collection  of  daubs  on  one 
wall.  The  other  decorations  are  earthen  vessels,  a  few  tough,  half- 
naked  children  and  some  dirty  dogs.  The  Indian  woman  is  within,  or 
she  may  be  off  to  work,  having  left  her  pots,  children  and  dogs  to  take 
care  of  themselves. 

The  hut  of  the  Indian  who  lives  far  from  tlu;  city  is   often  bui^lt  of 


THE    CENTRAL    AMERICANS.  423 

light  bamboo  frames,  thatched  with  palmetto  leaves,  not  only  on  the 
roof  but  on  the  sides,  and  divided  into  two  or  three  compartments  by 
coarse  screens  of  grass  matting. 

THE  CENTRAL  AMERICANS. 

The  republics  of  Costa  Rica,  Gautemala,  Honduras,  Nicaragua, 
and  San  Salvador,  and  the  English  Colony  of  Balize,  or  British  Hon- 
duras, constitute  Central  America.  The  population  of  the  country  is 
similar  to  that  of  Mexico,  and  aside  from  its  charming  birds  and  hid- 
eous reptiles,  interest  has  centered  in  the  territory  as  a  field  of  investiga- 
tion for  the  antiquarian,  and  the  civil  engineer  prospecting  for  a  route 
for  an  inter-oceanic  canal.  Central  America  was  subdued  by  one  of 
Cortes'  lieutenants,  and  the  five  colonies  did  not  become  independent 
until  1823. 

REMAINS   OF    KINGDOMS. 

The  ruins  whose  structure  stamps  them  as  the  most  primitive  of 
those  found  in  South  America  are  those  of  Copan,  Honduras.  They 
are  in  the  form  of  terraces,  or  pyramids,  upon  which  were  erected  mas- 
sive buildings,  approached  by  broad  staircases.  When  these  structures 
were  several  stories  in  height,  each  story  was  smaller  than  the  preceding 
one,  so  that  the  building  itself  had  the  form  of  a  pyramid.  The  fronts 
were  covered  with  stucco,  or  carved  into  elaborate  figures  and  designs, 
while  the  interiors  were  divided  into  narrow  corridors  and  chambers, 
richly  ornamented  with  stucco  work  and  carvings,  and  containing  mys- 
terious tablets,  idols  and  altars.  Grand  monoliths,  or  upright  stones, 
arise  from  the  areas  between  the  temples.  In  the  islands  of  Lake 
Nicaragua,  like  evidences  of  a  pre-historic  worship  and  civilization 
occur,  as  do  also  more  primitive  marks  of  life,  such  as  rude  mounds  .of 
earth  and  uncut  stones.  The  general  appearance  of  all  these  ancient 
structures  from  Mexico  to  Chili,  forces  the  conviction  upon  one's  mind 
that  they  were  built  not  only  as  temples  and  dwelling-houses,  but  as 
fortresses. 

At  Palenque,  near  the  Central  American  frontier,  is  a  series  of 
remarkable  ruins,  consisting  of  terraces  of  cut  stone,  surmounted  by 
edifices  whose  walls  and  interior  are  covered  with  figures  in  stucco  and 
hieroglyphics.  The  Palace,  which  stands  on  a  terraced  pyramid,  is 
faced  with  cut  stone,  being  310  feet  long  and  260  feet  broad.  Its  face 
was  evidently  once  covered  with  stucco,  and  brightly  painted.  In  the 
large  courts  are  numbers  of  tablets,  and  one  of  stone  which  represents 
a  figure  seated  cross-legged  like  Buddha.  The  pavements  are  skillfully 
constructed  of  larcre  blocks  of  stone. 


424  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

THE  HONDURANS. 

The  proportion  of  Indians  among  the  Hondurans  is  not  as  large  as 
that  of  Guatemala,  and  they  show  no  such  encouraging  advances.  The 
whole  of  the  eastern  portion  of  the  Republic  is  given  over  to  aboriginal 
tribes,  who  are  believed  to  be  related  to  the  once  blood-thirsty  and 
powerful  Caribs  who  resisted  the  Spaniards  with  such  ferocity  in  the 
Lesser  Antilles  and  on  the  mainland  of  South  America.  Numbers  of 
them  have  embraced  the  Catholic  faith,  and  now  devote  themselves  to 
agriculture.  The  "  Black  Caribs "  are  a  tribe  who  have  largely  inter- 
married with  negroes.  Formerly  held  as  slaves  by  the  Spaniards, 
they  broke  away  from  their  bondage,  and,  in  early  times,  combined 
into  bands  which  were  as  great  a  terror  to  the  country  as  the  pure 
Caribs  themselves.  The  western  portions  of  Honduras  are  generally 
occupied  by  the  descendants  of  early  .Spanish  settlers,  who  live  upon  the 
sea  coast  or  on  extensive  estates  in  the  interior.  Here  cattle,  horses 
and  mules  upon  the  plains  find  good  pasturage,  but  both  live-stock  and 
land  are  neglected  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of  laborers.  The  most 
attention  is  given  to  the  mules,  as  they  perform  almost  all  the  carrying 
trade  of  the  country. 

Honduras  is  rich  in  the  precious  metals,  her  silver  mines  being 
found  in  the  west,  in  combination  with  iron,  lead  and  copper.  Gold  is 
in  the  east  and  in  the  west,  but  few  mines  are  now  worked.  Copper 
mines  are  numerous.  Beautiful  marble  abounds.  But  the  same  old 
story  must  be  told.  Civil  disturbances  and  a  lazy  people  have  retarded 
the  development  of  the  country,  materially  and  intellectually. 

Honduras  has  upon  her  coasts,  especially  those  of  the  Caribbean 
Sea,  the  most  commodious  harbors  of  Central  America. 

THE  NICARAGUAN.S. 

The  population  of  the  Nicaraguan  Republic  consists  of  a  mixture 
of  whites  and  Indians,  negroes  and  Indians,  whites  and  blacks,  and  of 
pure-blooded  Indians.  The  Indians  of  pure  ])lood  outnumber  all  the 
rest,  their  special  country  being  the  basins  of  Lakes  Nicaragua  and 
Managua  and  the  Pacific  coast.  A  number  of  uncivilized  tribes  occupy 
the  river  basins  of  the  Atlantic  slope  and  have  a  reservation  along  the 
coast.  Those  who  have  settled  along  the  Pacific  coast  are  of  Aztec 
descent. 

Unlike  many  other  American  republics,  the  mainstay  of  Nicaragua 
is  its  Indian  element,  the  natives  being  sober  and  industrious,  tending 
the  large   herds  of  cattle,  mules  and  horses  which  are  raised,  and   also 


Tilt:    GAUTE.MALAXS.  425 

cultivating'  the  large  plantations  of  cocoa,  sugar-cane  and  coffee,  which 
are  principally  owned  by  Europeans  on  the  Pacific  slope.  Two  or  three 
crops  of  the  small  but  juicy  sugar-cane  are  raised  annually.  Maize  is 
the  principal  food  of  the  ci\'ilizctl  natives,  and  two  bountiful  harvests 
are  gathered  from  their  own  lands  every  )-ear. 

A  favorite  article  of  food  with  the  wild  Indians  who  live  along  the 
rivers  and  in  the  swamps  of  Eastern  Nicaragua  is  the  iguana,  a  lizard 
which  grows  to  be  four  or  five  feet  long,  the  tail  being  two-thinls  of  its 
length.  Its  llesh  is  delicate  but  said  to  be  unwholesome.  It  passes 
most  of  its  time  in  trees,  where  it  is  caught  by  the  sly  Indian  with  slip 
nooses. 

When  the  Spanish  conquerors  entered  the  country  they  found  a 
powerful  chief  on  the  borders  of  Lake  Nicaragua,  named  Nicarao.  The 
lake  was  named  after  him  "Nicarao  agua,"  and  from  the  combination 
of  the  two  words  we  obtain  the  present  name. 

The  Nicaraguans  are  Roman  Catholics,  and  their  republican  form 
of  government  does  not  materially  differ  from  that  of  other  Central 
American  States.  Their  most  serious  disturbances  were  with  Great 
Britain  and  on  account  of  civil  wars.  England  wished  to  obtain  a 
protectorate  over  the  eastern  coast,  and  had  obtained  a  foothold  in  the 
territory  formerly  occupied  by  native  tribes  under  the  name  of  the 
Mosquito  Nation.  This  is  now  the  reservation,  of  which  mention  has 
been  made.  One  of  the  chiefs  who  died  as  king  of  the  nation  passed 
over  his  scepter  to  the  English  agent  at  Balize,  or  British  Honduras. 
The  Central  American  republics  protested  against  Great  Britain  extending 
its  protectorate  over  this  territory  and  were  joined  by  the  United  States. 
Nicaragua  thus  became  the  protector  of  the  Mosquito  Nation,  with  the 
understanding  that  she  was  not  to  interfere  with  the  administrative 
authority  of  the  native  king  and  chiefs,  who  were  in  turn  to  acknowledge 
the  government  of  the  republic.  Civil  war  once  (1855)  divided  the 
Nicaraguans  into  two  parties,  each  having  its  own  capital,  and  the)'  have 
not  been  backward  in  participating  in  the  many  quarrels  between  sister 
republics, 

THE  GUATEMALANS. 

Guatemala  has  about  a  million  and  a  half  of  people,  and  two-thirds 
of  its  population  is  Indian.  When  the  -Spaniards  came  to  conquer  the 
country  they  found  the  greater  portion  of  the  present  territory 
occupied  by  the  powerful  native  kingdom  of  the  Quiches.  For  six  days 
the  invaders  fought  with  its  arm)-  of  more  than  200,000  warriors,  who 
only  yielded  with  the  death  of  their  king.      The  Cit\-  of  Ouiches  is  now 


426  PAXUKAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

in  ruins,  but  the  district  which  the  Quiches  occupy  is  the  most  populous 
in  Guatemala  and  the  inhabitants  as  intelligent  as  any  in  the  republic. 
Their  ancient  language  is  still  in  use.  The  Quiches  are  described  as  an 
"active,  courageous  race,  whose  heads  never  grow  gray,  persevering  in 
their  industry,  skillful  in  almost  every  department  of  art,  good  workers 
in  iron  and  precious  metals,  generally  well  dressed,  neat  ir.  person,  with 
a  firm  step  and  independent  bearing,  and  altogether  constituting  a  class 
of  citizens  who  only  require  to  be  better  educated  to  rise  equal  to  the 
best." 

And  it  would  seem  that  the  government  had  taken  the  matter  in 
charge  throughout  the  republic.  The  public-school  system  is  in  force, 
although  until  of  late  years  the  educational  institutions  were  generally 
supported  by  the  private  contributions  of  wealthy  citizens,  and  were 
mostly  confined  to  the  capital.  Well-to-do  citizens  of  other  states  were 
in  the  habit  of  sending  their  children  to  Guatemala  City  to  be  educated- 
This  is  more  or  less  the  case  at  the  present  time.  The  government- 
however,  is  giving  its  own  money  to  the  cause,  so  that  the  public  schools 
have  become  a  part  of  it.  Education  is  compulsory,  and  parents  or 
guardians  who  do  not  allow  their  children  private  instruction  are  required 
to  send  them  to  the  graded  schools. 

No  such  diversity  of  costume  is  found  among  the  people  of  Guate- 
mala as  among  the  Mexicans.  The  higher  cl;\sses,  so-called,  dress  like 
Europeans,  the  garb  of  the  men  of  Indian  and  mixed  blood  being  chiefiy 
a  short  woolen  jacket,  cotton  pantaloons,  a  palm-leaf  hat  covered  with 
oilcloth,  and  a  shawl  of  many  colors.  The  Indian  women  draw  a  piece 
of  blue  cotton  cloth  around  the  body  above  the  hips,  and  occasionally  a 
white  embroidered  chemise;  and  their  hair,  which  is  wound  around  the 
temples,  is  interbraided  with  a  red  cord. 

Guatemala  is  considered  the  finest  city  in  Central  America,  stand- 
ing upon  a  plateau  which  occupies  the  extremity  of  a  broad  plain,  upon 
each  side  of  the  town  being  a  volcano.  As  earthquakes  are  frequent, 
the  houses  are  of  one  story.  TVonting  on  one  side  of  the  largest  square 
is  a  large  cathedral  and  archiepiscopal  palace.  In  the  center  is  a  foun- 
tain, one  of  many  which  are  supplied  with  water  from  a  distance  of  nine 
miles.  IVIuch  of  this  square  is  occupied  by  rows  of  little  huts,  in  which 
pottery,  agave  thread,  iron  utensils  and  other  native  manufactures  are 
displayed  for  sale,  the  renting  of  the  booths  forming  a  portion  of  the 
municipal  revenue.  Guatemala  abounds  in  churches  and  other  religious 
structures,  and  although  the  better  classes  of  private  dwellings  are  low, 
they  are  tastefully  decorated  and  surrounded  by  large  courtyards,  with 
fountains,  orange  and  oleander  trees.      In  the  center  of  another  of  the 


COSTA    RICA.  427 

city  squares  is  an  elegant  theater,  surrounded  also  by  statues,  fountains 
and  flowering  trees. 

Old  Guatemala  was  destroyed  in  1541,  by  a  tlood  of  water  from  the 
volcano  at  whose  base  its  ruins  exist.  Later  the  rebuilt  city  was  de- 
stroyed by  an  earthquake.  The  work  of  reconstruction  is  still  progress- 
ing, as  the  town  is  situated  in  the  midst  of  a  rich  cochineal  district.  But 
both  new  and  old  Gautemala  are  evidences  more  of  Spanish  than  of 
native  life,  and,  as  such,  we  must  leave  them. 

COSTA  RICA. 

This,  geographically,  is  the  last  of  the  Central  American  republics, 
and  more  than  any  of  the  other  four  is  a  Spanish  state,  there  being  only 
a  few  thousand  Indians  in  the  entire  country.  Most  of  the  inhabitants 
are  of  pure  Spanish  descent,  the  first  settlers  coming  from  Galicia,  in 
the  north  of  Spain.  The  Indians  chiefly  occupy  the  Atlantic  coast  and 
are,  probably,  of  the  Carib  stock.  There  are  also  small  tribes  at  the 
headwaters  of  the  San  Juan  and  in  some  of  the  unexplored  districts. 

The  Costa  Ricans  are  enterprising,  and  enthusiastic  advocates  of 
railroads,  telegraph  lines  and  other  public  works,  which  exist  in  various 
stages  of  completion.  The  revenues  of  the  government  have  not  been 
sufficient  to  successfully  prosecute  their  enterprises,  and  the  country  is 
considerably  in  debt. 

THE  SAN  SALVADORIANS. 

The  natives  of  this  brisk  little  republic  are  more  than  half  of  Indian 
blood;  many  of  them  are  debarred  from  exercising  the  right  of  suffrage, 
however,  by  the  provision  of  the  republic's  constitution  which  makes  a 
non-voter  of  a  domestic.  Other  disqualifications  consist  of  being  with- 
out legal  occupation,  contracting  debts  fraudulently,  owing  money  to 
the  State,  entering  the  service  of  a  foreign  power,  or  being  of  a  notori- 
ously bad  character.  The  president,  representatives  and  senators  must 
own  a  certain  amount  of  property.  The  geographical  position  of  San 
Salvador  has  been  the  means  of  forcing  her  into  nearly  every  quarrel 
which  has  agitated  the  republics  of  Central  America,  but  she  has  ad- 
vanced in  spite  of  her  many  disturbances  so  that  she  is  really  a  very  pros- 
perous little  state.  The  foreign  trade  of  the  country,  especially  in 
coffee  and  indigo,  is  rapidly  growing  ;  she  is  improving  her  cart  roads 
throughout  the  territory  ;  encouraging  railroads  and  agriculture  ;  throwing 
open  her  unoccupied  lands,  which  have  been  held  by  municipalities,  to 
settlers ;  and  establishing  schools  and  colleges  for  both  sejies,  as  well  as 
night  schools  for  tradesmen. 


428 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


San  Salvador,  the  capital  of  the  republic,  is  in  a  ver)-  active  vol- 
cano district.  In  1854  the  city  was  almost  completely  destroyed,  many 
of  its  30,000  people  perishing.  Most  of  its  public  buildings  and  dwell- 
ing houses  fell  into  the  cruel  jaws  of  the  earth  in  1872,  and  when  the 
plucky  natives  decided  to  rebuild  on  the  site  which  had  been  chosen  350 
years  previous,  they  were  about  to  make  the  eighth  attempt  to  keep 
above  ground.  The  city  is  still  the  center  of  the  republic's  political 
and  educational  life,  containing  a  university  and  a  well-organized  sys- 
tem of  public  schools.  In  the  neighborhood  are  extensive  sugar  and 
indigo  plantations,  and  numerous  hot  springs. 


SOUTH  AMERICAN   INDIANS. 


HE  foundation  of  all  tlic  countries  of  South  America  is  the 
native  Indian  population.  The  conquests  and  colonizations  of 
the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  reared  upon  this  a  superstructure 
of  civilization,  the  foreigner  intermarrying,  to  a  great  extent, 
with  the  Indian.  When  these  countries  declined  in  power  the 
native  blood  asserted  itself,  and  with  the  added  strength  of 
European  life,  republics  and  kingdoms  have  been  formed  which 
are  marching  on  with  vigor  and  intelligence.  The  purest 
type  of  South  American  ladians  is  now  found  in  Patagonia 
and  Brazil. 

THE  PATAGONIANS. 


Patagonia,  in  fact,  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  a  history.  Early 
voyagers  represented  the  inhabitants  as  of  gigantic  size,  insisting  that 
they  averaged  eight  or  nine  feet  in  height.  But  later  investigations 
have  proved  that  although  they  are  among  the  tallest  races  in  the  world, 
the  men  average  only  five  feet  eleven  inches.  They  are  powerful  in 
proportion  to  their  size,  with  large  heads,  high  cheek  bones,  black  eyes 
and  straight,  coarse,  black  hair,  separated  in  front  by  a  band  and  falling 
over  the  shoulders  and  back.  The  men  go  nearly  naked,  except  in  the 
south  W'here  they  wear  a  mantle  of  skins  sewed  together,  with  a  hole  for 
the  head  and  extending  bejow  the  knee. 

Naturally  the  women  are  smaller  than  their  lords.  Their  head-dress 
is  a  beaded  patch  of  cloth,  from  which  the  hair  falls  in  two  long  braids. 
Huge  earrings,  armlets,  and  anklets  and  a  woolen  grarment,  hancing- 
from  the  shoulders  to  below  the  knees,  complete  their  costume.  Like 
many  North  American  Indians  the  Patagonians  paint  their  bodies  with 
earth  and  eradicate  every  hair  from  the  face. 

In  a  country  of  situnted  vegetation,  with  the  exception  of  huge 
marine  weeds  ;  in  a  country  where  wheat  and  barley  will  not  germinate 
within  less  than  three  years, — it  is  natural  that  the  Patagonian  should 
greatly  depend  upon  the  bountiful  water  for  sustenance.  Whales,  otters, 
seals,-  shell  fish  and  salmon,  and,  above  water,  all  kinds  of  fowl,  tax  their 

42y 


430  PANORAMA    UF    NATIONS. 

ingenuity  and  activity ;  and  when  tliey  hunger  for  meat,  and  have  no 
sheep  themselves,  they  mals;e  a  descent  upon  Argentine  territory. 

In  the  north  the  Patagonians  not  only  are  admirable  horsemen  but 
own  herds  of  their  own,  which  they  lasso  on  the  great  central  plains  of 
the  country.  Wild  cattle  and  ostriches,  which  roam  the  same  tracts,  are 
not  only  brought  to  earth  with  the  lasso,  but  with  the  bolas.  This  mis- 
sile consists  of  two  balls  covered  with  leather  and  united  by  a  thin 
plaited  thong,  varying  in  length  from  six  to  eight  feet.  The  Patagonian 
holds  one  of  the  balls  in  his  right  hand,  whirls  the  other  round  his  head, 
and  when  sufficient  momentum  has  been  obtained  sends  them  whirling 
like  chain  shot  through  the  air:  Striking  the  legs  of  an  animal,  the 
thong  is  tightly  wound  about  them,  rendering  escape  impossible.  The 
balls  may  be  of  stone,  iron  or  wood.  Those  of  iron,  usually  small,  are 
projected  an  amazing  distance.  The  other  weapons  used  by  the  Pata- 
gonians are  the  lance,  sling,  bow  and  arrow. 

THE  WEAK  TERRA  DEL  FUEGIANS. 

As  the  dreary  regions  of  the  South  are  approached,  cattle  and 
horses  even  commence  to  disappear.  The  latter  are  extinct  long  before 
you  reach  Terra  del  Fuego,  the  island  across  Magellan  Straits.  And 
not  only  this,  but  human  beings  themselves  do  not  thrive  in  this  inhos- 
pitable clime,  becoming  small  and  weak. 

So  we  find  that  the  Fuegians,  or  natives  of  Terra  del  Fuego, 
although  of  the  same  race  as  the  Patagonians,  are  mere  patch-works  of 
humanity.  They  have  no  ambition  or  energy,  ind  barely  subsist  on  the 
shell  fish  which  are  caught  in  the  gigantic  sea-weed  which  clogs  every 
indentation  of  the  coast  or  straits.  A  seal  or  guanaco  skin  is  their  cloth- 
ing. Their  huts,  built  near  the  shore,  consist  of  branches  of  trees  stuck 
in  the  earth,  about  eight  feet  in  diameter  and  half  that  in  height,  with  a 
small  hole  for  a  door. 

Although  broad-chested,  their  limbs  are  withered  and  emaciated, 
and  on  account  of  the  squatting  position  which  they  always  assume 
when  at  rest,  the  skin  over  the  knee  joint  becomes  permanently 
stretched,  and,  when  they  stand,  hangs  in  unsightly  folds. 

It  is  strange  that  although  they  exist  in  so  severe  a  climate  they 
should  neglect  to  provide  themselves  with  necessary  coverings.  A 
guanaco  or  a  sealskin  thrown  over  the  shoulders,  or  perhaps  confined 
around  the  waist  by  a  girdle,  with  slight  fillets  about  the  head,  comprise 
the  clothing  of  the  men.  The  females  are  covered  a  little  more  com. 
pletely,  and  carry  their  infants  in  a  loose  fold  of  their  guanaco  robes 
above  the  belt. 


THE    WEAK    TERRA    DEL    FUEGIANS.  43 1 

Their  canoes  are  roughly  constructed  of  bark,  and  in  the  center  of 
each  a  fire  is  ever  kept  burning,  upon  a  bed  of  sand  or  clay.  Fire  is 
obtained  by  striking  sparks  from  iron  pyrites,  with  which  the  island 
abounds,  upon  a  tinder  of  dried  moss,  but  after  the  ilame  is  once 
obtained  the  aim  is  to  keep  it  alive  in  the  boat,  which  is,  virtually,  the 
home.  They  raise  no  vegetable  food  and  all  that  the  Fuegians  can 
procure  to  vary  their  animal  diet  of  fish,  seals  and  shell  fish,  are  the  sea 
weed  we  have  mentioned,  a  few  berries,  such  as  the  cranberry  and  the 
berry  of  the  arbutus,  and  a  fungus,  like  the  oak-apple,  which  grows  on 
the  birch  tree.  With  the  exception  of  these  spontaneous  productions, 
and  dead  whales  thrown  occasionally  upon  the  coast,  the  remainder  of 
their  food  must  be  obtained  by  their  own  perseverance,  activity  and 
sagacity. 

The  natives  of  Terra  del  Fuego  use  bows  and  arrows,  short  bone- 
headed  lances,  clubs  and  slings,  in  war  or  in  the  chase.  In  hunting  the 
guanaco,  otter,  etc.,  they  are  assisted  by  a  breed  of  dogs  which  they 
have  domesticated  and  trained. 

Being  perpetually  in  motion,  in  order  to  barely  sustain  a  miserable 
existence,  the  Fuegians  have  neither  houses  (which  warrant  the  name) 
nor  storehouses  in  which  to  keep  provisions  for  times  of  famine.  When 
great  storms  cut  them  off  from  the  sea,  all  that  they  may  have  to 
depend  upon,  in  the  way  of  substantials,  is  a  quantity  of  blubber  which, 
fortunately,  they  have  buried  in  the  sand.  A  story  is  told  of  a  party  of 
natives,  who  were  in  a  famishing  state,  being  relieved  by  certain  mem- 
bers of  the  tribe  who  had  secretly  buried  some  blubber  four  "sleeps," 
as  they  say,  or  four  days'  journey  away.  The  succoring  party  returned, 
ready  to  drop  with  exhaustion,  each  man  wearing  two  or  three  huge 
pieces  of  half  putrid  blubber  as  necklaces. 

The  Fuegians  are  physically  and  intellectually  degraded,  but,  as  is 
apt  to  be  the  case  with  the  lowest  savages,  their  powers  of  mimicry,  and 
the  kind  of  memory  which  forms  its  basis,  are  wonderfully  developed. 
Though  they  fail  to  comprehend  a  single  word  they  will  repeat  whole 
sentences  correctly,  and  they  have  been  known  to  follow  the  tones  of 
the  violin  through  a  long  series  of  cords  with  the  utmost  precision. 
They  are  remarkably  sensitive  to  loud  sounds,  fire-arms  are  terrible  to 
them,  and  they  usually  address  each  other  in  whispers. 

The  belief  in  a  Being  embodied  in  a  great  black  man,  who  wanders 
about  the  woods  and  mountains,  sends  them  weather  accordino-  to  their 
deeds,  and  who  is  acquainted  with  their  smallest  action,  is  the  extent  of 
their  religion.  They  have  mysterious  dreams  and  omens,  with  official 
interpreters,  and  are,  as  a  race,  like  a  collection  of  ignorant,  half-starved, 
timid  children. 


433 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


THE   PATAGONIANS  AGAIN. 


The  Patagonians  projjer,  on  the  other  hand,  beheve  in  the  Author 
of  all  Good,  and  the  Evil  One,  who  wanders  to  and  fro  on  the  face  of 
the  earth.      Both  men  and  w'omen  are  diviners,  but  are  gradully  losino- 

ground ;  the  natives 
are  becomincr  more  in- 
telligent  and  are  com- 
mencing to  doubt  their 
.ibility  to  see  through 
the  surface  of  the  earth 
into  its  bowels.  They 
ha\c  two  festivals  a 
\ear,  one  in  honor  of 
'■ach  of  their  divinities. 
The  Good  Spirit  of  the 
i'atagonians  is  believed 
by  them  to  reside  in  a 
certain  hill,  i.ear  the 
Cordillera  Mountains, 
which  they  will  point 
out  to  you,  and  from 
which  he  dispersed  all 
the  Indians  and  animals 
of  the  world.  But,  as 
has  been  stated,  their 
idea  is  that  he  has  be- 
come careless  of  their 
welfare,  while  Gualichu, 
o-r  the  Evil  One,  is  wide- 
awake and  actively  seek- 
ing  whom  he  may  get 
into  his  toils.  In  camp, 
the  Devil  is  always  wait- 
ing behind  each  toldo, 
or  house,  hoping  to 
be  able  to  create  some 
mischief. 

They  have  their  sacred  animals  and  those  of  evil  repute.  There  is 
a  bird  which  is  common  on  the  slopes  of  the  Cordilleras,  and  w-hich 
utters  a  weird  cry.      If  the  sound  is  heard  over  a  house,  it  is  drea<led  as 


DRESS    AND    HORSE    c;EAR.  433 

the  forerunner  of  sickness  or  death.  This  bird  is  considered  sacred.  A 
two-headed  guanaco  (llama)  also  holds  the  same  place  in  their  minds. 
On  the  other  hand,  when  they  see  a  certain  lizard,  which  mysteriously 
lames  their  horses,  they  kill  it  as  coming  from  the  Evil  One.  The  tick- 
ing of  a  watch  is  regarded  as  the  voice  of  the  hidden  Gualichu. 

Superstitious  as  they  are,  they  do  not  rely  upon  the  wizard,  impli- 
citly, to  drive  out  the  household  devil,  or  sickness.  They  have  an 
intimate  acquaintance  with  the  properties  of  many  herbs,  and  practice 
blood-letting,  not  only  to  cure  complaints  but  to  prevent  them. 

Unlike  the  Fuegians,  the  Patagonians  are  vigorous  livers  and  have 
plenty  of  meat  to  eat.  They  are  excessively  fond  of  horse-flesh,  which 
they  eat  with  salt,  almost  raw,  and  sustain  their  vigor  by  habitual 
draughts  of  animal  blood.  In  a  word,  two  more  startling  physical  con- 
trasts of  the  same  people,  and  living  side  by  side,  can  not  be  found  in  the 
universe. 

The  Patagonians  evidently  expect  to  take  their  tremendous  appetites 
with  them,  for  not  only  do  they  slaughter  the  horse  of  the  deceased  that 
the  pleasures  of  the  chase  may  be  continued,  but  they  leave  upon  the 
grave  several  animals  to  be  used  as  food.  Their  funerals  are  conducted 
with  great  solemnity,  and  their  festivals  and  dances  with  an  equal  degree 
of  hilarity.  A  reed  fife  is  their  principal  musical  instrument,  although 
the  women  play  upon  a  sort  of  tamborine  and  sing  a  few  measures  to 
encourage  the  dance.     The  men  also  beat  a  rude  kind  of  drum. 

DRESS  AND   HORSE  GEAR. 

The  men's  heads  are  thickly  covered  with  long  hair,  which  is  care- 
fully brushed  and  dressed  by  some  female  at  least  once  a  day,  and  bound 
with  a  colored  fillet.  This  practice  obtains  principally  among  the  south- 
ern tribes.  The  performance  of  the  men's  toilet  is  a  very  important  part 
of  home  life,  and  the  wife,  daughter  or  sweetheart  who  does  the  sweet 
duty  is  careful  to  burn  every  hair  that  is  brushed  out,  that  no  enemy 
shall  obtain  it  and  work  a  bad  spell  upon  her  hero.  She  then  paints  his 
face  black  or  white,  according  as  to  whether  he  is  a  mourner  or  a  fighter. 
Tattooing  the  forearm  is  accomplished  by  puncturing  it  with  a  bodkin 
and  inserting  a  mixture  of  blue  earth  with  a  piece  of  glass.  The  women's 
hair  is  not  as  long  as  the  men's,  and  is  worn  in  two  braids.  Upon  special 
occasions  they  weave  into  it  horse  hair,  blue  beads  and  silver  pendants, 
which  make  it  both  longer  and  more  attractive  than  it  would  naturally  be. 

With  all  their  rough  traits,   Patagonians,  both  male  a'nd   female, 

28 


434  PANORAMA    OK    NATIONS. 

have  a  strong  sense  of  decency,  which  they  evince  in  the  matter  of  wear- 
ing apparel.  They  both  wear  their  great  mantles,  with  cloth  under-gar- 
ments,  and  boots  made  of  horse's  skin  or  from  the  leg  of  a  large  puma, 
drawn  on  as  high  as  the  knee  and  fastened  around  the  foot.  In  wet  or 
snowy  weather  hide  overshoes  are  worn,  and  the  apparent  size  of  the  ex- 
tremities, thus  attired,  may  account  for  the  name  which  the  Spaniards  gave 
them — Patagon,  or  "big  feet."  Boots  are  seldom  worn  in  camp  and  in 
riding  they  are  secured  with  bright  colored  garters  of  woven  material, 
or  with  bands  of  hide  with  huge  silver  buckles. 

Very  young  children  run  about  naked;  the  older  ones  wear  the  uni- 
versal mantle,  and  some  of  them  have  tiny  boots  made  of  the  fore-legs 
of  the  guanaco.  A  baby's  cradle  is  made  of  wicker  work,  strengthened 
with  hide  thongs,  is  covered,  and  rests  upon  the  saddle-gear  of  the 
mother  when  the  tribe  are  on  the  move.  It  is  often  ornamented  with 
bells  or  little  metal  plates. 

Both  sexes  are  fond  of  ornaments,  the  women  wearing  huge  ear- 
rings, and  the  men  necklaces,  besides  decorating  their  weapons  and  rid- 
ing gear  with  silver.  The  paint  which  is  smeared  over  their  faces,  and 
sometimes  the  entire  bodies,  is  not  invariably  in  the  line  of  decoration 
but  is  employed  as  a  preventive  against  chapped  and  raw  skins. 

The  Patagonian  saddle  consists  of  two  side  pieces  of  timber,  fash- 
ioned with  a  hand-adze  to  the  shape  of  the  horse's  back,  to  which  are 
lashed  two  angular  limbs  of  trees,  and  over  all  is  sewed  a  guanaco  hide 
divested  of  its  wool.  The  stirrups  are  suspended  by  strips  of  hide  from 
the  holes  bored  in  the  front  saddle-trees,  being  generally  made  of  a 
piece  of  hard  wood  fixed  into  a  raw-hide  thong,  or  sometimes  of  wood 
bent  into  a  triangular  shape.  The  bit  in  common  use  is  a  simple  bar,  of 
either  wood  or  iron,  covered  at  either  end  with  two  flaps  of  stout  hide, 
from  which  two  thongs  extend  under  the  horse's  jaw,  the  reins  also  being 
secured  to  the  hide  flaps.  Two  pieces  of  hard  wood,  with  sharpened 
nails  in  the  ends,  are  the  spurs.  "  Caligi  "  are  straps  used  by  the  Pata- 
gonians  for  securing  the  legs  of  horses  not  thoroughly  broken,  so  that 
they  will  stand. 

WORK  OF  BOTH  SEXES. 

Although  not  so  common  as  in  the  olden  times  before  the  introduc- 
tion of  fire-arms,  chain  and  hide  armor  is  still  often  worn  by  Patagonian 
warriors.  The  latter  is  thickly  studded  with  silver.  If  the  warrior  is 
wealthy  he  has  his  silver  buckles,  garters  and  beads,  all  made  from  the 
silver  dollars  which  have  been  received  at  the  settlements  in  exchange  for 
native  goods.      Knives  and  axes  are  made  by  the   Patagonians  out  of 


AMUSEMENTS.  435 

any  piece  of  metal  of  requisite  size  which  falls  into  their  hands.  Their 
tools  generally  are  files,  small  adzes,  and  perhaps  a  pair  of  scissors  or 
an  old  chisel,  obtained  by  theft,  barter  or  from  a  shipwreck. 

A  woman's  most  continuous  occupation,  when  in  camp,  consists  in 
the  preparing  of  mantles.  The  skins  are  first  dried  in  the  sun,  scraped 
with  pieces  of  flint  or  glass  fixed  into  a  handle,  smeared  over  with 
grease  and  liver  kneaded  into  a  pulp,  and  after  being  softened  by  hand 
are  cut  into  pieces,  and  nicely  dovetailed.  The  pieces  are  sewed 
together  so  as  to  form  halves  of  mantles,  and  painted  with  red  ochre, 
dotted  and  lined  with  black  and  blue  paint.  The  parts  are  all  joined 
together  after  the  skin  is  perfectly  dry.  When  a  young  man  is  married 
this  work  of  manufacturing  his  mantles  or  trousseau  is  more  than  usually 
brisk.  Besides  the  guanaco  mantles,  which  are  most  generally  worn,  others 
are  made  from  the  skins  of  the  fox,  puma,  skunk,  and  wild  cat,  the  fur  of 
the  last  two  animals  being  the  most  valuable.  These,  however,  are 
intended  for  barter,  not  for  use.  There  are  also  the  fillets,  made  from 
the  threads  of  stuff  obtained  at  the  settlements,  scarfs  for  the  waist,  and 
garters  ;  all  of  which  the  women  make,  besides  sewing  the  skins  together 
for  the  tents,  scraping  and  painting  hu/ses  hides  for  the  beds,  fashioning 
the  reed  bolsters  for  the  high  saddles,  cooking  the  food,  smashing  the 
marrow  bones,  extracting  the  grease,  fetching  wood  and  water,  taking 
care  of  the  children,  and  many  extras  when  the  band  change  their 
encampment. 

AMUSEMENTS. 

The  amusements  of  the  Patagonians  are  almost  confined  to  horse- 
racing,  card-playing  and  gambling  with  dice.  They  do  everything  in 
•earnest,  and  their  gambling  debts,  whether  a  dozen  fine  mares  or  a  bit  of 
tobacco,  are  scrupulously  discharged.  The  women,  even,  play  cards, 
staking  their  clothing,  horse  gear  or  husband's  property  on  the  result 
of  the  games.  The  game  called  Knucklebones,  which  the  boys  so 
thoroughly  enjoy,  and  in  which  their  elders  sometimes  take  part,  is  our 
game  of  marbles,  played  with  bones  and  "for  keeps."  The  young  men 
have  a  game  of  hand-ball  which  they  play  with  a  sphere  of  hide  stuffed 
■with  feathers. 

THE  CHILDREN. 

The  education  of  Patafronian  children,  which  commences  almost 
from  infancy,  is  calculated  to  keep  their  minds  active  and  their  bodies 
healthy.  Both  girls  and  boys  learn  to  ride  almost, as  soon  as  they  can 
Avalk.     The  boy  commences  to  practice  with   his  little  lasso  and  bolas 


43^  PANORAMA    OK    NATIONS. 

upon  the  hunting-  dogs  and  other  domestic  subjects  ahnost  as  soon  as  he 
can  talk,  while  his  sister  imitates  the  women,  and  when  yet  in  her  lisp- 
ing period  is  able  to  sit  under  her  own  small  tent,  which  she  has  made 
out  of  stray  bits  of  skin  and  sewed  together  with  a  sharpened  nail.     As 


PATAGONIAN     DANXERS. 

infants  the  chief  allots  to  them  their  own  horses  and  gear,  which  their 
own  parents  can  not  take  away  from  them.  Should  a  child  die,  its  steed, 
fully  caparisoned,  is  strangled  with  a  lasso,  and  its  saddle,  cradle  and 
all  belonging  to  it  are  burned.  The  women  cry  and  sing  during  the 
ceremony,  while  parents  often   atld  many  of  their  own  valuables  to  the 


ENTKklXC    SOCIETV.  437 

fire,  upon  the  occasion  of  the  deatli  of  an  only  child  of  rich  parents., 
fourteen  horses  and  mares  were  once  slaughtered,  in  addition  to  the  one 
it  had  been  accustomed  to  travel  on. 

On  the  death  of  an  adult  the  same  wholesale  destruction  of  personal 
property  goes  on,  the  body  being  sewed  u\)  in  a  mantle,  or  coat  of  mail, 
and  buried  in  a  sitting  posture  with  its  face  to  the  east.  With  some  of 
the  tribes  it  is  a  religious  duty  never  to  mention  the  name  of  the 
deceased  after  he  is  buried. 

ENTERING  SOCIETY. 

Among  some  of  the  tribes,  when  a  girl  arrives  at  the  marriageable 
age  the  event  is  celebrated  by  knocking  several  horses  on  the  head  with 
a  hand  bolas,  and  cooking  their  blood  mixed  with  ostrich  grease.  The 
feast  progresses  during  the  day  and  a  dance  is^inaugurated  in  the  eve- 
ning. A  tent  has  been  made,  guarded  by  lances  placed  in  front,  and 
adorned  with  brass  plates,  bells  and  streamers;  within  the  tent  is  the 
maiden  who  is  to  be  brought  out  into  society.  Toward  dusk  a  fire  is 
made  near  the  maiden's  tent,  and  a  number  of  chiefs,  daubed  over  with 
white  paint,  dance  around  and  almost  into  the  fire,  the  spectators  of  l)olh 
sexes  looking  on.  Before  the  exercises  are  completed  all  the  men  and 
boys  are  allowed  to  show  their  most  fancy  steps,  four  or  five  drums 
keeping  up  the  necessary  music.  The  maiden  is  supposed  to  witness 
the  performance  from  the  sacred  precincts  of  her  tent,  choosing  from  the 
participants  her  future  husband. 

The  damsel  is  not  obliged  to  marry  until  she  has  secured  some  one 
entirely  to  her  liking.  Even  then  the  parents  retain  the  right  of  veto, 
if  they  are  not  satisfied  with  the  suitor  or  his  proffered  gifts  of  horses 
and  silver  ornaments.  If  all  is  satisfactory,  gifts  between  the  suitor  and 
the  parents  are  exchanged,  and  the  girl  is  escorted  by  the  bridegroom 
to  his  house.  The  event  is  celebrated  by  more  slaughtering  and  eating 
of  mares,  and  in  this  case  the  head,  backbone,  tail,  heart  and  liver  are 
offered  to  the  Evil  Spirit  from  the  top  of  a  neighboring  hill. 

HUNTING  OSTRICHES,  GUANACOS,  ETC. 

Even  when  an  encampment  is  moving  through  the  country  the 
hunting  goes  on  in  a  systematic  manner.  At  daylight  the  leader  of  the 
band  comes  out  of  his  toldo,  or  tent,  and  in  a  loud  tone  of  voice  delivers 
an  oration,  intermixed  with  commands  and  exhortations,  describine  the 
order  of  march,  locating  the  hunting  grounds,  and  laying  out  the  pro- 
gramme generally.     Then   the  young  men  and  boys  lasso  the  horses; 


438  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

the  women  load  some  with  tents,  blankets,  babies,  pet  dogs,  and  with  the 
various  household  implements  ;  mount  by  means  of  a  sling  around  the 
animals'  necks,  and  start  off,  in  single  file,  across  the  plains.  Their  line 
of  march  is  the  base  line  of  the  hunting  operations. 

Having  seen  the  cavalcade  well  on  its  way,  the  men  start  out  and 
gallop  around  a  certain  area  of  country,  lighting  fires  at  regular  intervals, 
that  the  exact  path  of  the  journey  may  be  known  to  those  who  follow. 
The  circle  gradually  closes,  and  finally  when  the  area  is  confined  enough, 
the  horsemen  beat  up  the  herds  of  ostriches  and  guanacos,  and  attack 
them  with  their  bolas.  The  dogs  also  assist  in  the  chase,  although  unless 
the  horses  are  weary  or  the  hunters  are  short  of  weapons  their  services 
are  little  required.  Cougars,  or  American  lions,  are  frequently  started 
up,  and  when  driven  to  bay  they  are  dangerous  foes.  But  they  are 
particularly  hateful  to  the  Patagonians  and  all  Indians  of  the  plains,  for 
they  create  great  havoc  among  the  wild  cattle,  not  killing  them  and 
making  a  clean  meal,  but  sucking  a  little  warm  blood  from  each  animal 
and  often  leaving  its  fat  carcass  untouched.  They  are  powerless,  how- 
ever, to  withstand  a  bolas,  which  is  so  thrown  that  it  usually  catches 
them  around  the  neck,  the  balls  crashing  into  the  skull.  This,  however, 
is  more  a  hunt  for  revenge  ;  for  besides  being  wholesale  butchers  of  meat 
the  lions  thoroughly  enjoy  surprising  the  setting  ostriches  and  eating 
their  eggs  by  the  dozens. 

The  guanacos  and  ostriches  having  been  brought  to  earth,  the 
Patagonians  proceed  to  the  agreeable  task  of  dividing  the  game  and  eat- 
ing a  portion  of  it.  There  is  a  regular  law  of  division,  the  man  who  balls 
the  ostrich  or  guanaco,  continuing  the  chase,  leaving  the  one  who  has 
been  hunting  with  him,  to  bag  the  game.  At  the  conclusion  of  the 
hunt  the  fore  half  of  the  ostrich  and  the  guanaco  belongs  to  the  man 
who  has  done  the  killing;-.  The  bird  is  considered  most  desirable  eame. 
for,  besides  its  feathers  being  valuable,  nearly  every  part  of  its  body  is 
considered  good  eating.  The  fat  over  the  eyes  and  between  the  thigh 
joints,  the  heart,  gizzard  and  blood  being  especially  sought  after.  While 
fires  are  being  built  and  stones  being  heated,  the  birds  are  plucked  of 
their  wing  feathers,  which  are  tied  together  with  sinews  and  packed  away. 
The  leg  bones  and  a  portion  of  the  back-bone  are  taken  out,  and  the 
body,  divided  into  halves,  is  filled  with  hot  stones,  a  light  blaze  being 
kindled  to  roast  the  outside  meat.  The  gizzard,  which  would  fill  both 
hands,  is  roasted  by  the  insertion  of  a  hot  stone,  the  eyes  are  sucked 
and  the  tripe  is  greedily  devoured. 

In  winter  the  Indians  have  an  easier  way  of  capturing  ostriches 
than    that  previously  described.      Although    they  swim  well   enough  to 


A    DREARY    COUNTRY. 


439 


pass  a  river,  in  winter  they  are  quickly  chilled.  So  the  hunters  drive 
them  into  a  river,  and  the  ostriches'  legs  become  so  benumbed  that  they 
drift  helplessly  ashore,  where  they  are  dispatched.  During  September, 
October  and  November  they  are  at  the  height  of  their  laying  season, 
and  the  Indians  almost  live  upon  the  eggs. 

The  young  guanaco's  meat  is  excellent,  but  it  lacks  the  profuse  fat 
of  the  average  ostrich.  When  the  animal  is  old,  even,  the  haunches 
may  be  sliced,  dried,  salted  and  roasted,  then  pounded  between  two 
stones  and  mixed  with  ostrich  grease.  This  forms  a  very  condensed 
and  nutritious  food  and  is  taken  on  long  journeys. 

The  guanaco  is,  however,  of  great  use  in  other  ways  than  as  food. 
The  skin  of  the  adult  forms  the  covering  of  the  Patagonian's  tent ;  that 
of  the  young  is  used  for  mantles.  Thread  is  made  from  the  sinews  of 
the  back,  thongs  for  the  bolas  and  bridles  are  cut  from  the  skin  of  the 
neck,  shoes   and  coverings  for  the   bolas  come  from   the  skin   of  the 


ENTRANCE  TO    FORTESQUE  BAY. 

hock,  and  musical  instruments  and  dice  from  the  thigh  bone.  On 
attaining  the  age  of  about  two  months,  the  coat  of  the  young  guanaco 
becomes  woolly.  The  skin  is  then  useless  for  mantles,  but  makes  good 
saddle  cloths.  The  guanaco  has  been  described  as  that  queer  animal 
with  "  the  neigh  of  a  horse,  the  wool  of  a  sheep,  the  neck  of  a  camel 
and  the  feet  of  a  deer."  He  is  remarkably  swift  of  foot  and  defends 
himself  somewhat  like  the  kangaroo. 

In  taking  wild  horses  and  cattle  the   Indians   either  lasso  them,  or 
throw  the  bolas  so  that  the  animals  will  be  caught  around  the  hind  legs. 

A    DREARY    COUNTRY. 


A  great  portion  of  Patagonia  is  covered  with  only  a  kind  of  coarse 
grass,  or  with  thorny  shrubs,  the  country  rising  in  a  series  of  terraces 


440  PANORAMA    OK    NATIONS. 

from  the  sea  coast  to  the  Andes.  Across  the  Straits  of  Magellan  the 
country  is  rocky  and  mountainous,  cold  and  dreary.  Why  it  should  be 
called  Terra  del  Fuego,  or  the  Land  of  Fire,  has  puzzled  not  only 
more  than  one  school  boy,  but  many  adults.  The  reason  is  not  because 
the  country  is  volcanic  or  has  any  natural  heat,  but  because  early  navi- 
gators noticed  that  upon  the  coasts  fires  were  always  seen  burning. 
They  were  doubtless  the  fires  of  half-frozen  natives,  kindled  in  their 
crazy  lodges,  or  those  which  they  were  keeping  alive  in  their  hundreds 
of  boats. 

The  territory  has  been  long  in  dispute  between  Chili  and  Argen- 
tine Republic,  but  the  former  is  now  virtually  in  possession,  having 
established  a  colony  at  Port  Tamine,  which  has  been  in  existence  for 
many  years.  Argentine  Republic  founded  another  at  Port  Santa  Cruz, 
which  is  younger,  but  which  amounts  to  little  more  than  a  fish-oil  fac- 
tory, with  the  few  laborers  engaged  in  the  industry.  E!fforts  to  intro- 
duce Welsh  and  Scotch  colonists  have  met  with  failure.  Chili's  offer 
to  a  private  individual  to  grant  75,000  square  miles  of  territory,  embrac- 
ing both  coasts,  in  consideration  for  the  favor  of  keeping  four  steam 
tugs  in  the  Straits  to  relieve  vessels,  did  not  come  to  anything,  and  the 
probability  is  that  the  countr)-  will  never  be  considered  of  enough  con- 
sequence to  be  generally  occupied  by  European  or  South  American 
colonists. 

THE    BRAZILIAN    INDIANS. 

The  Tupi-Guaranis  is  a  widely  extended  Indian  family  in  South 
America,  its  members  being  the  native  tribes  of  Paraguay,  Brazil, 
and  of  the  whole  Orinoco  region.  The  Brazilian  Indians  are  generally 
of  a  bright  yellowish,  copper  color ;  are  robust  rather  than  tall ;  with 
small  noses,  round  faces  and  small  eyes.  Their  dispositions  seem  to 
partake  somewhat  of  the  light-heartedness  of  Southern  climes,  and  even 
in  the  presence  of  others  they  are  not  uniformly  so  grave  as  the  Indians 
of  the  North.  The  tribes  formerly  dwelt  almost  entirely  along  the 
coast,  but  with  the  advent  of  Europeans  were  driven  into  the  interior, 
where  some  of  them  still  reside  in  their  savage  state.  In  the  northern 
provinces  the  Indian  blood  prevails,  but  the  negroes  are  the  most  num- 
erous of  the  unmixed  races  in  Brazil. 

There  were  many  other  tribes  which  were  not  included  in  this  fam- 
ily, when  the  missionaries,  traders,  slave  hunters  and  adventurers  first 
commenced  to  push  their  way  into  the  country,  and  singular  to  say  they 
were  able  to  so  co-operate  that  a  language  was  formed  out  of  all  these 
diverse  tongues  which  became  the  common   vehicle  of  communication 


PHrEXICIANS    OI'    THE    AMAZON.  44I 

from  the  Orinoco  to  the  La  Plata.  The  basis  of  the  language  is,  however, 
the  Tupi-Guaranis  tongue.  And  where  are  the  Tupi-Guaranis,  who  once 
numbered  nearly  a  hundred  tribes  along  the  Atlantic  coast,  occupying 
the  country  back  to  the  Parana  River  ?  The  Portuguese  slave  hunter 
followed  the  missionary  wlio  had  partially  civilized  the  Indians  of  South 
Brazil,  Paraguay  and  Uruguay,  and  broke  up  their  tribes,  carrying  many 
away  as  slaves  and,  in  short,  almost  exterminating  them.  Remnants 
of  two  of  the  most  numerous  tribes  started  out  under  an  eminent  chief 
and  journe)'cd  for  three  thousand  miles  from  their  homes,  near  Rio 
Janeiro,  to  the  country  along  the  Amazon  River,  near  its  confluence 
with  the  Madeira  and  Purus.  These  tribes  are  now  known  as  Mandru- 
cus,  and  are  the  most  warlike  Iiulians  of  South  America.  They  live  in 
villages,  in  each  of  which  is  a  fortress  where  all  the  men  sleep  at  night. 
This  building  is  adorned  within  with  the  dried  heads  of  their  enemies, 
decked  with  feathers.  The  similarity  of  some  of  their  habits  to  those 
existing  among  the  savages  of  the  great  Pacific  Islands  is  noticeable. 
The  Mandrucus  have  a  blowpipe,  through  which  they  discharge  small 
darts  as  do  the  natives  of  Borneo  ;  their  great  village  houses  resemble 
the  "  head  houses  "  of  the  Dyaks  of  Borneo,  while  many  small  baskets 
and  bamboo  boxes  from  Borneo  and  New  Guinea  are  so  similar  in  their 
form  and  construction  to  those  of  the  Amazonian  Indians  that  they 
might  have  been  made  by  adjoining  tribes.  Like  the  Dyaks,  the  Man- 
drucus hang  up  the  dried  heads  of  their  enemies  in  their  houses.  A 
tribe  of  Indians  on  the  Purus  use,  instead  of  the  bow  and  arrow,  the 
Australian  boomerang,  or  so  close  a  copy  of  it  as  to  warrant  the  state- 
ment. 

PHCENICIANS  OF  THE  AMAZON. 

The  first  glimpse  of  the  Amazonian  Indians  is  obtained  at  Para, 
the  growing  city  at  the  great  river's  mouth.  Although  trading  centers 
have  been  established  along  the  main  river  and  most  of  its  principal 
branches,  many  of  the  natives  prefer  to  do  their  own  business,  and  so 
take  their  wives  and  children  in  their  canoes,  and  with  added  cargoes  of 
nuts,  cocoa,  dried  fish,  mandioca  meal,  crude  rubber,  turtles,  monkeys, 
parrots,  etc.,  they  sometimes  make  journeys  of  five  or  six  hundred  miles. 
The  monopoly  of  the  immense  interior  trade  of  Brazil,  which  flows 
through  her  great  river  arteries,  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Amazonian 
Steamship  Company,  which  has  established  innumerable  trading-posts 
and  sends  its  vessels  at  stated  intervals  to  collect  the  f)roducts  which  its 
agents,  or  private  traders,  have  received  from  the  natives,  both  Indians 
and  negroes.  Traders  depend  for  much  of  the  interior  produce  upon 
the  Mandrucus  and  allied  tribes. 


442 


PAMJKAMA    OK     NATIONS. 


The  Indian  of  Brazil  is  not  a  property  owner,  as  a  rule,  though  one 
of  them,  now  and  then,  amasses  quite  a  little  fortune  as  an  agriculturist 
or  as  a  brick  manufacturer.  He  clings,  however,  to  his  palm-thatched 
house,  extending  its  dimensions  into  several  rooms  and  gathering  a  herd 
of  half  a  hundred  cattle.      Generally  the  Indian   has   not   the   faculty   of 


AMAZONIAN   INDIANS. 

keeping  steadily  to  his  work,  or  of  saving  when  he  earns  a  little  some- 
thing. He  would  rather  go  off  hunting  or  fishing,  or,  sad  to  add,  on  a 
spree,  than  to  work  upon  a  plantation,  day  after  day  and  week  after 
week. 

When  it  comes,  however,  to  labor  which  has  excitement  in  it,  such 
as  dragging  canoes  through  seething  rapids,  and  overland  to  other  navi- 
gable   waters,    the    Indian,    whether    he    be    savage   or    semi-civilized 


BURIAL    JARS.  443 

doggedly  pushes  his  way  through  all  difficulties.  Picturesque  scenes  of 
this  nature  can  be  witnessed  where  the  headwaters  of  the  Tapajos,  a 
branch  of  the  Amazon,  approach  the  Paraguay  River.  An  elevated 
plain  divides  the  two  great  rivers,  and  when  the  waters  are  highest 
canoes  have  even  passed  over  the  shed.  The  fierce  Mandrucus,  next 
to  fighting  rival  tribes,  enjoy  this  contlict  with  rapids  and  waterfalls. 
They  divide  into  two  crews,  part  of  them  jumping  into  the  water  near 
the  boat,  and  the  others  going  ahead  with  long  lines  which  they  attach 
to  rock  or  trees  along  the  bank.  The  men  in  the  water  drag  and  lift  the 
canoe  slowly  along,  sometimes  being  under  water  and  all  but  washed 
away  by  the  rushing  current. 

Most  of  the  freight  which  is  brought  to  the  Paraguay  and  Amazon 
rivers,  and  which  finds  its  way  to  the  coast  through  the  efforts  of  these 
Indians,  consists  of  gum  and  the  guarana  drug. 

The  Mandrucus  Indians  are  the  principal  gatherers  of  rubber  gum, 
which  they  give  to  the  traders  in  exchange  for  knives  and  fish-hooks. 
Another  Indian  tribe,  the  Maue,  are  almost  exclusively  the  gatherers  of 
the  drug,  which  grows  wild  between  the  Tapajos  and  the  Madeira,  and 
which  they  also  cultivate  in  their  forest  gardens.  It  grows  in  the  nature 
of  a  fruit,  the  seeds  of  which  are  hulled,  reduced  to  powder  and  after- 
wards, by  adding  water,  formed  into  long  chocolate-colored  rolls.  The 
natives  show  their  bent  of  mind  by  often  making  the  rolls  or  cakes  into 
the  form  of  fishes,  birds  or  turtles,  and  thus  throwing  them  upon  the 
market.  When  used  in  Brazil,  Bolivia  and  other  South  American 
countries  these  charming  figures  are  ruthlessly  grated  and  the  powder 
employed  as  a  substitute  for  tea.  It  has  decided  medicinal  properties, 
of  which  the  Indians  avail  themselves,  havino-  a  soothingr  effect  and  beine 
especially  good  in  head  and  stomach  troubles.  Many  white  families 
have  engaged, in  this  rubber  and  drug  trade,  and  get  along  very  well 
with  the  Indians.  These  two  tribes  are,  however,  continually  fighting 
with  one  another.  The  tradition  is  that,  although  they  are  both  allied 
to  the  Tupi,  the  Maue  were  disinherited  by  the  family  because  of  their 
general  worthlessness, 

BURIAL  JARS. 

Many  powerful  Indian  tribes  formerly  dwelt  along  the  Tapajos 
River,  or  rather  they  selected  a  line  of  bluffs  which  follow  it  and  the 
Amazon  River  for  hundreds  of  miles,  a  short  distancexinland.  Among 
other  objects  which  have  been  dug  from  these  bluffs  are  stone  axe  heads, 
flint  arrow  heads,  ornamental  pottery,  and  jars  which  contained  calcined 
human  bones,  mixed  with  charcoal  and  ashes.  These  burial  jars  have  been 


444 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


elsewhere  discovered  in  Indian  territory,  whicn  has  led  to  the  supposition 
that  the  ancient  tribes  cremated  their  dead.  It  is  known  that  many  of  the 
Brazilian  Indians  were  in  the  habit  of  burying  the  dead  in  the  floors  of 
their  houses,  and  "among  the  Mandrucus  of  the  present  day,  the  bones 
of  dead  warriors  are  kept  for  three  years  in  the  houses  ;  then  they  are 
placed  in  a  jar  and  buried." 

THE  BOTOCUDOS. 

Among  the  degraded  tribes  of  Indians  of  Brazil  there  is  one  for 
Avhich  a  proper  place  has  not  been  found  in  South  America.  In  language 
and  personal  appearance,  in  habits  of  life  and  bodily  adornment,  it  is 
■quite  distinct  from  the  Tupi-Guaranis.  family,  which  includes  scores  of 
tribes  scattered  throughout  the  empire.    But  the  Butocudos,  with  pieces 


WAR    TRUMPET. 


of  wood  in  their  ears  and  under  lips,  with  their  broad  shoulders  and  weak 
legs,  seem  unlike  any  other  Indian  tribe  in  North  or  South  America. 
Their  hair  is  thin,  they  have  low  foreheads,  black  or  blue  eyes,  aslant  like 
those  of  the  Moncrolians,  small  noses  and  mouths,  with  usuallv  thick 
lips,  and  cheek  bones  much  less  prominent  than  those  of  other  Brazilian 
tribes. 

The  Butocudos  seem  to  take  none  of  the  average  Intlian  pride  in 
decorating  their  bodies  with  feathers  and  gaudy  colors,  and  the  terrible 
ferocity  which  they  formerly  exhibited  when  they  approached  the  eastern 
coast  from  their  interior  country,  in  connection  with  their  other  peculiari- 
ties, gained  for  them  among  the  milder  coast  tribes  the  reputation  of  a 


THE    A.MAZUXS.  445 

race  of  maniacs.  Their  weapons  are  mighty  bows  and  arrows,  the  latter 
being  sometimes  barbed  with  a  bamboo  head  hardened  in  the  fire.  They 
usually  attack  at  night,  and  although  their  numbers  have  been  reduced 
by  the  way  in  which  they  have  been  hunted  down  by  the  whites,  like 
wild  beasts,  many  of  them  still  roam  through  the  forest  and  along  the 
river  banks,  eating  lizards,  alligators,  monkeys  and  boa  constrictors,  or 
lie  in  ambush  for  human  victims.  It  is  certain  that  at  one  time  they  all 
were  cannibals,  and  that  many  of  them  now  are. 

Some  of  the  tribes  have  been  partially  civilized.  These  are  tlivided 
into  small  bands,  each  living  in  a  separate  village,  and  when  they  visit: 
the  plantations  on  the  coast  they  cover  themselves  with  a  little  clothing 
and  plug  up  the  slits  in  their  lips  with  wax.  Many  of  the  children  of  these 
village  bands  do  not  follow  the  barbarous  disfigurement  of  their  parents. 
These  little  ones  were  often  sold  to  the  planters  for  slaves,  but  they  sel- 
dom reached  maturity.  In  fact  not  only  the  Butocudos,  but  all  Indians, 
were  early  found  to  be  unprofitable  as  slaves,  which  resulted  in  the  im- 
portation of  such~  swarms  of  negroes  from  Africa. 

THE  AMAZONS. 

On  the  upper  branches  of  the  Amazon  are  numerous  tribes  whose 
male  members  do  most  of  the  ornamenting  of  the  body,  and  otherwise 
attire  themselves  in  so  feminine  a  manner  as  to  partially  explain  the 
origin  of  the  story  carried  back  to  the  Old  World  that  fierce  female 
warriors  (Amazons)  lived  and  fought  in  this  country.  Says  a  trav- 
eler who  penetrated  into  their  territory,  by  a  liberal  use  of  that  univer- 
sal language  of  Eastern  South  America,  to  which  reference  has  been 
made  :  "  The  women  wear  a  bracelet  on  the  wrists,  but  no  necklace,  or 
any  comb  in  their  hair.  They  have  a  garter  below  the  knee,  worn 
tight  from  infancy,  for  the  purpose  of  swelling  out  the  calf,  which  they 
consider  a  great  beaut)-.  While  dancing  in  their  festivals,  the  women 
wear  a  small  apron,  made  of  beads  prettily  arranged.  It  is  never  worn 
at  any  other  time,  and  immediately  the  dance  is  over  it  is  taken  off. 
The  men,  on  the  other  hand,  have  their  hair  carefully  parted,  combed 
on  each  side  and  tied  in  a  queue  behind.  In  the  young  men  it  hangs 
in  long  locks  down  their  necks,  and  with  the  comb,  which  is  invariably 
carried  stuck  on  top  of  the  head,  gives  them  the  most  feminine  appear- 
ance. This  is  increased  by  the  large  necklaces  and  bracelets  of  beads, 
and  the  careful  extirpation  of  every  symptom  of  beard."  They  use 
shields  which  cover  the  entire  length  of  their  bodies. 

And  yet,  if  the  Amazons  did   not  exist,  the  delusion  is  one  of  a 


446  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

most  general  character,  for  Columbus,  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  and  other 
more  modern  travelers  have  given  credence  to  reports  which  they 
received  from  Indian  tribes  that  the  Amazons  were  a  reality  and  that 
they  associated  principally  with  the  Caribs  ;  that  they  killed  their  male 
children  or  returned  them  to  their  consorts  and  retained  only  the 
females.  The  stories  of  the  Amazons  are  current  among  all  the  Indian 
of  Guiana,  and  similar  reports  have  been  received  from  Paraguay,  from 
the  tribes  along  the  Amazon,  New  Granada  and  the  West  Indies.  The 
latest  theory  is  that  the  whole  story  had  its  origin  in  some  aboriginal 
myth  and  has  been  distributed  over  all  the  vast  territory  in  which  the 
Tupi-Guaranis  language  and  its  dialects  are  spoken.  In  fact,  several 
myths  which  have  for  their  theme  the  separation  of  a  band  of  women 
from  the  men  of  their  tribe  and  a  subsequent  periodical  reunion,  have 
been  discovered  in  definite  form  among  the  Amazonian  Indians. 

The  fathers  of  female  children  are  reported  to  have  received  from 
the  Amazons,  as  a  mark  of  honor,  a  precious  stone  called  the  Muiri- 
Kitan.  The  stone  is  of  a  hard  crystalline  nature,  and  is  so  esteemed  that 
it  has  been  eiven  a  mvsterious  origin.  It  Is  related  that  it  was  created 
by  a  goddess  who  lived  in  a  certain  lake,  and  that,  having  celebrated  her 
praises,  the  Amazons  would  dive  for  the  stone  and  receive  it  from 
her  hands.  When  it  was  exposed  to  the  sunlight  it  hardened  into  per- 
manent form.  Another  legend  is  that  the  stones  were  caught  like  fish, 
the  Amazon  putting  a  drop  of  her  blood  in  the  water,  over  the  precious 
MuiriT'Citan  which  she  coveted.  These  stones  are  still  worn  as  charms 
by  various  Indians,  one  tribe  on  the  upper  Rio  Negro  spending  most  of 
its  time  in  making  them  into  rough  imitations  of  birds  and  beasts  or 
into  bead-like  forms. 

SEMI-CIVILIZED    LIFE. 

The  village  life  of  the  semi-civilized  Amazonian  Indians  is  daily 
inaugurated  by  a  bath  in  the  river  or  the  nearest  spring.  Then  is  com- 
menced a  busy  round  of  duties,  as  not  only  must  food  be  provided,  but 
everything  except  a  few  articles  of  clothing,  iron  and  steel.  The  huts 
are  constructed  of  roughly  hewn  logs,  and  beams  of  hardwood  (for  the 
frame-work),  the  joints  being  secured  with  pegs  or  strips  of  bark.  The 
roof  and  sides  are  of  palm-leaf  shingles  ;  windows  there  are  none ; 
the  doorways  are  closed  with  palm-leaf  mats,  and  other  mats,  under  the 
hammocks,  are  spread  upon  the  ground  within.  Another  style  of 
Indian  hut,  often  seen  on  the  banks  of  the  Amazon,  consists  (as  to  the 
walls)  of  lumps  of  clay,  plastered  and  whitewashed.  Even  those 
Indians  who  live  in  villages,  however,  seem  to  have  an  instinct  to  hide 


KITCHEN    UTENSILS.  447 

away,  and  it  is  almost  impossible  to  say,  sometimes,  how  large  a  settle- 
ment really  is.  Each  house  is  built  in  a  little  clearing,  which  is  kept 
conscientiously  clean  and  free  of  weeds,  but  it  is  invariably  fenced  in 
with  a  thick  hedge  of  some  tropical  growth,  so  as  to  be  completely 
hidden  until  one  fairly  stumbles  upon  it.  Men  and  women  are  dressed 
in  light  cotton  clothes,  and  some  of  them  are  possessors  of  shoes,  which 
they  often  wear  "in  their  hands." 

KITCHEN    UTENSILS. 

The  kitchen  of  the  house  is  always  separated  from  the  main  struc- 
ture, the  fireplace  being  formed  of  three  stones,  and  the  cooking  uten- 
sils sometimes  consisting  of  an  iron  kettle  and  a  tin  coffee  pot.  As  a 
rule,  however,  the  kitchen  implements  are  made  out  of  clay  by  the 
women.  Their  tools  are  pieces  of  gourd,  shells,  corncobs,  round  peb- 
bles, jaguar  teeth,  and  rough  fungi  to  serve  as  sand  paper.  A  dish  of 
water  and  a  square  piece  of  board  complete  the  apparatus.  A  quantity 
of  fine  bark  ashes  is  mixed  with  the  clay,  and  a  lump  of  it,  having  been 
thoroughly  kneaded,  is  flattened  upon  the  board.  The  bottom  of  the 
pot  is  made  by  turning  the  board  in  front  of  the  woman,  the  edges 
being  rounded  off  with  the  unoccupied  hand  and  the  shell.  The  potter 
then  forms  long  rolls  of  clay,  which  she  uses  to  build  up  the  vessel  from 
the  bottom,  the  latter  being  first  allowed  to  harden  in  the  sun.  The 
rim  of  the  pot  is  nicely  marked  with  a  tooth,  the  pieces  of  gourd,  the 
shells,  the  corncobs,  and  the  improvised  sand  paper  all  coming  into  play 
to  mould  and  smooth.  The  whole  affair  is  then  baked  over  a  hot  fire, 
polished  with  a  pebble  and  varnished  with  a  sort  of  resin. 

Pans  and  bottles  made  of  shells  and  gourds,  wooden  spoons,  native 
baskets,  clay  lamps  for  burning  fish-oil  and  plates  of  earthen  ware  are  a  few 
of  the  other  kitchen  accompaniments  which  bear  witness  to  the  Indian 
woman's  industry.  Whole  settlements  along  the  Amazon  River  are 
devoted  to  the  manufacture  of  baskets,  spoons  and  jars  from  calabashes. 
All  about  the  houses  are  planted  calabash  trees.  The  great  fruit  is  cut  in 
two,  thoroughly  soaked  and  cleaned,  painted  with  a  solution  of  bark, 
and  e.xposed  to  ammonia  fumes  which  bring  out  a  durable  black  color. 
The  vessels  may  then  be  painted  with  various  yellow  and  gray  clays, 
annatto  and  indigo,  the  designs  representing  figures,  landscapes,  or  the 
Brazilian  coat  of  arms.  Often  the  surface  is  left  plain,  or  a  pattern 
scratched  upon  the  white  shell  beneath.  This,  again,  is  woman's  work, 
which  truly,  in  Brazil,  seems  never  to  be  done.  Even  the  hammocks, 
which  swing  so  invitingly  in  the  Indian's  living  room,  are  the  products 
of  her  hands.     She  first  beats  the  cotton  into  a  fleecy  pile  by  means  of 


44^  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

two  Sticks  and  then  twists  it  into  hammock  thread,  either  with  a  simple 
spindle  or  a  crude  spinning  wheel.  After  dyeing  some  of  the  threads 
for  the  woof  of  the  pattern,  she  sits  upon  a  mat  in  front  of  a  frame- 
work, passing  each  thread  of  the  woof  through  the  white  warp,  and  in 
the  course  of  a  few  weeks  completes  a  very  substantial,  prettily  checked 
hammock. 

MORE  FEMININE  WORK. 

The  native  bread  is  made  from  the  root  of  the  yuca,  which  the 
women  raise  ;  while  maize,  yams,  potatoes  and  cassava  are  included  in 
their  vegetable  diet.  The  cassava  is  prepared  by  grating  or  scraping 
the  root,  and  by  subsequent  pressure  in  a  receptacle  of  basket-work. 
This  strainer  is  constructed  in  the  form  of  a  long  tube,  open  at  the  top 
and  closed  at  the  bottom,  to  which  a  strong  loop  is  attached.  The 
pulpy  mass  of  cassava  is  placed  in  this,  which  is  suspended  from  abeam. 
One  end  of  a  large  staff  is  then  placed  through  the  loop  at  the  bottom,  the 
woman  sits  upon  the  center  of  the  staff,  or  attaches  a  heavy  stone  to  the 
end.  The  weight  stretches  the  elastic  tube,  whicli  presses  the  cassava 
inside,  forcing  the  juice  through  the  interstices  of  the  plaited  material  of 
which  it  is  made.  This  licjuor  is  carefully  collected  in  a  vessel  placed 
beneath.  It  is  at  first  a  most  deadly  poison,  but  after  being  boiled  it 
becomes  perfectly  wholesome,  and  is  the  nutritious  sauce  called  casareep, 
which  forms  the  principal  ingredient  in  the  "  pepper-pot,"  a  favorite  dish 
in  the  country. 

Even  if  some  of  the  milky  juice,  in  which  lurks  the  poison,  should 
remain  in  the  meal,  there  is  no  danger  after  the  cakes  have  been  dried 
on  a  hot  iron  plate  or  in  the  sun.  These  cakes  are  kept  in  store  to  be 
mixed  with  water  and  baked  into  bread.  WHien  left  to  stand  some  time 
the  juice  which  is  pressed  from  the  root  deposits  a  very  delicate  starch,, 
which,  when  washed  and  dried,  is  exported  as  tapioca. 

The  Indian  does  not  prepare  his  ground  in  any  way  in  raising  his 
crop  of  mandioca  roots,  but  simply  clears  away  a  space  in  the  woods, 
digs  some  holes  and  places  therein  a  bunch  of  cuttings.  When  the  roots, 
are  fully  grown,  weighing  from  twenty  to  thirty  pounds  each,  they  are 
thrown  together  in  a  pool  of  water,  where  they  are  allowed  to  ferment 
for  a  time.  The  women  then  carry  them  to  sheds,  strip  off  the  tough 
outer  skin  and  grate  them  into  the  mass  of  pulp  and  fibre  which  we  have 
seen  run  through  the  wicker-work  sieve  or  bag.  To  obtain  the  farina 
grain,  the  lumpy  substance  which  remains  after  the  poisonous  juice  has 
been  nearly  extracted  is  broken  and  roasted  in  a  large  earthen  pan.  The 
grain  or  meal,  is  then  put  into  pots  and  baskets  and  stored  away  for 
family  use,  or  made  into  cakes  as  we  have  stated  above. 


HUMAN    AND    BRUTE    FISHERMEN.  449 

HUMAN  AND  BRUTE  FISHERMEN. 

Neither  is  the  mascuHne  head  of  the  family  idle,  although  the  brunt 
of  the  work  does  not  fall  on  him.  He  makes  the  new  clearines  in  the 
forest ;  he  works  for  traders;  or  guides  exploring  parties,  for  miles  up 
and  down  the  river  or  through  the  forests ;  he  hunts,  and  he  will  stand 
any  length  of  time  in  his  canoe  or  on  a  bank  overhanging  the  water, 
with  his  long  spear  poised  or  his  arrow  drawn  to  the  head,  waiting  for 
his  ideal  of  a  fish  to  pass  within  range  of  his  weapon. 

In  shooting  fish,  the  Indian  must  take  into  account  the  refraction 
of  the  water.  But  in  huntincr  his  frame,  the  native  has  far  more  wonder- 
ful  feats  to  be  placed  to  his  credit.  One  of  them  is  thus  described: 
"The  turtle  never  shows  its  back  above  the  water,  but,  rising  to  breathe, 
its  nostrils  only  are  protruded  above  the  surface  ;  so  slight,  however,  is 
the  rippling  that  none  but  the  Indian's  keen  eyes  perceive  it.  If  he 
shoots  an  arrow  obliquely  it  would  glance  off  the  smooth  shell ;  there- 
fore he  aims  into  the  air,  and  apparently  draws  a  bow  at  venture  ;  but  he 
sends  up  his  missile  with  such  wonder; ully  accurate  judgment  that 
it  describes  a  parabola  and  descends  nearly  vertically  into  the  back 
of  the  turtle."  The  Indian  has  fastened  the  head  of  the  arrow  to  the 
shaft  so  that,  like  the  Esquimaux'  harpoon,  when  the  weapon  strikes  the 
game  the  string  which  bind^  the  two  portions  together  unwinds,  and  the 
shaft  is  left  floating  upon  the  water.  This  the  huntsman  seizes,  and  by 
it  draws  the  turtle  into  his  canoe.  Nearly  all  turtles  which  are  bought 
in  Brazilian  markets  are  captured  in  this  way,  and  the  hole  made  by  the 
arrow  head  may  generally  be  seen  in  their  shells.  To  shoot  birds  at 
a  distance,  one  of  the  Indian  customs  is  to  lie  on  the  back,  elevate  the 
feet  and  brace  them  against  the  bow  at  its  center,  then  rest  the  arrow 
upon  the  toes,  drawing  it  to  the  chin. 

The  animal  stories  which  make  up  so  much  of  the  Indian  folk- 
lore nearly  all  represent  the  jaguar  as  being  thoroughly  outwitted  by 
various  beasts  of  the  forest ;  which  must  have  been  a  way  the  aborigines 
had  of  showing  their  jealously  of  his  ingenuity;  for  the  Indians  of  to-day 
are  forced  to  admit  that  his  schemes  and  tricks  to  capture  game  are 
fully  equal  to  their  own.  There  are  certain  fruit-eating  fish  of  which 
the  jaguar  is  very  fond  ;  so  he  sits  on  a  log  and  r^ps  gently  upon  the 
surface  of  the  water  with  his  tail,  to  imitate  the  sound  of  fallinsf  berries. 
When  the  fish  rise  for  their  fruit  they  are  quietly  hooked  out  with  the 
long  claws  of  the  fisherman.  He  catches  and  eats  turtles,  and  it  is  said 
that  he  even  attacks  the  cowfish,  which  grows  to  be  as  large  as  an  ox, 

and  dra^s  it  to  the  land  for  a  orand  feast.     Another  of  his  tricks  is  that 

2,1 


450  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

of  being  able  to  imitate  the  cry  of  any  bird  or  animal  upon  which  he  has 
designs. 

REVERENCE  FOR  THE   AGED. 

A  beautiful  reverence  for  old  age  is  seen  among  these  semi-civilized 
Amazonian  Indians.  "  Many  a  touching  picture  one  sees  :  a  gray-haired 
patriarch,  sitting  before  his  door  in  the  crimson  sunset,  and  gravely  giv- 
ing his  hand  to  be  kissed  by  sons  and  daughters  who  come  to  honor 
him  ;  village  children  stretching  out  their  palms  for  blessings  from  a 
passing  old  man  ;  young  Indians  bringing  offerings  of  fish  and  fruit  to 
decrepit  old  women.  On  moonlit  evenings  the  old  people  sit  before 
their  doors  until  near  midnight,  while  the  younger  ones  stroll  around 
from  house  to  house,  gossiping  with  their  neighbors  and  carrying  on  sly 
flirtations  under  the  oranee  trees." 


t> 


THEIR  RELIGIOUS  BELIEFS. 

Even  those  Indians  who  are  nominally  Roman  Catholics  have  no 
very  definite  ideas  constituting  a  system  of  religious  belief.  In  fact,  the 
new  and  the  old  are  so  confused  in  their  minds  that  they  seem  to  have 
fallen  into  a  state  of  indifference.  Previous  to  the  coming  of  the  mis- 
sionaries  they  had  a  faint  idea  of  a  .Supreme  Being  whom  they  called 
Tupan,  which  the  Jesuits  used  as  the  name  of  the  Deity.  The  sun 
they  conceived  to  be  the  creator  of  animals,  the  moon  of  plants,  and 
there  was  a  god  of  love  who  promoted  the  reproduction  of  human 
beings.  Under  these  were  inferior  deities  who  protected  birds,  game 
and  fishes,  the  plains  and  the  forests.  The  full  moon  and  the  new 
moon  served  the  god  of  love. 

An  old  superstition  which  has  come  down  to  the  present  generation 
of  the  Tupis,  is  that  the  moon  grows  from  "  thin  to  fat,"  by  eating  like 
a  human  being,  and  that  she  then  gfoes  into  a  state  of  decline  and  dies 
to  give  place  to  another.  When  the  moon  is  eclipsed  some  evil  spirit 
has  stolen  her  farina  and  she  is  dying  ;  so  the  Indians  beat  drums,  and  fire 
guns  and  rockets  as  their  forefathers  did,  to  frighten  away  the  evil  spirit — 
although  most  of  them  profess  to  know  better. 

Their  grand  annual  festival  in  honor  of  their  patron  saint  is  a  part 
of  their  Catholic  training,  and  is  made  the  occasion  of  much  ceremony 
and  hilarity.  On  Saturday  evening  the  village  in  which  there  is  a  chapel 
is  crowded  with  guests,  many  swinging  their  hammocks  to  the  trees. 
The  next  day  the  chapel,  which  has  been  decorated,  is  filled  with  men, 
women  and  children,  who  bow  to  the  saint  and  devoutly  take  part  in  the 
services.     The  dancing,  which  begins  as  soon  as  possible  in  two  or  three 


BRAZIL. 


THE    BRAZILIANS.  45  I 

of  the  village  houses,  is  continued  as  long  as  the  sweetmeats  and  man- 
dioca  beer  last,  usually  for  several  days,  with  few  intermissions.  On 
Sunday  a  roasted  ox  is  eaten  by  the  villagers,  during  which  performance 
there  is  a  necessary  interlude,  and  they  then  return  to  their  waltzes  and 
quadrilles.  The  young  people  do  not  forget  the  aged,  who  have  been 
looking  on  quietly,  but  with  deep  satisfaction,  at  their  sports  ;  more  cor- 
rectly speaking,  the  early  Jesuits  did  not  forget  how  much  these  uncivi- 
lized Indians  revered  the  aged,  and  that  this  lovable  trait  should  be 
encouraged.  They  therefore  established  a  custom  by  which  three  old 
women,  bearing  an  ornamented  frame  surmounted  by  a  cross,  pass  from 
house  to  house  as  honored  guests.  After  being  served  with  refresh- 
ments they  rise,  and  to  the  slow  beating  of  a  drum,  begin  a  chant,  and 
also  keep  time  by  going  through  with  a  sort  of  dignified  dance,  or 
march. 

THE  BRAZILIANS. 

It  is  impossible  to  get  at  anything  like  a  reliable  statement  of  the 
population,  by  races,  of  the  great  Empire  of  Brazil ;  but  striking  a 
balance  of  many  estimates  it  is  safe  to  say  that  civilized  and  uncivilized 
I  ndians,  and  Brazilians  of  mixed  1  ndian  and  white  and  of  I  ndian  and  negro 
blood,  would  constitute  one-half  of  the  population,  which  has  been  placed 
all  the  way  from  8,000,000  to  14,000,000.  The  ruling  nationality  is,  of 
course,  the  Portuguese,  and  since  the  royal  house  of  Portugal  was  driven 
from  its  throne  and  took  refuge  in  Brazil,  which  subsequently  declared 
its  independence,  the  South  American  Empire  has  been  the  sovereign 
state  and  Portugal  the  dependency. 

The  internal  commerce  of  the  country  is  conducted  generally  by 
private  navigation  companies.  The  principal  one  of  the  twenty-eight  which 
now  ply  Brazilian  waters  is  the  English  Amazon  Company,  of  which  men- 
tion has  been  made.  Besides  following  the  main  stream  of  the  Amazon 
up  to  Tabatinga,  on  the  frontier  of  Peru,  a  distance  of  1,800  miles,  it 
ascends  some  of  its  greatest  tributaries,  employing  four  steamers  on  the 
Madeira,  four  on  the  Purus,  and  two  on  the  Negro.  During  one  year 
its  boats  touched  at  120  stations,  conveyed  14,000  passengers  and  20,000 
tons  of  merchandise.  The  same  service  is  performed  by  various  com- 
panies on  other  tributaries  of  the  Amazon ;  also  on  the  San  Francisco 
and  other  streams  flowing  into  the  Atlantic,  on  the  Plata,  the  Parana 
and  the  Paraguay. 

The  most  precious  stones,  the  most  valuable  metals  and  the  finest 
woods  are  all  natural  products  of  Brazil.  Maize,  rice,  cotton  and  coffee 
are  great  crops  —  that  is,  with  proper  management  they  could  be  made 


452  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

SO.  Here  are  somes  tatements,  well  authenticated:  Maize  yields  from 
150  to  400  fold  ;  rice  as  much  as  1,000  fold  ;  wheat  from  thirty  to  seventy 
fold  ;  an  acre  of  cotton  gives  four  times  as  much  as  in  the  United  States  ; 
on  an  area  of  five  acres  one  man  can  easily  cultivate  2,000  coffee 
trees,  which  will  give  him  an  average  crop  of  6,000  pounds,  worth  about 
$400.  For  field  and  plantation  labor,  Brazil  depends  upon  the  negro. 
But  since  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves  they  have  been  flocking  to  the 
cities  to  serve  as  domestics,  and  the  former  trade  in  staples,  which  never 
was  in  any  proportion  to  what  nature  intended,  is  on  the  downward 
grade. 

THE  CARIES  AND  ARAWAKS. 

When  Columbus  first  visited  the  West  Indies  a  fierce  tribe  of 
Indians  occupied  the  islands  extending  from  Porto  Rico  to  the  main- 
land of  South  America.  He  heard  of  their  warlike  natures  through  the 
milder  tribes  of  Cuba.  The  Greater  Antilles  had  been  invaded  by  them 
and  the  very  name  of  the  Caribs  was  a  nightmare.  According  to  tradi- 
tion, they  had  their  origin  among  the  Rocky  Mountains,  or  in  some  great 
mountainous  district  west  of  the  Mississippi.  From  Florida  they  ad- 
vanced to  the  continent,  step  by  step,  and  island  by  island.  Whea 
South  America  became  generally  known  to  Europeans,  the  Caribs  had 
been  widely  diffused  over  the  northern  portions  of  the  continent  —  princi- 
pally along  the  shores  of  the  sea  and  the  banks  of  the  Orinoco  River. 

Their  descendants  still  live  in  the  river  districts,  but  their  disposi- 
tions are  not  what  they  were  four  centuries  ago.  There  are,  in  fact,  few 
Caribs  remaining.  Streams  of  blood  from  many  races  have  crossed 
their  own.  The  Caribs  stoutly  resisted  the  Spaniards,  and  in  one  of  their 
terrible  battles  two  thousand  of  the  natives  perished.  They  retreated 
to  the  mainland,  where  they  also  for  many  years  were  the  most  dreaded 
savage  foes  of  the  Spaniards.  This  powerful  race  is  now  reduced  to  a 
few  insic-nificant  tribes  in  Guiana  and  minirled  with  other  Indian  nations 
of  the  interior.  About  the  upper  waters  of  the  Pomeroon  is  one  of  their 
largest  fragments,  consisting  of  a  few  hundred  savages  living  in  almost 
as  primitive  a  state  as  when  their  forefathers  saw  Columbus  sail  along 
their  island  coasts. 

The  Arawaks  are  ancient  enemies  of  the  Caribs,  and  are  said  to 
have  been  so  powerful  as  to  have  repeatedly  repelled  their  incursions 
into  the  mainland.  They  have  now  dwindled  to  a  tribe,  which  is,  how- 
ever, powerful.  The  Arawaks  inhabit  a  large  extent  of  territory  in  Gui- 
ana, back  of  the  cultivated  strip  on  the  sea  coast  The  only  records  of 
their  history  are  rude  figures  marked  upon  the  rocks  in  certain  localities 


THE    MOZCAS.  453 

of  their  wilderness.  These  natives  were  the  first  seen  by  Cohimbus 
when  he  discovered  the  continent  in  1498,  and  he  was  greatly  surprised 
to  find,  instead  of  a  black  race,  that  they  were  of  lighter  complexion  than 
any  aborigines  he  had  yet  met.  Their  figures  were  graceful,  and  their 
only  clothing  was  a  sort  of  turban  and  a  waistband  of  colored  cotton. 

The  Arawaks  of  the  present  are  mild  and  peaceful,  but  are  armed 
with  modern  weapons,  besides  the  club,  bow  and  arrow  of  their  fore- 
fathers. On  the  banks  of  the  streams  which  flow  through  their  territory, 
the  country  of  the  Caribs  and  even  weaker  tribes,  missionaries  have 
established  little  settlements  as  a  basis  of  their  labors,  and  among  the 
Arawaks  they  have  made  no  little  progress.  They  have  not  yet  been 
able  to  effect  a  material  change  in  the  native  costume,  which  consists,  as 
of  old,  of  a  cloth  about  the  loins,  with  ornaments  upon  state  occasions. 

The  Guiana  Indian  retains  more  Asiatic  features  than  even  the 
North  American  Indian,  his  eyes  being  black  and  piercing,  and  slanting 
a  little  upward  towards  the  temple.  The  expression  of  the  mouth  is 
good.  The  forehead  recedes  in  a  less  degree  than  the  African,  and  in 
some  individuals  it  is  well-formed  and  prominent. 

THE    MOZCAS. 

A  few  bands  of  the  once  great  Indian  nation  of  Mozcas,  or  Muys- 
cas,  live  in  the  United  States  of  Colombia,  on  the  upper  Orinoco  River. 
They  were  an  empire  of  two  million  people  at  the  time  of  the  conquest, 
having  subdued  the  tribes  from  that  river  to  the  southern  part  of  the 
present  Ecuador.  In  common  with  some  of  the  other  Indian  nations 
and  the  Esquimaux,  the  Mozcas  call  themselves  "men";  that  is  the 
translation  of  their  name,  as  if  they  considered  themselves  the  only 
true  specimens  of  mankind  in  the  world.  They  offered  human  sacrifices 
to  the  sun  and  worshiped  a  number  of  minor  deities,  throwing  their 
offerings  into  the  lakes.  The  natives  dressed  in  square  mantles  of  cot- 
ton cloth,  dyed  and  painted,  and  were  skillful  workers  in  wood,  stone 
and  metals.  They  used  money  and  traded  in  mantles  and  other  articles 
of  their  own  manufacture,  lived  in  wooden  and  clay  houses  with  peaked 
roofs,  furnished  inside  with  comfortable  mats,  and  benches.  The 
ancient  language  is  now  only  spoken  by  these  tribes  of  the  United 
States  of  Colombia.  Of  the  origin  of  the  coast  Indians,  who  are 
mostly  savages,  nothing  is  known  except  that  they  bear  no  resemblance 
to  any  of  the  other  families. 

THE  PANAMA  CANAL. 

The  project  of  uniting  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans  by  means  of 
a  canal  acrc^ss  the   Isthmus  of   Panama  was   first    put  on    foot   bv  the 


454  PANORAMA   OF    NATIONS. 

king  of  Spain  over  360  years  ago,  but  it  did  not  advance,  perceptibly, 
until  within  the  last  century.  Scores  of  surveys  were  made,  and  finally 
the  government  of  the  United  States  of  Colombia  approved  of  a  con- 
tract with  "  Lucien  N.  B.  Wyse,  chief  of  the  scientific  exploring  expe- 
dition of  the  isthmus  in  1876,  1877  and  1878,  and  member  and  delegate 
of  the  committee  of  direction  of  the  Civil  International  Interoceanic 
Canal  Society,"  by  which  the  canal  was  to  be  finished  in  twelve  years 
from  the  time  of  the  organization  of  the  construction  company,  and,  if 
absolutely  necessary,  an  extension  of  six  years  was  to  be  granted. 

In  1881  the  Interoceanic  Canal  Company  was  formed  in  Paris,  with 
M.  Ferdinand  de  Lesseps  at  its  head,  and  France  subscribed  to  994,000 
of  the  1,200,000  shares  of  stock.  An  agreement  with  the  United 
States  Government  having  been  reached  that  the  neutrality  of  the  canal 
should  be  maintained,  seventy  engineers,  superintendents,  and  doctors 
were  sent  to  the  isthmus,  and  thousands  of  Indians,  negroes  and  China- 
men were  eneaeed  as  laborers.  M.  Blanchet,  who  had  active  charge  of 
the  undertaking,  died  from  the  effects  of  the  climate  and  overwork  in 
November,  1881,  the  surveyors,  having  been  in  the  field  for  only  nine 
months.  Notwithstanding  his  advanced  age,  M.  de  Lesseps  has 
assumed  the  general  management,  being  often  in  the  field  in  person, 
and  notwithstanding  the  unhealthful  climate  of  the  isthmus,  and  serious 
drawbacks  caused  by  the  periodical  inundations  of  the  Chagres  River, 
it  is  quite  possible  that  he  may  add  the  Panama  canal  to  his  other  great 
engineering  triumphs. 

THE  ECUADORIANS. 

The  Indians  of  Ecuador  are  the  bone  and  sinew  of  the  population — 
the  miners,  herdsmen,  farmers  and  manufacturers  of  the  country. 
Panama  hats,  brilliant  quilts  and  carpets,  and  the  most  durable  earthen 
ware  in  South  America  are  placed  to  their  credit.  They  build  the 
bridges  of  Ecuador,  and  are  noted  for  the  rafts  which  they  construct,  and 
in  which  they  take  long  sea  voyages.  Shoemakers,  tailors,  carpenters, 
blacksmiths,  lawyers  and  doctors  are  discovered  in  the  ranks  of  the 
Indians,  although  white  blood  is  usually  found  to  be  an  incentive  to  join 
the  professions.  The  so-called  "free  Indians"  (although  none  are  held 
in  actual  bondage)  often  act  as  mule  drivers  and  guides.  Those  who 
are  employed  by  Spanish  planters  are  usually  paid  insufficient  wages  and 
are  brought  so  deeply  into  debt,  however,  that  most  of  them  are  all  but 
slaves  in  name. 

Some  of  the  natives  have  never  settled  down  to  any  employment, 
but  hunt  and  fish   alon^r  the  f^reat  rivers  east  of  the  .\ndes,  cultivating 


THE    ANDI-PERUVIANS, 


455 


enough  maize  for  their  own  subsistence,  and  exchanging  the  products  of 
the  chase  and  a  certain  powerful  arrow  poison,  for  tools  and  ornaments. 
The  most  numerous  of  the  aboriginal  tribes,  descendants  of  a  race, 
which  at  the  time  they  were  conquered  by  the  Incas  had  its  noted 
painters  and  architects,  are  the  Quitus,  who  gave  their  name  to  the  capi- 
tal of  Ecuador.  The  Indians  are  divided  into  eleven  families,  which,  in 
turn,  have  their  distinct  tribes. 

THE  ANDI-PERUVIANS. 


The  glorious  empire  of  the  Incas,  which  the  Spaniards  found  firmly 


COLOSSAL  HEAD  CARVED  IN  STONE. 


rooted  when  the  love  of  gold  lured  them  to  South  America,  extended 
from  Patagonia  to  New  Granada,  the  center  of  the  government  being 
the  great  temple  of  the  Sun,  at  Cuzco,  in  the  interior  of  Peru.  Here  on 
an  elevated  table  land,  between  two  branches  of  the  Amazon  River, 
were  also  great  fortifications,  it  being  the  capital  of  the  empire  and  the 
center  of   its  religious   system   as  well.      The  principal  buildings  of  the 


456  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

capital  were  constructed  of  huge  masses  of  stone,  transported  from  quar- 
ries many  leagues  distant  and  then  elevated  to  their  lofty  sites.  The 
stone  was  hewn  with  copper  tools,  and  although  cement  was  seldom  used, 
so  nicely  was  the  work  done  that  the  blade  of  a  knife  could  not  be 
introduced  between  the  blocks. 

The  Temple  of  the  Sun  was  where  the  Inca,  as  head  of  the  church 
and  high-priest  of  the  Sun,  presided.  It  was  built  of  stone,  but  thatched 
with  straw.  Within  was  a  huge  golden  sun,  which  had  a  human  face 
delineated  upon  it,  and  it  was  so  arranged  as  to  receive  the  first  rays  of 
the  heavenly  luminary.  Vases  of  gold,  filled  with  offerings  of  maize, 
stood  in  the  open  space  of  the  interior,  and  all  the  vessels  used  in  the 
celebration  of  religious  rites  were  made  of  the  precious  metal.  The 
building  itself  sparkled  with  golden  ornaments  ;  even  upon  the  out- 
side a  heavy  belt  of  gold  was  let  into  the  stone  wall  around  the  entire 
edifice.  The  royal  palaces  and  temples  were  adorned  with  like  magnifi- 
cence. 

The  empire  had  no  money;  everything  of  value  was  collected  in  the 
coffers  of  the  Inca.  The  government  owned  the  soil  and  the  people 
tilled  it.  It  fixed  a  man's  place  of  residence,  determined  his  employment 
and  even  the  amount  necessar)-  to  support  him.  The  government  owned 
immense  herds  of  llamas,  and  the  people  received  their  garments  of 
wool  and  hair,  after  a  certain  proportion  had  been  devoted  to  royal  and 
religious  purposes.  All  females  were  required  to  marry  at  eighteen  and 
males  at  twenty-four  years  of  age.  The  Inca  always  married  his  sister, 
that  the  royal  blood  might  remain  pure,  but  such  a  connection  was 
forbidden  between  those  of  lower  rank. 

TRACES  OF  THE  EMPIRE. 

The  empire  was  warlike  and  the  military  system  was  comple.x, 
including  a  draft  of  troops  proportionate  to  population  and  dependent 
upon  the  hardihood  of  the  people  of  the  district.  Throughout  the 
extent  of  the  vast  empire  were  great  roads  carried  along  the  mountain 
ridges  or  over  the  plains  of  the  coast.  Of  the  most  famous  of  these 
Mr.  Prescott,  in  his  Conquest  of  Peru,  thus  speaks:  "  It  was  conducted 
over  pathless  sierras  buried  in  snow ;  galleries  were  cut  out  for  leagues 
through  the  living  rock;  rivers  were  crossed  by  means  of  bridges  sus- 
pended in  the  air  ;  precipices  were  scaled  by  stairways  hewn  out  of  the 
native  bed;  ravines  of  hideous  depth  were  filled  up  with  solid  masonry  ; 
in  short,  all  the  difficulties  that  beset  a  wild  and  mountainous  region,  and 
which  might  appal  the  most  courageous  engineer  of  modern  times,  were 
encountered   and    successfully   overcome.        The  length     of    the    road 


TRACES    OK    TIIK    KMI'IKK. 


45; 


of  which  scattered  fragments  only  remain,  is  variously  estimated  from 
fifteen  hundred  to  two  thousand  miles."  Stations  and  storehouses 
were  established  on  the  main  roads,  under  the  care  of  army  officers. 
Ruins  of  the  Incas'  civilization  which  was  so  ruthlessly  crushed  by 
the  Spaniards,  have  been  found  in  the  shape  of  gold  and  stone  figures, 
monuments,  temples  of  all  descriptions,  acqueducts,  bridges  and  paved 
roads,  scattered  from  Chili  to  Central  America.  In  Peru,  besides  the 
imposing  remains  of  the  Temple  of  the  Sun,  are  the  ruins  of  a  supposed 
citadel  of  the  Incas  at  Cannar,  which  is  a  regular  oval  in  form.  Within 
this    is    a   square    edifice. 


contammg  two  rooms. 

Among  the  most 
ancient  monuments  and 
believed  even  to  ante- 
date the  period  of  the 
Incas,  are  those  which 
have  been  discovered  on 
the  southern  shore  of 
Lake  Titicaca,  in  Bolivia. 
They  are  situated    on    a 


broad,  and  plam,  and  con-  tiv-. 
sist  01  rows  01  huLTe  erect  ^)-;.. 
stones,  sections  of  massive 
walls  a  n  d  foundations, 
stairways,  fragments  of 
cornices,  carved  blocks  of 
stone,  etc.,  etc.  From  the 
center  of  a  bewildering 
mass  of  ruins,  of  which  a 
description  is  here  im- 
possible, rises  a  rectang- 
ular, irregularly  terraced 
mound,  50  feet  high,  650 
feet  long  and  450  feet 
wide.  The  temple, 
another  great  rectangular  mass,  is  near  by,  and  the  hall  of  justice,  a 
mighty  ruin,  contains  a  structure  which  is  composed  of  massive  stones 
beautifully  cut  and  held  together  by  bronze  clamps. 

World-famed  antiquarians  have  traced  in  those  vast  areas  surrounded 
by  upright  stones,  which  are  seen  in  this  great  Bolivian  plain,  the  earliest 
efforts  of  human   art,   and   on    the  bare  mountain  tops  of   High    Peru, 


PERUVIAN'  CARVING. 


458  PANORAMA    OF    XATIOXS. 

it  is  said,  "  are  hundreds  and  thousands  of  enclosures  or  fortresses,  ante- 
dating all  history,  which  were  built  according  to  Peruvian  traditions 
when  the  country  was  divided  up  into  warlike  and  savage  tribes,  before 
the  sun  shone  or  the  Incas  had  established  their  beneficent  rule.  They 
are  held  in  great  reverence,  as  the  works  of  giants  whose  spirits  still 
haunt  them,  and  to  whom  offerings  of  various  kinds  are  still  made." 

In  addition  to  the  ruins  which  have  been  mentioned,  the  fortress 
tnat  comands  the  ancient  capital  of  the  Incas,  and  in  the  storming  of 
which  Juan  Pizarro  lost  his  life,  is  almost  as  perfect  as  it  was  three  cen- 
turies ago.  Near  the  town  of  Truxillo,  Northern  Peru,  is  what  is  known  as 
Grand  Chimu,  the  ruined  capital  of  a  great  coast  nation  which  was  sub- 
dued by  the  Incas.  Over  at  least  twenty  square  miles  are  spread  the 
ruins  of  public  buildings,  massive  walls,  temples,  palaces,  houses,  tombs, 
prisons,  work-shops,  etc.,  etc.  A  vast  temple  of  the  Sun  also  appears, 
being  jayramidical  in  form,  812  by  470  feet  at  the  base  and  150  feet 
high.  There  is  a  second  of  nearly  equal  size.  Three  centuries  ago  the 
Spaniards  were  digging  treasure  from  the  ruins  and  the  work  of  excava- 
tion still  goes  on. 

SOME  INCA  TRIBES. 

The  Ouichuas  are  the  most  prominent  of  the  ancient  races  of  Peru 
and  Bolivia.  They  have  large  acquiline  noses  ;  generous  mouths  and 
fine  teeth  ;  short  but  not  weak  chins  ;  a  brown-olive  complexion  ;  soft, 
thick  and  flowing  hair,  but  scant  beards  and  are  generally  low  in  stat- 
ure, with  tremendous  chests,  caused  by  more  frequent  and  greater  respira- 
tions than  are  taken  in  a  less  rare  atmosphere  than  that  in  which  they  live. 
The  Ouichuas  differ  in  appearance  from  all  other  South  American 
nationalities,  and  from  the  figures  which  appear  upon  various  Peruvian 
antiquities  it  is  evident  that  none  of  their  ancient  physical  peculiarities 
have  changed. 

The  Aymaras  are  an  ancient  people  whose  history  centers  around 
Lake  Titicaca,  between  Peru  and  Bolivia.  They  still  inhabit  adjacent 
districts  in  both  of  those  countries  and  look,  with  sad  eyes,  upon  the 
monuments  of  their  forefathers  which  are  in  ruins  upon  the  many  small 
islands  of  the  lake.  The  center  of  their  government  and  their  religion 
was  a  sacred  isle,  from  which  they  believed  the  sun  first  arose.  The 
worship  of  this  luminary  was  part  of  their  religion.  Some  of  the  pyra- 
midical  structures,  with  door-ways  and  pillars  elaborately  sculptured,  and 
fragments  of  colossal  statues,  are  of  great  antiquity  and  only  the  vaguest 
traditions  exist  of  their  origin.  They  evidently  represent  a  prior  civilization 
to  that  of  the  Incas  which  absorbed,  or  conquered  that  of  the  Aymaras, 


THE    ANTISIANS,    OR    WHITE    AtEN.  459 

and  received  from  them  a  more  perfect  knowledge  of  the  arts,  of  agri- 
culture and  astronomy.  They  now  number  some  quarter  of  a  million  of 
people  and  are  principally  engaged  in  agriculture. 

Most  of  the  tribes  of  Peru  and  Bolivia  have  embraced  Christianity, 
and  in  the  tracts  covered  by  the  missions  chiefly  dwell  the  remnants  of 
many  ancient  nations.  They  form  by  far,  the  majority  of  Bolivia's  popu- 
lation, and  are  generally  advancing  in  civilization,  being  a  credit  to  their 
forefathers  of  the  Incas.  They  are  generally  mild  and  passive,  and  are 
the  foot-travelers  of  South  America,  performing  the  longest  journeys  at 
a  dbg  trot  and  going  for  days  at  a  time  with  no  sustenance  except  cocoa 
leaves  chewed  with  lime  or  ashes,  and,  perhaps,  a  small  quantity  of 
pounded  maize.  The  civilized  tribes  dwell  in  houses  or  huts  constructed 
of  sun-dried  bricks,  rushes,  or  maize  stalks  thatched  with  grass. 

The  Chiquitos  are  a  tribe,  which  was  once  very  powerful,  and  were 
employed  by  the  early  Jesuit  missionaries  to  convert  neighboring  tribes 
and  educate  them.  They  also  cultivated  fields,  were  manufacturers  and 
artisans,  and  traders  of  hitrh  standing.  But  when  the  missionaries  were 
expelled,  their  beautiful  churches  and  large  factories  were  destroyed  and 
many  of  them  fled  to  the  forests  and  relapsed  into  barbarism.  At  the 
time  of  their  prosperity  the  Chiquitos  had  been  consolidated  into  a  won- 
derful nation,  a  bright  example  of  native  capability. 

THE  ANTISIANS;  OR,  "WHITE  MEN." 

There  are  five  tribes  who  live  on  the  eastern  declivity  of  the  Andes, 
in  Bolivia.  They  are  the  Yucacares,  or  White  Men,  so  called  from 
their  remarkably  light  color;  the  Chuncos,  Tacanas,  Marapas  and 
Apolistas.  These  tribes  have  their  own  languages,  although  they  have 
been  classed  as  one  family.  In  Bolivia  the  Cordilleras  divide  into  two 
great  ridges,  called  the  Cordillera  of  the  coast  and  the  Cordillera  Real, 
between  whicK  is  the  great  walled  table-land  which  contains  Lake  Titi- 
caca,  the  source  of  one  of  the  great  branches  of  the  Amazon,  and  the 
site  of  the  famous  Potosi,  famed  for  its  silver  mines  and  for  being  the 
most  elevated  city  of  the  world.  From  Potosi,  in  a  northwesterly  direc- 
tion through  Bolivia,  are  those  wonderful  ruins  and  sections  of  the 
stupendous  military  roads  ;  and  it  is  east  of  this  historic  region  that  the 
Antisians  dwell. 

THE  ARAUCANIANS. 

The  natives  of  Chili  and  Patagonia,  bold,  warlike,  tall  and  muscular, 
belong  to  this  race.     The  mountaineers  are  very  light  in  complexion,  the 


460 


PANORAMA   OF    NATIONS. 


tribe  of  Boroanos  in  Chili  being  little  darker  than  Europeans.  They 
have  broad  faces  and  heavy  features,  but  their  bright  eyes  save  them  from 
the  stamp  of  dullness.  Some  of  them  have  heavy  beards  but  generally 
the  Indian  custom  is  followed  of  plucking  out  the  hair. 

When  the  Western  coast  of  South  America  was  first  visited  by 
Europeans  a  portion  of  Chili  was  subject  to  the  Peruvians;  but  the  bulk 
of  the  natives  were  divided  into  tribes,  each  governed  by  its  "  ulmen ' 
or  "  cacique."     Four  of  the  original  fifteen  tribes  had  been  subdued  by 

the      Peruvians. 
4  r;iV\, :-  \       "L'-^iS-  when     the     pro- 

gress of  the  lat- 
ter's  arms  was 
permanently 
checked.  The 
Spaniards  came 
and  found  a  foe 
worth)'  of  their 
prowess.  They 
discovered  that 
these  tribes  had 
already  confeder- 
ated and  were 
workiniT  under  a 
crude  system  of 
government  ;  that 
the  country  was 
divided  into  four 
sections,  each 
governed  by  a 
"  toqui,  "  or  su- 
p  r  e  m  e  cacicjue, 
with  the  real  pow- 
er    still     in     the 

hands  of  the  ulmens  ;  that  the  Araucanians  were  a  compact,  patriotic 
nation  of  great  warriors.  For  over  a  century  the  Spaniards  brought 
their  iron-clad  soldiers  and  their  improved  artillery  to  crush  these 
brave  and  military  Indians,  with  their  swords  and  lances,  slings,  bows, 
pikes  and  clubs.  Many  battles  are  recorded  in  which  the  invaders  were 
utterly  routed,  and  finally  they  were  obliged  to  abandon  the  enterprise 
of  conquering  an  indeprndent  Indian  race;  and,  the  proud  distinction 
of  being  the  only  aboriginal  Amc^ricans  who  have  maintained  their  inde- 


^  S:y^_K  ' 


5^^^^.^^"' 


AX   ARAUCANIAN  FAMILY. 


THF    ARAUCA.MANS.  461 

pendence  when  brought  directly  in  contact  with  Europeans,  still 
belongs  to  the  Araucanians.  They  occupy  much  of  their  old  territory 
within  the  modern  republic  of  Chili." 

The  provinces  of  Arauco  and  Valdivia  have  been  especially  the 
native  districts  of  the  Araucanians.  This  native  state  within  the  repub- 
lic of  Chili  lies  between  the  Biobio  and  Valdivia  rivers,  and  is  130 
miles  in  length  by  150  in  breadth.  The  natural  divisions  of  the  coun- 
try have  been  made  the  political ;  that  is,  the  sea  coast,  the  plain,  the 
territory  running  along  the  foot  of  the  Andes,  and  the  mountainous 
region,  is  each  under  the  rule  of  a  toqui.  These  districts  are  sub- 
divided into  what  would  be  called,  in  the  United  States,  counties  and 
townships.  The  toqui's  badge  of  office  is  an  axe  of  porphyry  or  mar- 
ble. The  four  governors  form  the  Federal  Council,  which  decides  upon 
grave  national  matters  and  may  convene  the  General  Assembly  consist- 
ing of  the  subordinate  rulers  and  chieftains.  If  the  matter  before  the 
convention  is  war,  the  commander-in-chief  is  chosen  from  among  the 
four  toquis,  if  possible,  and  the  chiefs,  or  ulmens,  raise  the  troops 
from  among  their  clans.  A  great  plain  between  the  Biobio  and  Dun- 
queco  rivers  is  the  meeting-place  of  these  governing  bodies. 

The  Araucanians,  like  the  Pampas  Indians,  rely  principally  upon 
their  long  spear  when  in  action,  trusting  for  final  success  upon  the 
impetuosity  of  their  charge.  When  in  war  paint  they  are  nearl\-,  or 
quite  naked,  but  in  times  of  peace  they  dress  in  loose,  flowing  mantles, 
with  dark  blue  and  red  skirts,  having  crimson  cloths  round  their  heads 
turban-fashion,  and  low  down  on  the  temples.  If  not  aroused,  they  are 
peaceable  and  hospitable,  hold  free  intercourse  with  the  whites,  and 
even  serve  as  scouts  in  the  Chilian  army.  Marriages  have  even  occurred 
between  Europeans  and  their  women  of  high  rank,  at  one  time  a  French 
adventurer  being  raised  to  the  dignity  of  King  of  the  Araucanians ; 
but  his  character  being  exposed  he  was  driven  out  of  the  country  in  dis- 
grace. Whole  crews  of  shipwrecked  vessels  are  known  to  have  been 
merged  into  the  race,  so  that  white  skins  and  straight  faces  are  not 
uncommon.  "  The  chief  wealth  of  the  tribes  is  cattle,  which  they  rear 
with  some  care  and  diligence  ;  and  some  of  them,  or  their  women, 
engage  also  in  agricultural  and  industrial  pursuits,  part  of  their  produce, 
as  well  as  their  tanned  hides,  tissues  and  silver  trinkets,  stirrups,  curbs, 
etc.,  bringing  good  prices  as  curiosities."  They  make  also  blankets 
which  are  much  valued  by  the  Patagonians.  Between  the  two  races, 
however,  there  is  usually  a  stirring  feud  which  prevents  much  inter- 
course, even  with  those  Araucanians  who  have  abandoned  their  tribal 
relations  and  live  in  trading  settlements. 


462  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

The  Araucanians  have  gods  of  War,  of  the  Good,  of  Mankind,  of 
Evil,  but  build  no  temples  to  them,  make  no  idols  and  support  no  priests. 
They  carry  their  ideas  of  political  independence  into  their  religion,  and 
scarcely  pay  their  deities  due  respect.  The  Araucanian  heaven  is  beyond 
the  Andes.  They  are  so  intensely  national  that  no  foreigner  is  allowed 
to  settle  among  them  who  retains  his  own  name.  The  Spanish  language 
—  anything  which  has  the  least  suggestion  of  Spanish-  — is  barred  out  of 
Araucania.  Their  own  language  is  spoken  throughout  Chili  and  Pata- 
gonia to  Cape  Horn,  and  east  to  Buenos  Ayres,  and  is  among  the  most 
harmonious  of  South  American  tontrues. 

o 

The  women  of  Araucania  "do  all  the  home  and  field  work;  the 
men  hunt,  fight  and  tend  the  flocks.  They  live  in  wooden  or  reed 
plastered  houses,  well  built  and  often  sixty  feet  by  twenty-five  in  size, 
not  in  villages  but  in  the  center  of  their  plantations.  They  raise  wheat, 
maize  and  barley,  peas  and  beans,  potatoes,  cabbages,  and  fruit,  as  well 
as  fla.x,  and  keep  numbers  of  cattle  and  horses.  Before  the  arrival  of 
the  Europeans  they  wove  ponchos  and  coarse  woolen  cloths  of  very  good 
workmanship." 

THE  CHILIANS. 

The  constitution  of  Chili  is  far  less  democratic  than  that  of  Arau- 
cania. Although  its  deputies  and  senators  are  ostensibly  elected  by 
popular  vote,  property  qualifications  are  imposed  which  confine  the  voters 
really  to  the  wealthier  classes.  Yet  the  republic  is  the  most  prosperous 
of  any  in  South  America,  for  the  country  contains  an  unusually  large 
proportion  of  European  blood  and  the  Europeans  constitute  virtually 
the  governing  power.  The  National  Legislature  is  composed  of  a  House 
of  Deputies,  whose  members  sit  for  three  years,  and  a  Senate,  one-third 
of  which  retires  at  the  end  of  a  like  period.  The  Roman  Catholic  is  the 
State  Church  and  the  offspring  of  mixed  marriages  must  be  educated  in 
the  national  faith.  Chili  was  among  the  first  of  the  South  American 
States  to  develop  a  railroad  system,  its  capital,  Santiago,  and  its  metro- 
polis, Valparaiso,  being  connected  by  a  substantial  line,  which  has 
branches  to  some  of  the  principal  towns. 

THE  CENTAURS  OF  SOUTH  AMERICA. 

In  Paraguay,  Uruguay  and  Argentine  Republic  are  hundreds  of 
Indian  tribes  who  have  their  peculiarities,  but  seem  equally  at  home  upon 
the  horse's  back,  and  who  are  never  truly  themselves  unless  they  are 
scouring  their  great  pampas.  They  are  usually  of  the  most  ignorant 
type,  like  the  Abipones,  who  are  east  of  the  Parana  River  in  Paraguay, 


\ 


iji 
o 

c 


X- 

m 

o 
> 


THE    CENTAURS    OF    SOUTH    AMERICA.  463 

and  although  they  are  such  wonderful  horsemen,  can  count  no  further 
than  three.     They  go  nearly  naked  and  practice  tattooing. 

The  numerous  tribes  of  Indians  who  scour  the  plains  of  Buenos 
Ayres  are  members  of  the  Araucanian  race  and  of  the  Puelche  family, 
to  which  also  belong  the  Patagonians.  They  live,  move  and  have  their 
being  upon  the  horse's  back.  Whenever  they  shift  their  quarters  for 
better  pasturage,  they  drive  before  them  great  herds  of  horses,  which 
they  use  both  for  fresh  mounts  and  for  food.  They  are  warriors 
from  the  pure  love  of  excitement  and  danger,  and  they  declare  "that 
the  proudest  attitude  of  the  human  figure  is  when,  bending  over  his 
horse,  man  is  riding  at  his  enemy."  Their  most  formidable  weapon  is  a 
spear,  fully  eighteen  feet  in  length.  They  charge  without  saddle  or 
bridle,  hanging  under  their  horses,  with  their  great  spears  far  in  advance, 
yelling  and  shrieking  in  a  way  which  throws  into  a  panic  any  but  the 
coolest  horsemen  and  the  best  trained  horses.  On  the  other  hand,  their 
cries  have  the  effect  of  urging  on  their  own  steeds,  which  are  further 
transformed  into  irresistible  tornadoes  by  a  peculiar  motion  of  their  bodies. 
Between  them  and  the  Gauchos,  a  race  principally  of  Spanish  descent, 
the  most  implacable  hatred  exists.  The  Gauchos  are  magnificent  riders, 
themselves,  but  admit  that  on  the  open  plain  they  are  not  the  equals  of 
the  Pampas  —  and  of  those  long  spears  they  are  in  constant  fear. 

In  exposed  districts,  the  white  settlers  are  subject  to  raids  from  the 
Pampas,  and  often  protect  themselves  by  digging  ditches  around  their 
frail  fortifications.  The  Indian's  horse  will  not  leap  such  a  startling 
thing  (to  him)  as  a  ditch,  and  the  Indians  would  as  soon  think  of  wear- 
ing a  silk  hat  as  of  fighting  on  foot.  But  if  the  raid  is  successful,  no 
lives  are  spared  except  those  of  comely  girls.  These  captives  become 
so  fascinated  with  their  wild,  free  life  that  a  French  officer  of  the  Peru- 
vian army,  who  was  passing  through  the  Pampas'  territory  to  chastise  a 
hostile  tribe,  found  it  impossible  to  induce  some  of  them  to  return  to 
their  country,  even  offering  them  large  sums  of  money  if  they  would,  in 
the  meantime,  act  as  interpreters. 

The  only  times  when  the  Pampas  Indians  come  in  close  contact 
with  European  life  are  when  they  visit  the  towns  and  settlements  to  dis- 
pose of  their  peltry  and  ostrich  feathers  for  knives,  spurs  and  liquor. 
The  preliminary  step  is  to  pass  overall  their  dangerous  weapons  to  their 
chief,  and  then  get  ingloriously  drunk.  They  have  neither  money,  nor 
any  idea  of  weights  and  measures,  but  designate,  by  some  mark  of  their 
own,  the  quantity  of  the  commodity  they  require  in  exchange  for  their 
own  stock. 

Before  the  introduction  of  horses  and  cattle  by  the  Spaniards,  the 


464  PANORAMA    OK    NATIONS. 

Pampas  were  mountaineers,  living  in  the  eastern  districts  of  Chili.  They 
were  even  then  more  rude  and  sava^re  in  their  manners  than  the  Arau- 
canians,  but  were  held  in  high  esteem  by  their  more  civilized  neighbors, 
on  account  of  their  fidelity  and  bravery  as  allies.  They  were  called  by 
them  the  Puelches,  or  eastern-men.  With  the  possession  of  their  horses 
and  cattle,  and  the  prolific  increase  of  the  wild  herds,  both  subsistence 
and  power  were  assured  them,  and  they  spread  over  the  plains  east  of 
the  Andes  ;  so  that  when  the  Spaniards  built  their  first  town,  upon  the 
site  of  the  present  city  of  Buenos  Ayres,  the  Indians  destroyed  it  and 
caused  such  terror  that  a  second  attempt  at  settlement  was  not  made 
until  nearly  fifty  years  afterwards. 

THE  GAUCHOS. 

The  Gauchos  are  of  pure  Spanish  origin,  but  their  ways  of  life  are 
so  similar  to  those  of  the  Pampas  Indians,  that  it  would  be  almost 
impossible  to  speak  of  one  without  the  other.  Their  chief  occupations 
are  tending,  marking  and  slaughtering  cattle,  and  they  have  become  as 
skillful  with  the  bolas  and  the  lasso  as  the  wildest  Indian  of  the  plains. 
They  often  wield  a  bolas  consisting  of  three  stones,  each  fastened  to  a 
strap  about  six  feet  long,  which  is  a  fearful  weapon.  The  three  straps 
join  in  a  center,  and  when  the  Gaucho  throws  the  bolas  he  gives  the 
balls  a  peculiar  rotary  motion,  so  that  they  Hy  asunder  and  go  sjDinning 
through  the  air  in  the  form  of  a  triangle  of  about  eight  feet  in  diameter,  or 
like  some  terrible  devil  fish  of  the  air.  If  it  meets  with  any  resistance, 
the  stones  which  are  free,  continue  the  rotary  motion,  the  straps  wind 
around  the  object,  whether  it  be  a  man's  body,  a  horse's  or  a  bull's,  and 
finally  strike  the  victim  with  crushing  effect. 

The  use  of  both  the  bolas  and  the  lasso  is  one  of  the  earliest 
accomplishments  of  the  Gaucho  ;  and  little  children  armed  with  their 
miniature  weapons  make  war  upon  the  chickens,  ducks  and  geese  of  the 
farmyard.  In  throwing  the  lasso  the  rider  is  obliged  to  be  assisted  by  an 
intellio-ent  and  a  trained  horse.  "  Sometimes  in  the  case  of  a  furious  ani- 
mal,  the  rider  checks  the  horse  and  dismounts,  while  the  bull  is  running 
out  the  length  of  his  raw-hide  rope.  The  horse  wheels  around  and 
braces  himself  to  sustain  the  shock  which  the  momentum  of  the  captured 
animal  must  inevitably  give.  The  bull,  not  expecting  to  be  brought  up 
so  suddenly,  is  thrown  sprawling  to  the  ground.  Rising  to  his  feet,  he 
rushes  upon  the  horse  to  gore  him  ;  but  the  latter  keeps  at  a  distance, 
until  the  bull  finding  that  nothing  is  accomplished  in  this  way,  again 
attempts  to  ilee,  when  the  rope  a  second  time  brings  him  to  the  ground. 
Thus  the  poor  animal  is  worried  until  he  is  wholly  within  the  power  of  his 
captor." 


THE     GAUCHOS.  465 

"  When  cattle  are  cau;^'ht  by  the  lasso,  which  is  so  thrown  as  to  fasten 
on  the  horns,  they  will  sometimes  gallop  round  and  round  in  a  circle  ; 
and  if  the  horse  be  not  well  broken,  being  alarmed  at  the  strain,  he  will 
not  readily  turn  like  a  pivot,  in  consequence  of  which  men  have  often 
been  killed  ;  for  if  the  lasso  once  takes  a  twist  round  the  rider's  body,  it 
will  instantly,  from  the  power  of  the  two  opposed  animals,  almost  cut  him 
in  twain." 

Rio  Grande  do  Sul  is  the  southernmost  province  of  Brazil.  It  bor- 
ders upon  Uruguay,  and,  like  that  country,  consists  principally  of  vast 
plains,  over  which  great  herds  of  cattle  roam,  from  which  is  drawn  so 
much  of  the  meat  supply  of  the  empire ;  and  here  the  Gauchos  and  their 
lassoes  are  at  the  height  of  their  glory.  The  women,  also,  are  great 
"  horsemen,"  often  wearing  a  European  riding  habit,  with  body  and 
sleeves.  When  not  on  horseback  they  wear  a  short  skirt,  tightly-fitting 
bodice,  a  shawl  over  the  head,  neck  and  shoulders,  their  arms  being  bare. 
Both  sexes  are  tall  and  graceful,  polite  and  hospitable,  but  give  little  heed 
to  home  life,  preferring  to  sleep  in  the  open  air  and  live  on  horseback. 
Their  dwellings  are  simply  willow  and  mud  huts,  and,  within,  there  are 
usually  little  more  than  a  wooden  bedstead  with  a  skin  mattress,  over 
which  are  stretched  two  ropes  to  which  the  small  children  are  lashed,  a 
tea  kettle  and  a  few  cups  with  tin  suction  pipes.  They  live  chiefly  upon 
beef.  Their  lives,  in  fact,  are  like  those  of  all  the  centaurs  of  South 
America,  whether  of  Spanish  or  Indian  blood. 

Although  their  Spanish  blood  makes  them  polite,  the  Gauchos  are 
criven  to  intemperance,  are  revengeful  and  blood-thirsty;  so  that  as  many 
murders  are  placed  to  their  account  as  to  that  of  the  Indians.  That  they 
both  have  much  blood  to  answer  for  is  evident  from  the  many  crosses, 
made  by  simply  tying  two  pieces  of  Avood  together  with  straps,  which  are 
planted  near  the  roadways  of  all  the  pampas;  these  rude  crosses  always 
mark  the  spots  at  which  strangers  or  natives  were  murdered.  In  Uru- 
miay  the  Gauchos  have  virtually  exterminated  the  aboriginal  population. 
Yet  there  is  leaven  in  their  rudeness  and  wickedness ;  for  they  are 
not  only  the  Republicans  of  South  America,  but  have  steadily  upheld 
democratic  ideas  for  the  past  century.  Especially  the  Basques  are  noted 
for  their  uncompromising  independence,  which  has  marked  them  among 
the  Spaniards  of  Europe  since  the  early  years  of  Rome.  The  Basques 
who  are  considered  the  aborigines  of  the  Spanish  peninsula,  form  a  large 
proportion  of  the  Gauchos  and  of  the  entire  population  of  the  republics 
south  of  Brazil.  From  their  ranks  have  come  many  able  rulers  and  mil- 
itary leaders  of  the  country.  Perhaps  the  most  noteworthy  among  them 
was   General   Rosas,   of  a  noble  family,  who  led   the   cattlemen   of  the 

3o 


466  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

pampas  against  the  Indians  and  subdued  them  ;  then  conquered  all  his 
rivals,  became  governor  of  the  province  of  Buenos  Ayres,  and  refused 
further  preferment  until  the  dictatorship  of  the  republic  was  offered  him. 
This  position  he  held  for  many  years,  his  rule  being  cruel  in  the  extreme, 
but  able,  as  ability  is  gauged  in  such  mixed  communities.  It  is  certain 
that  under  the  guidance  of  his  strong  hand  the  country  learned  to  walk, 
although  the  aristocratic,  wealthy  and  refined  classes  were  depressed. 

The  Gauchos  as  a  distinct  class,  or  caste,  are  decreasing.  For  many 
years  their  blood  was  almost  pure  Spanish  ;  but  they  are  now  intermarr)'- 
ing,  more  or  less,  and  others  than  Spaniards  are  assuming  the  duties  of 
drivers  and  branders  of  cattle.  Their  rude,  republican  nature,  however, 
has  permeated  the  body  politic,  and,  combined  with  the  conservatism  of 
the  French  wine  merchants,  the  Italian  mechanics  and  river  men,  and 
the  Irish  and  English  farmers,  may  eventually  form  a  more  stable  gov- 
ernment than  the  Argentine  Confederation  has  enjoyed. 

San  Salvador,  the  capital  of  the  Republic,  is  situated  in  a  beautiful 
valley,  far  above  the  sea  level,  with  extensive  indigo  and  sugar  planta- 
tions all  around  it.  Oranges,  lemons  and  pine  apples  also  abound  in  the 
vicinit)-.  The  streetsare  broad  and  clean,  and  the  comparatively  modern 
appearance  of  the  churches  and  public  buildings,  as  well  as  the  smallness 
of  the  city,  is  explained  by  the  very  conclusive  fact  that  eight  times  it 
has  been  rebuilt  upon  its  present  site,  because  of  ravages  by  earth- 
quakes. It  was  first  founded  in  1528.  The  volcano  which  has  also 
been  so  destructively  active  is  situated  only  three  miles  northwest  of  San 
Salvador.  The  Republic  is  foremost  of  the  Central  American  States  in 
the  cause  of  education,  and  its  capital  has  a  prosperous  university  and  a 
well-organized  system  of  public  schools ;  but  the  city  and  the  country, 
as  a  whole,  have  not  regained  the  standing  which  they  enjoyed  as  a 
province  of  the  Spanish  Kingdom  of  Gautemala. 


•^' *■ — -* — ^  ♦'^ — • *-^^- 


---r^ 


i&m. 


THE  TURKS. 

I[  HE  Turks  are  Tartars,  and  now  exist  in  their  purity  in  Turk- 
estan. Two  or  three  of  their  great  Asiatic  empires  have  gone 
^  _^  to  pieces  before  the  onslaught  of  the  Mongols,  the  greatest 
^Ji/^  one  being  that  of  the  Seljuk  Turks,  which  extended  from  the 
frontiers  of  China  to  Constantinople.  Before  the  Christian 
era  various  Turkish  tribes  had  wandered  as  far  west  as  the 
Don.  When  the  Seljuk  empire,  partly  by  the  partition  of 
its  territory  and  partl\-  by  the  power  of  the  Mongols,  went  to 
pieces,  in  the  thirteenth  century,  Othman,  the  son  of  the 
leader  of  a  tribe  of  Turkomans,  succeeded  his  father  as  chief, 
and  afterwards  received  from  the  Sultan  a  portion  of  the  province  of 
Bithynia,  south  of  the  Black  Sea.  With  this  territory  as  a  pivotal 
point  he  boldly  led  his  forces  into  the  Byzantine  Empire,  conquering 
several  important  provinces  from  the  Roman  Empire  of  the  East,  and, 
with  his  son,  laying  the  foundation  of  the  Othman,  or  Ottoman  Empire. 

THE    FOUNDERS    OF    THE    EMPIRE. 

The  Turkish  writers  have  found  almost  a  demi-god  in  Othman. 
He  is  said  even  to  have  had  a  vision  of  the  future  extent  and  glories  of 
the  empire,  with  the  fall  of  Constantinople,  which  occurred  127  years 
after  his  death,  although  the  Byzantine  Empire,  some  time  before,  had 
been  reduced  to  the  limits  of  its  capital  and  suburbs.  The  vision  is 
thus  reported  : 

"As  Othman  reclined  in  slumber,  the  crescent  moon  appeared  to 
rise  above  the  horizon.  As  she  waxed  she  inclined  toward  him  ;  at  her 
full,  she  sunk,  and  concealed  herself  in  his  bosom.  Then  from  him 
sprang  a  tree,  which  spread  its  boughs,  so  that  they  shaded  the  Cau- 
casus, and  Atlas,  the  Taurus  and  the  Himalaya  Mountains,  which  stood 
up  as  great  pillars  to  a  boundless,  leafy  pavilion.  From  the  roots  of 
the  tree  flowed  forth  the  Tigris,  the  Euphrates,  the  Nile  and  the  Dan- 
ube. All  was  Eden.  Cities  crowded  with  domes  and  cupolas,  with 
pyramids  and  obelisks,  with  minarets  and  turrets,  sprung  from  fertile 

467 


4.68  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

valleys,  and  the  waters  of  the  mighty  rivers  were  covered  with  barks. 
Living  fountains  leaped  from  the  mountains,  which  were  covered  with 
mighty  forests,  each  leaf  of  which  was  a  sword.  Then  arose  a  wind 
and  drove  all  the  points  of  the  swords  against  the  imperial  capital, 
which  at  the  conflux  of  two  seas  and  two  continents,  like  a  diamond 
set  between  two  sapphires  and  two  emeralds,  forms  the  most  precious 
center-stone  of  the  ring  of  universal  empire.'  " 

The  successors  of  Othman  were  worthy  of  their  father  in  warlike 
and  administrative  power,  and  nationalities  and  religions  of  the  most 
diverse  character  were  slowly  welded  into  the  body  of  the  empire,  or  at 
least  were  content  to  rest  under  its  powerful  protection.  His  grandson 
was  the  founder  of  the  janizaries,  the  famous  royal  body-guard  of 
Greek  soldiers  who  were  originally  taken  in  the  wars  of  the  Byzantine 
Empire  and  educated  as  Mohammedans  and  according  to  the  military 
discipline  of  Turkey.  To  increase  their  number  a  law  was  afterwards 
made  that  every  fifth  year  the  children  born  of  Christians  living  in  the 
empire  should  be  given  up  to  the  government.  The  law  was  enforced, 
and  soon  a  splendidly  drilled  body  of  troops  was  in  existence,  some  to 
guard  the  Sultan,  others  the  palace,  and  the  remainder  to  constitute  a 
portion  of  the  regular  army.  The  troops  were  christened  by  a  dervish, 
who  in  obedience  to  the  commands  of  the  Sultan  blessed  the  army  by 
passing  his  sleeve  over  the  face  of  the  foremost  soldier  and  speaking 
these  words  :  "  Let  them  be  called  janizaries  [new  soldiers].  May  their 
countenances  be  ever  bright,  their  hands  victorious  and  their  swords 
keen.  May  their  spears  hang  always  over  the  heads  of  their  enemies; 
and  wherever  they  go,  may  they  return  with  a  shining  face."  The  new 
soldiers  subsequently  acquired  such  power  that  adventurers  all  over  the 
world  sought  to  enter  their  ranks,  and  as  the  regulations  became  more 
lax  the  janizaries  became  a  dangerous  body  of  men,  plundering  cities 
which  they  should  have  guarded  and  revolting  against  the  Sultans 
themselves.  At  length,  during  the  first  portion  of  this  century,  those 
of  them  which  were  not  massacred  by  the  royal  guards  were  sent  into 
exile. 

THE  APOSTLES  OF  MOHAMMEDANISM. 

Mohammedanism  was  carried  into  Asia  Minor  by  the  Arabian  arms 
and  extended  far  to  the  east,  and,  singular  to  relate,  when  the  Seljuk  and 
Ottoman  Turks  overran  and  conquered  the  same  territory,  they  received 
Islamism  from  the  subdued,  instead  of  trying  to  impose  their  Tartar 
superstitions.  The  fascinating  combination  of  religion  and  war  which 
they  found  in  Mohammedanism  seemed  to  have  been  just  what  the  Turks 


CHURCH    AND    STATE    ONE.  469 

craved,  and  they  therefore  soon  surpassed  the  Arabs  themselves  in  the 
vigor  with  which  they  extended  the  faith.  From  the  time  of  Mohammed 
II.,  who  conquered  Constantinople  and  was  surnamed  the  Great  and 
Victorious ;  who  brought  beneath  his  sway  two  empires,  twelve  king- 
doms and  two  hundred  cities,  the  world  of  Islamism  has  tacitly  consented 
to  the  claim  of  the  Turks  that  their  Sultan  is.  in  very  truth,  the  successor 
of  the  prophet. 

He  is  superior  to  all  law  except  the  Koran,  and  to  interpret  that 
the  muftis,  mollahs  and  other  priests  form  a  body  called  the  Ulema,  at 
whose  head  is  the  Grand  Mufti  who  is  the  only  dignitary  holding  a  life 
office.  In  all  affairs  of  state  concern,  or  grave  importance,  the  Sultan  is 
an  autocrat,  the  province  of  the  Ulema  being  almost  confined  to  recom- 
mendations to  the  Porte,  and  to  authority  in  private  and  family  matters. 
Civil  questions  which  come  before  them  are  decided,  but  such  decisions 
can  not  be  enforced  except  by  the  state. 

CHURCH  AND  STATE  ONE. 

The  power  of  the  Ulema  is  not  as  great  as  it  was  in  the  first  days 
of  Mohammedanism  ;  in  fact,  the  greatest  privilege  of  the  members  con- 
sists in  the  exemption  of  their  bodies  and  properties  from  punishment 
and  confiscation.  The  Grand  Mufti  girds  the  Sultan  with  the  sword 
when  he  ascends  the  throne,  which  is  supposed  to  make  that  monarch 
truly  the  successor  of  the  prophet.  The  Mufti's  decision  is  also  attached 
to  the  imperial  decrees,  although  it  is  said  to  impart  but  little  additional 
weight  to  them.  It  is  as  Lord  of  the  faith,  which  is  the  basis  of 
Turkish  civilization  and  Turkish  institutions  that  he  is  so  powerful,  and 
although  many  of  his  former  temporal  prerogatives  have  been  taken 
away,  the  Ottoman  Empire  is  still  a  subtle  combination  of  Sultan, 
Grand  Vizier  and  Ulema.     Church  and  state  are  still  one. 

The  Grand  Mufti  ranks  next  to  the  Grand  Vizier,  who  is  president 
of  the  Council  of  Ministers,  a  body  which  corresponds  to  the  European 
Cabinet.  There  is  also  a  Council  of  State  where  new  laws  are  discussed 
and  w^hich  consists  of  fifty  Mohammedan  and  Christian  members  chosen 
by  the  Sultan.  The  Chief  of  the  Guard  of  Eunuchs  is  equal  in  rank  with 
the  Grand  Vizier. 

The  executive  officers  of  the  empire  are  governor-generals,  gov- 
ernors, lieutenant-governors,  mayors  of  villages  (mukhtars),  etc.  Pro- 
vincial governors,  who  generally  hold  the  rank  of  oachas,  formerly  had 
the  power  of  sentencing  persons  to  death,  but  it  has  been  taken  away 
from  them.  The  title  pacha,  pasha,  or  bashaw  is  applied  to  the  governor 
of  a  province,  a  minister,  or  a  commander  of  high  rank  in  the  army  or 


470  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

navy.  The  grade  of  office  was  at  one  time  determined  by  tlie  number 
of  horse  tails  which  were  carried  before  them  in  pubHc,  this  being  their 
insignia  ;  but  except  in  some  of  the  African  provinces  this  custom  has 
been  discontinued. 

TURKISH   REFORMS. 

The  Koran  being  the  authority  in  government,  reHgion  and  Hfe,  the 
average  Turk  is  not  prone  to  accord  any  privileges  to  non-believers,  look- 
ing upon  them  as  lawless  characters  as  well  as  heretics.  So,  although 
the  Sublime  Porte  has  established  mixed  courts  for  settling  cases  between 
Mohammedans  and  non-Mohammedans,  allows  the  latter  to  hold  local 
offices,  is  establishing  national  schools,  and  has  otherwise  shown  a  slight 
regard  for  the  broad  ideas  of  the  age,  the  Turkish  officials,  especially 
those  who  are  far  removed  from  the  influence  of  foreign  ambassadors, 
are  as  fanatical  as  ev^er.  Foreigners,  of  whatever  sect,  can  now  hold  real 
estate  in  their  own  names,  some  of  the  Armenians  being  among  the  most 
extensive  land  owners  in  the  empire.  Neither  are  non-Mohammedans 
liable  to  military  service,  but  pay  an  exemption  tax. 

The  first  decided  impetus  to  the  reformation  of  Turkish  laws  came 
from  the  efforts  of  Reschid  Pacha,  a  native  who  was  sent  as  ambassa- 
dor to  France  and  England  and  afterwards  became  Grand  Vizier.  Many 
reforms  had  been  inaugurated  by  the  Sultan,  but  through  the  exertions 
of  the  Grand  Vizier  the  sovereign  agreed  to  give  a  constitution  to  the 
empire  based  upon  a  European  model.  On  November  3,  1839,  a  gen- 
eral congress  was  convened  on  the  Plain  of  Roses,  near  Constanti- 
nople, and  here,  under  the  shelter  of  many  pavilions,  were  collected  all 
the  pachas  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  the  patriarchs  of  the  Greeks  and 
Armenians,  the  foreign  ambassadors,  the  chief  rabbi  of  the  Jews,  and 
numerous  other  persons  of  high  distinction.  In  presence  of  the  vast 
assemblage  Reschid  Pacha  read  the  state  paper  which  embodied  the 
bill  of  rights  granting,  among  other  privileges,  security  of  life  and  prop- 
erty to  all  persons  of  whatever  religion. 

The  successor  of  one  Sultan,  however,  does  not  always  feel  bound  to 
carry  out  all  the  reforms  promised  by  his  predecessor,  and  since  these  great 
promises  were  made  there  is  hardly  a  Christian  district  of  either  Turkeys 
which  has  not  revolted  or  protested,  or  appealed  to  some  European 
power  to  see  that  justice  was  done.  Sometimes  the  non-fulfillment  of 
promises  could  be  traced  to  the  Turkish  penchant  for  tortuosity,  as 
exhibited  in  the  Sultan,  and  often  to  the  laxity  or  premeditated  careless, 
ness  of  his  governors.  But  the  impetus  was  given  in  1839,  ^^'^^^  each 
promise  of  the  Porte  to  correct  the  abuses  in  the  empire,  which  is  put 


THE    KORAN  S    SOLDIER. 


471 


upon  record,  is  an  additional  lever  placed  in  the  hands  of  European 
powers  to  force  the  Ottoman  Empire  to  advance  the  cause  of  religious 
toleration.  The  present  Sultan  is  the  thirty-fifth  in  descent  from  Othman 
and  is  intensely  Mohammedan. 

THE  KORAN'S  SOLDIER. 

Althoueh  revenofefulness  is  inveighed  ao-ainst  in  the  Koran,  and  lib- 
erality,  forbearance  and  love  of  peace  are  enumerated  as  among  the 
virtues  of  the  true  believer,  war  against  infidels  is  enjoined.  He  who  is 
thus  slain  is  a  martyr.  A  deserter  from  the  holy  war  has  forfeited  his 
material  life  and  life  eternal. 

Modern  expounders  of  the  law  have  based  their  teachings,  more  or 
less,  on  the  hunianitarianism  which  gleams  from  so  many  pages  of  the 
great  book.  Formerly  enemies  taken  in 
battle  by  the  Mohammedans  were  murdered. 
Then  they  were  given  a  choice  of  embracing 
the  faith  or  paying  a  tribute.  The  Koran 
nowhere  teaches  that  man's  end  is  foreor- 
dained from  tlie  beeinninor — that  doctrine 
which  has  somehow  taken  hold  of  the  Turkish 
nature  and  made  it  so  reckless  on  the  field  of 
battle  —  caution,  in  fact,  is  urged;  foolhard- 
iness  prohibited. 

WHAT  FOREIGNERS  HAVE  DONE. 

The  Turkish  troops  are  divided  into 
the  regular  army,  the  first  reserve  and  the 
sedentary.  The  imperial  guard  at  Con- 
stantinople hold  the  same  rank  as  did  the 
Janizaries  before  they  disgraced  themselves, 
policy  of  the  Porte  in  taking  advantage  of  the  best  European  ideas  it 
can  gather  from  English,  German,  American  and  French  officers  by 
employing  them  in  the  army  and  navy  and  advancing  them  to  the  high- 
est stations,  the  rank  and  file  ot  the  military  are  arriving  at  a  good  state 
of  discipline  and  proficiency.  The  various  military  schools  are  also 
continually  adding  solidity  and  intelligence  to  the  desperate  courage  of 
the  Turkish  soldier. 

The  military,  naval,  artillery  and  medical  schools,  with  their  pre- 
paratory institutes,  are  all  gratuitous. 

The  present  Sultan   seems   to  trust   much   to  German    skill  in  the 


A  TURKISH  SOLDIER. 

But   throuifh   the    wise 


472  -  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

carrying  out  of  reforms  in  his  military  organization,  having  engaged 
experts  of  that  nation,  also,  to  assist  him  in  arranging  reforms  in  other 
departments  "  which  would  develop  the  Mohammedan  character  of  the 
Ottoman  state,  and  at  the  same  time  satisfy  Europe,  and  preclude  future 
interference."  Whether  this  can  be  done  remains  to  be  seen  ;  but  it  is 
not  going  too  far  to  say  that  foreigners  have  made  the  modern  army  and 
navy  of  'I'urkey  what  the)-  are,  and  are  still  improving  them. 

SCHOOLS. 

The  Mussulman  public  schools  are  of  three  classes,  the  primary  or 
district  schools,  the  rushdiyes,  or  high  schools,  and  the  schools  of  the 
mosques.  The  alphabet  and  reading  of  the  Koran  in  Arabic  are  taught 
in  the  first,  which  are  supported  by  private  contributions,  but  open  to 
all ;  in  the  second  the  scholars  learn  to  write  in  Turkish  and  are  taught 
arithmetic,  geography  and  Turkish  history.  From  the  schools  or  uni- 
versities of  the  city  mosques  are  graduated,  at  thirty-five  or  forty  years 
of  age,  the  muftis,  cadis,  mollahs,  and  other  Mohammedan  teachers, 
who  are  usually  proficient  in  Turkish,  Arabic  and  Persian. 

THE  KORAN'S  LAWS. 

The  Koran  urges  strict  faithfulness  in  the  discharge  of  private  con- 
tracts, but  recommends  the  creditor  to  remit  all  debts.  Bankruptcy  or 
inability  to  work  ccmpletely  discharges  the  claim.  Usury  is  prohibited 
and  the  drinking  of  wine.  All  games  of  chance  are  forbidden  and  a 
gambler's  testimony  is  not  received  in  a  court  of  law.  Chess  and  games 
of  skill  are  allowed,  if  they  do  not  interfere  with  religious  devotions. 
Murder  is  either  punished  by  death  or  a  fine,  except  the  slain  be  a  child 
or  an  infidel.  The  Koran  orders  theft  of  no  less  value  than  half  a  crown 
to  be  punished  by  cutting  off  the  chief  offending  limb,  the  right  hand  ; 
next  in  order  are  the  left  foot,  left  hand,  and  the  right  foot.  An 
unchaste  woman  is  to  be  imprisoned  for  life,  the  man  to  bring  four 
witnesses  to  the  fact,  and,  in  case  he  can  not,  to  receive  four-score  stripes. 

The  letter  of  the  law,  as  promulgated  in  the  Koran  has  not  been 
strictly  followed,  but  modifications  have  been  made  to  meet  a  different 
order  of  things  than  that  which  existed  in  Mohammed's  time.  As  to  the 
drinking  of  liijuor  man)'  Moslems  are  intemperate,  but  the  bulk  of  them 
refuse  even  to  make  use  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  wine  or  grapes, 
and  some  are  so  strict  as  even  to  include  opium,  coffee  and  tobacco  in 
the  prohibition.  Under  the  Turkish  law  the  murderer  is  punished  with 
death,  whether  his  victim  be  ;i  child  or  a  Christian.     There  is  no  cutting 


WHAT    PART    THE    WOMAN    PLAVS.  473 

off  of  limbs  for  theft,  but  the  bastinado,  imprisonment,  fine  and  hard 
labor  have  been  substituted.  Many  of  the  punishments  for  crime  which 
the  Koran  orders  should  consist  of  stripes  are  still  in  force.  The  bas- 
tinado is  therefore  a  product  of  the  Koran. 

WHAT   PART  THE  WOMAN  PLAYS 

Like  all  other  institutions  of  Turkey  the  Harem  has  its  authority 
for  existence  in  the  Koran.  Mohammed  claimed,  and  the  Koran  speci- 
fied that  a  true  believer  might  have  four  wives  and  a  number  of  concu- 
bine slaves  ;  that  God  allowed  him  more  as  a  special  privilege.  The 
decree  of  divorce  is  promulgated  by  the  husband  who  need  onl)-  say, 
"  Thou  art  divorced";  but  if  he  ventures  to  pass  this  sentence  three 
times  he  can  not  receive  his  wife  back  until  she  has  become  a  widow,  or 
been  divorced  from  another  man.  Mere  dislike  is  a  sufficient  ground 
for  divorce,  on  the  man's  part.  The  woman,  on  the  other  hand,  unless 
she  can  prove  some  gross  abuse,  is  bound  to  the  man  forever  ;  if  she 
legally  and  justly  obtain  a  divorce  she  loses  a  part  or  the  whole  of  her 
dowry.  A  legal  marriage  consists  merely  in  a  declaration  of  intention 
by  persons  of  suitable  age  before  two  witnesses  and  the  payment  of  a 
portion  of  the  dowry,  to  the  amount  of  at  least  five  shillings.  A  Mos- 
lem man  may  marry  a  non-believer ;  a  woman  never.  Whatever  the 
wife's  faith  the  children  are  Mohammedans;  if  she  is  a  non-believer  she 
cannot  inherit  at  her  husband's  death. 

With  such  regulations  as  these  in  force  it  seems  a  mockery  of  every- 
thing sacred  in  family  life  when  we  learn  that  the  harem  is  the  "sanc- 
tuary"; and  this  without  taking  into  account  the  degradations  and  cor- 
ruptions of  the  lite  there  passed.  But  the  Koran  furnishes  a  pretext 
for  its  establishment  in  the  following  passage  :  "  And  speak  unto  the 
believing  women,  that  they  restrain  their  eyes,  and  preserve  their  mod- 
esty, and  discover  not  their  ornaments,  except  what  necessarily  appear- 
eth  thereof  ;  and  let  them  throw  their  veils  over  their  bosoms,  and  not 
show  their  ornaments  unless  to  their  husbands,  or  their  fathers,  or  their 
husbands'  father,  or  their  sons,  or  their  husbands'  sons,  or  their  brothers, 
or  their  brothers'  sons,"  etc.,  etc. 

It  is  the  testimony  of  many  Mohammedan  women  that  they  con- 
sider their  seclusion  a  tribute  to  their  value;  but  they  are  gradually  set- 
ting their  faces  against  polygamy,  although  "  in  frequent  instances  the 
wife  who  will  not  tolerate  a  second  spouse  in  the  harem  will  permit  the 
husband  to  keep  concubines  for  the  sake  of  having  them  wait  upon  her." 
This  statement  gives  the  clue  to  the  position  of  the  average  Mohamme- 


474  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

dan  woman  in  the  Turkish  world.  Centuries  of  education  have  forced 
her  to  the  conclusion  that  she  is  a  creature  merely  to  be  amused,  waited 
upon,  bathed,  perfumed,  kept  from  the  world's  gaze,  hoarded  for  her  hus- 
band. So  she  is  often  placed  in  the  upper  rooms  of  a  building  which  is 
shabby  enough  below,  but  fitted  up  above  with  baths  and  fountains,  rich 
couches  and  silk  draperies;  everything  which  can  please  her  senses  and 
those  of  her  luxurious  and  aesthetic  lord. 

THE  TURK  AT  HOME. 

Once  a  week  the  Turk's  araba,  or  family  coach,  drawn  by  white 
oxen  whose  foreheads  are  dyed  red  or  pink,  appears  at  his  home  and 
the  negro  duennas  conduct  his  wife,  painted  also  and  veiled,  and  his 
children  with  their  small  red  fez,  to  the  strange  looking  vehicle  with 
its  canopy  which  is  likewise  of  red.  The  araba  has  a  scaffolding  of  poles 
around  it  and  is  cushioned  within,  so  that  when  it  commences  to  slowly 
bump  along  over  the  abominable  streets  something  will  be  left  of  the 
precious  freight,  which  appears  from  without  like  a  great  jumble  of  veils, 
silks,  fans,  negresses  and  fezzan.  The  ridiculousness  of  this  solemn 
airing  is  intensified  by  the  meekness  of  the  steeds,  who,  besides  drawing 
the  load,  being  weighed  down  by  huge  wooden  collars,  are  covered  with 
great  black  and  red  tassels  and  steel  ornaments,  and  with  red  cords  which 
run  to  the  oxen's  tails  where  they  are  artistically  looped.  If  the  Turk 
is  of  very  high  standing  he  will  have  in  attendance  a  mounted  black 
eunuch,  dressed  in  a  costly  fez,  handsome  cashmere  clothes,  patent 
leather  boots  and  overalls  —  with  swollen,  pale  black  liijs,  lusterless 
eyes,  and  a  savage  looking  face. 

To  tell  the  truth,  although  a  division  of  the  matter  has  been  made 
to  designate  the  time  when  the  Turk  is  not  away  from  his  house,  if  he 
is  a  gentleman  of  high  degree  he  has  no  such  place  as  home,  in  the 
Anglo-Saxon  sense.  The  poor  Mussulman  has  only  one  or  two  rooms 
for  himself  and  family,  and  is  obliged  to  stay  with  his  wife  and  children. 
Those  of  the  middle  class  commence  by  setting  off  two  or  three  rooms 
from  the  women's  quarters,  which  they  call  the  selamlik  —  the  apartment 
for  the  men  and  place  of  reception.  As  the  ascent  is  made,  socially, 
into  the  ranks  of  the  pachas,  ministers  or  army  officers,  the  line  of 
demarkation  and  the  severe  separation  of  the  husband  from  his  wife, 
becomes  more  marked. 

The  selamlik  of  a  grandee  is  a  separate  building  from  the  palatial 
harem,  with  its  iron  gates,  grated  windows  and  a  garden  surrounded  by 
a  high  wall.  A  passage  way,  inclosed  with  iron  gratings,  often  connects 
the  two.     This   is  closely  guarded  by  a  eunuch  who  allows  no  one  to 


THE    BRIDE    OF    THE    HAREM.  475. 

pass  into  the  harem  but  the  proprietor,  his  sons  or  other  near  relatives. 
The  women,  on  their  side,  have  their  own  receptions,  intrigues  and 
private  affairs,  and  the  pachas,  with  their  friends  and  domestics,  live 
their  own  lives  also.  During  the  day  the  husband  is  out  visiting  his 
friends  and  retainers,  or  engaged  in  political  discussions.  Toward  eve- 
ning he  repairs  to  his  harem,  being  accompanied  to  his  own  building  by 
his  aides-de-camp  and  gentlemen  of  his  suite,  and  is  admitted  to  the 
•'Dwelling  of  Bliss"  by  a  eunuch,  who  throws  open  the  door  with  much 
ceremony.  In  the  hall  he  is  received  by  his  favorite  wife,  or  directress 
of  the  harem,  and  introduced  to  the  inner  chambers  where  he  usually 
remains  long  enough  to  put  on  his  dressing  gown  and  pelisse  of  ermine  fur. 

He  then  returns  to  the  selamlik,  reclines  upon  a  divan  and  is  ready 
to  have  the  hem  of  his  robe  kissed  by  his  friends  and  flatterers  who  take 
their  places  in  line  before  him.  After  drinking  his  bottle  of  "  raki,"^ 
eating  his  dried  raisins  and  fdberts,  and  smoking  several  pipes,  he  con- 
ducts his  troop  to  the  dining  hall.  There  they  do  him  continuous 
reverence  and  he  is  ever  crying  in  a  loud  and  patronizing  voice,  "  Eat  my 
friends,  eat!"  After  dinner  they  all  return  to  the  reception  room,  coffee 
and  pipes,  social  and  political  gossip  follow  until  late  in  the  evening, 
when  the  pacha  returns  .to  the  harem  to  sleep. 

The  eunuch  watch-dog  receives  him  again,  and,  with  lights  in  his  hand, 
precedes  him  to  his  wife's  apartment.  Late  in  the  morning  he  is 
dressed  and  bathed  by  his  slaves  and  then  remains  for  a  few  minutes  to 
talk  to  the  members  of  his  harem,  hastily  departing  to  rejoin  his 
sycophants. 

THE   BRIDE    OF   THE    HAREM. 

Having  determined  upon  the  marriage  of  their  daughter,  the 
betrothal  ceremony  is  inaugurated  by  the  parents  of  the  girl,  who  order 
their  Circassian  slaves  to  surround  her  like  a  prisoner  of  state.  The 
maiden  disappears  into  the  inner  apartment,  and  is  soon  brought  forth 
attired  in  a  rich  robe,  her  head  and  neck  covered  with  jewels,  and  con- 
ducted into  a  large  room,  where  are  assembled  friends  and  relatives  of 
the  contracting  parties,  but  not  the  principal  himself.  He  sends  instead 
splendid  cashmere  shawls  and  embroidered  carpets,  which  are  laid  at 
the  feet  of  the  future  bride.  This  is  succeeded  by  a  prayer  and  the 
reading  of  the  marriage  contract,  to  which  two  witnesses  of  the  future 
husband  require  the  girl's  assent.  Whether  the  maiden,  or  one  of  her 
parents,  or  a  relative  gives  consent  to  the  marrriage,  these  convenient 
witnesses  do  not  care  to  know,  so  are  usually  placed  behind  a  folding 
door  or  a  screen.      The  future  mother-in-law  next  steps  forward  and 


476  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

crowns  the  future  happy  or  unhappy  bride  wi  a  diadem  of  jewels,  after 
which  the  guests  attaclc  the  sweets  and  sherbets,  fruits  and  other  refresh- 
ments which  are  placed  before  them. 

Upon  the  eve  of  the  marriage  a  grand  reception  is  given  in  the 
harem,  at  which  are  assembled  her  friends  and  acquaintances,  and,  it 
ma)'  be,  the  sister  wives.  She  is  conducted  by  them  to  the  bath  and 
the  tips  of  her  fingers  are  painted,  which  ceremony  is  supposed  to  indi- 
cate her  joy  at  her  approaching  change  in  life.  Around  the  harem  she 
is  then  led,  with  lighted  candles,  and  the  rollicking  females  conclude 
the  festivities  with  a  supper. 

In  the  morning  of  the  great  day  the  girl  is  again  loaded  with  a 
richly  embroidered  dress,  a  diadem,  necklaces,  bracelets,  earrings,  and 
shoes  are  placed  upon  her  feet,  sometimes  sparkling  with  pearls  and 
diamonds.  All  this  is  done  that  she  may  be  conducted  to  her  father, 
that  he  may  clasp  a  belt  round  her  waist,  give  her  his  blessing  and 
invoke  the  protection  of  Heaven  upon  her.  As  she  leaves  his  presence 
the  spectators  are  showered  with  money,  which  is  supposed  to  bring 
her  good  luck,  financially.  From  her  father  she  goes  to  her  mother-in- 
law  elect,  who  covers  her  face  with  a  rose-colored  veil. 

In  the  meantime  relatives  and  invited  guests  of  both  families  have 
assembled  either  in  the  selamlik  of  the  father  or  future  husband,  and 
the  priest  has  said  his  prayers  and  particularly  blessed  the  bridegroom. 
Scarcely  have  the  last  words  left  the  lips  of  the  hol\-  man  before  the 
groom  has  broken  away  from  his  friends  and  been  pursued  by  many  of 
them  toward  the  door  of  the  harem.  He  usually  allows  them  to  over- 
take him  and  receives,  laughingly,  several  blows  upon  the  back  —  their 
way  of  bidding  him  adieu  as  a  bachelor. 

Being  admitted  to  the  harem  he  finds  awaiting  him  a  veiled  and 
dazzling  figure,  which  he  conducts  to  the  nuptial  chamber,  with  its  divan 
of  red  velvet  embroidered  in  gold,  its  doors  and  windows  draped  with 
silk  curtains,  and  richer  than  all  else  a  rose-colored  canopy,  sparkling 
with  golden  stars  and. surmounted  with  a  wreath  of  flowers.  Having 
seated  "it"  upon  "its"  throne,  the  Turk  retires,  for  the  time  has  not 
yet  arrived  when  he  can  raise  the  rose-colored  veil.  After  his  departure 
the  crowd  press  around  the  girl  and  also  enter  a  second  apartment,  "  the 
chamber  of  the  trousseau,"  wherein  are  spread  her  riches,  such  as  toilet- 
table,  massive  silver  dinner  service,  linen  embroidered  in  gold,  mirrors, 
slippers,  cups  covered  with  diamonds,  clocks  and  costly  velvets. 

Before  the  bridegroom  can  lift  the  veil  from  the  face  of  the  figure 
he  is  oblieed  to  follow  the  invitation  of  the  "  mistress  of  the  ceremonies 
of  the  nuptial  chamber,"  w^ho  spreads  before  him  a  praying  carpet,  gold- 


ON     THE    STREET.  477 

embroidered  and  ma_i,mificcnt.  His  short  prayer  finished,  he  approaches 
the  figure  upon  her  divan  throne  and  beseeches  her  three  times  to  grant 
him  the  favor  of  seeing  her  face  ;  having  accomphshe;d  his  object,  he 
rewards  her  by  presenting  her  with  a  rich  gift,  often  fastening  in  her  hair 
some  jeweled  ornament.  The  bond  is  not  considered  firmly  cemented 
until  gifts  have  been  exchanged,  after  the  marriage,  between  father-in- 
law  and  son-in-law,  and  between  mother-in-law  and  bride  ;  and  usually 
the  next  day  succeeding  the  marriage,  the  bride  is  introduced  into  mat- 
ronly society  by  means  of  the  "  Fete  of  legs  of  mutton,"  of  which  feast 
all  the  married  ladies  of  her  acquaintance  partake. 

Lying  side  by  side  with  his  peculiar  ideas  of  sanctity  and  the  mar- 
riage relationship,  is  the  unaffected  veneration  and  love  of  the  Turk  for 
his  mother.  Wife  and  children  are  quite  secondary.  "  But  there  can  be 
but  one  mother,"  he  says  ;  and  when  she  dies,  Turk  though  he  be,  he 
does  not  attempt  to  dissemble  his  grief. 

ON  THE  STREET. 

Before  the  Turk  returns  to  his  home,  it  matters  not  what  his  occu- 
pation or  errand,  he  will  invariably  lounge  at  some  favorite  fountain,  and 
in  Constantinople  they  are  a  legion.  They  stand  in  the  court  yards  of  the 
mosques,  at  the  river  sides,  in  the  public  squares,  and  the  smaller  ones, 
which  often  descend  to  the  modesty  of  mere  water  taps,  from  every  con- 
venient wall.  The  larger  ones  always  have  a  broad  overhanging  roof^ 
which  furnishes  the  deep  shade  in  which  bathe  the  beggars  with  their 
alms-dishes  and  brisk  tongues  ;  soldiers  chatting  with  water  carriers  or 
the  keepers  of  the  fountains  in  their  cool  inner  chamber  ;  red-sashed 
Greek  servants  watching  the  water  slowly  rise  to  the  rims  of  their  copper 
vessels  ;  black  nurses  with  their  little  charges  ;  pigeons,  street  arabs, 
stupid  opium  eaters;  old  dreamy  Turks  seated  on  the  stone  benches  and 
leaning  on  their  canes,  and  fruit  venders  with  their  baskets  of  peaches 
and  grapes,  whom  our  Turk  patronizes  if  he  has  not  his  pockets  full 
already. 

The  fountains  of  Turkey,  and  especially  of  Constantinople,  are 
a  striking  evidence  of  that  humanity  and  kindness  of  heart  which  are 
found  in  the  Turkish  nature  side  by  side  with  so  much  natural  cruelty. 
It  is  on  a  par  with  their  treatment  of  dogs  and  pigeons,  and  seems  to  be 
a  universal  and  delicate  way  of  bestowing  pleasure  and  alms  upon  the 
world  and  the  beggar.  In  all  the  villages  of  the  Bosporus  they  also 
abound,  covered  with  inscriptions  and  carvings,  but  no  human  figure  is 
ever  outlined  —  the  Koran  forbids  that.  The  fountains  even  are  a  part 
of  Mohammedanism,  and  inscribed  upon  a  panel  in  front  of  the  building 


478  PANORAMA    OF     NATIONS. 

may  often  be  read  something  like  this  :  "  Rest,  O  traveler,  for  this  is 
the  fountain  of  enjoyment ;  rest  here,  as  under  the  shadow  of  the  plane 
tree,  for  this  roof  casts  a  shade  as  deep  as  that  of  the  cypress,  but  with 
more  of  joy.  Sultan  ,  he  whose  glory  is  as  the  sun,  and  his  gener- 
osity perpetualK'  increasing,  like  the  tree  of  life,  has  reared  this  kiosk 
and  stamped  it  with  his  signet  ring.  The  water  flows  unceasingly  like 
his  benevolence,  as  well  for  the  king  as  the  beggar,  the  wise  man  and 
the  fool.     The  first  of  all  the  blessings  of  Allah  is  water." 

If  our  Turk  has  far  to  travel  over  the  uneven,  loosely  paved  streets 
of  the  city,  he  will  stop  before  a  little  stand  near  the  fountain,  whose 
presiding  genius  is  a  grave  Armenian  vender  of  sherbet  and  iced  lemon- 
ade. Over  his  crushed  cherries  and  currants,  his  lemons,  ice,  funnels 
and  tumblers,  is  spread  a  green  umbrella,  and  there  in  a  tight  white 
jacket,  brown  breeches,  bare  arms  and  dirty  fez,  the  merchant  sits  on  a  low 
stool  dispensing  his  drinks,  methodically  and  calmly,  as  if  his  sole  desire 
were  to  do  his  duty  without  thought  of  self.  The-Turkish  letter-writer 
is  near  by,  if  our  Turk  upon  the  street  has  some  particularly  delicate 
piece  of  correspondence  of  which  he  wishes  to  acquit  himself  with  credit, 
he  will  sit  down  beside  the  open-faced  professional,  state  his  case  and 
see  his  letter  written. 

If  his  errand  is  to  purchase  a  pipe  or  a  pair  of  slippers,  or  anything 
under  the  sun  out  of  that  booth,  behind  the  sloping  counter  of  which 
sits  a  cross-legged  Turk,  he  will  be  detained  for  many  a  long  minute  ; 
for  although  the  proprietor  is  assisted  by  either  a  Greek  or  an  Armenian 
boy,  who  hauls  down  the  goods  from  the  shelf,  leaving  the  Turk  to  do 
the  heavy  financial  work,  if  he  consider  that  his  sale  is  doubtful  he  will 
send  out  for  cooling  drinks,  or  offer  his  customer  a  fragrant  pipe  of 
tobacco  or  cup  of  coffee  before  proceeding  to  business.  Near  by  this 
scheming  Turkish  financier  are  shops  where  the  wanderer  (whose  busi- 
ness we  can  not  ascertain)  may  buy  wooden  clogs,  to  be  used  by  his  wife 
or  wives  in  his  bath  rooms,  a  crimson  fez  with  a  blue  tassel  for  himself, 
or  a  cup  of  coffee  and  a  single  "smoke"  out  of  a  long  Turkish  pipe. 

The  Turkish  bazars,  as  all  those  of  the  East,  are  divided  into  sec- 
tions occupied  by  different  trades.  All  the  shops  are  under  one  roof, 
and  the  whole  city  of  trade  is  divided  into  streets,  with  the  fountains, 
coffee  booths  and  fruit  stands  which  are  seen  outside.  Entrance  to  the 
bazar  is  through  a  low  stone  archway,  which,  when  the  day's  business  is 
over,  is  closed  with  cumbrous  iron  doors.  If  our  Turkish  wanderer 
enters  here  he  will  not  reach  home  before  nightfall.  And  when  he  is 
fairly  on  his  way,  such  bowlders  as  he  has  to  walk  over ;  the  streets  are  like 
the  dry  beds  of  mountain  torrents,  which  he  is  obliged  to  traverse  !     This 


THE   TURKISH    GRAVE-VARDS  479 

is  not  the  greatest  of  his  trials,  either,  although  being  a  thorough-going 
Turk,  he  will  not  suffer  such  bewilderment  as  the  uninitiated.  "  Imagine 
a  continuous  stream  of  ox-carts,  water  carriers  and  oil  carriers,  ass  drivers, 
bread  sellers,  carriages  with  Turkish  ladies,  pachas  and  their  mounted 
retinue,  pack-horses,  children  and  Circassian  loungers.  Then  on  every 
vacant  spot  strew  praying  dervishes,  sleeping,  couchant  or  rampant  wild 
dogs,  melon  stalls  and  beggars,  throw  up  above  a  ball  of  solid  lire  and 
call  it  the  sun,  and  you  have  some  small  idea  of  the  delight  of  walking 
in  the  "Dying  Man's  City." 

THE  TURKISH  GRAVE-YARDS. 

And  as  one  speaks  of  the  "  Dying  Man's  City  "  he  is  forcibly  reminded 
of  that  "dead  man's  city,"  which  with  its  dark  cypress  trees  encircles  the 
whole  of  Constantinople.  In  this  belt  of  grave-yards  the  Turk  is  buried 
as  a  Mohammedan,  not  as  a  private  individual,  and  family  lots  and  family 
vaults  are  unknown.  His  grave  is  left  open,  or,  at  least,  only  loosely 
covered  with  boards,  the  body,  uncoffined,  being  lightly  covered  with 
earth.  This  apparent  carelessness  is  religiously  observed,  that  the  angels 
who  examine  him  as  to  his  faith  may  not  be  delayed  in  reaching  him. 
If  he  prove  a  believer  they  depart  and  he  sinks  into  Paradise,  while  if 
his  tendencies  prove  to  be  heretical  he  is  beaten  with  iron  maces,  and 
his  great  sins  and  little  faults  change  respectively  into  dragons  and 
scorpions  which  torture  him  throughout  eternity.  That  his  fate  may  be 
decided  as  soon  as  possible,  and  also  that  the  pall-bearers  may  perchance 
have  several  of  their  sins  forgiven  (which  is  promised  to  him  who  carries 
the  corpse  of  a  true  believer  but  forty  paces),  the  body  is  borne  to  the 
grave  eagerly  and  with  great  haste ;  often  the  bearers  run  with  their  burden. 

The  grave-yard  seems  an  interminable  expanse  of  white  stones, 
crowned  with  stone  turbans  or  painted  red  fez,  tipped  at  all  angles  and  in 
all  stages  of  decay,  and  cut  by  wide  dusty  roads,  with  the  gloomy  cypress 
minarets  rising  everywhere  and  pointing  to  the  sky.  New  graves  are 
being  dug  ;  veiled  mourners  are  bowing  over  earthen  mounds,  watching 
the  jasmine  flower  or  the  rose  with  its  "  paradise  of  leaves,"  set  in  the 
little  chiselled-out  water  saucers  or  the  tombstones  that  are  scooped  out 
for  that  special  purpose;  the  omnipresent  coffee  shed  is  near  by,  for  the 
refreshment  of  the  mourners ;  over  other  tombs  dervishes  are  writhingf 
and  praying;  and  along  the  dusty  roads  go  travelers  of  all  nations  on  their 
way  to  Constantinople. 

WITHIN  THE  MOSQUE. 
In  religious  ceremonials  the  Koran  is  followed  to  the  letter.      Im- 


480  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

mersion  upon  special  occasions  and  ablutions  before  prayer,  either  with 
water,  dry  dust  or  sand,  are  strictly  enjoined.  The  ground  or  the 
carpet,  upon  which  the  Mohammedan  kneels  five  times  a  day,  must  also 
be  clean.  His  seasons  of  prayer  are  about  sunset,  at  nightfall,  about 
day-break,  about  noon  and  after  noon.  We  specify  "  about "  in  the 
case  of  sunset,  day-break  and  noon,  for  if  the  believer  were  to  pray 
exactly  at  these  times  he  is  fearful  that  he  would  be  confounded  with 
those  who  worship  the  sun.  The  worshiper's  face  is  turned  toward 
Mecca,  the  interior  wall  of  the  mosque  marking  that  direction  being 
distinguished  by  a  niche.  Women  are  not  actually  forbidden  to  enter 
the  mosque,  but  their  presence  is  considered  harmful  to  true  devotion 
and  they  are  practically  excluded. 

The  times  of  prayer  are  announced  from  the  minarets  of  the 
mosques  by  the  mueddins,  or  officials  appointed  for  that  purpose. 
"  Their  chant,  sung  to  a  very  simple  but  solemn  melody,  sounds  har- 
moniously and  sonorously  down  the  height  of  the  mosque  through  the 
mid-day  din  and  roar  of  the  cities,  but  its  impression  is  one  of  the  most 
strikingly  poetical  in  the  stillness  of  the  night."  .  At  intervals  the  mued- 
dins chant  these  words  :  "  Allah  is  most  great.  I  testify  that  there  is 
no  God  but  Allah.  I  testify  that  Mohammed  is  the  apostle  of  Allah. 
Come  to  prayer.  Come  to  security.  Allah  is  most  great.  There  is  no 
deity  but  Allah."  In  the  morning  is  added,  "  Prayer  is  better  than 
sleep."  The  mueddins  are  generally  blind,  as,  otherwise,  they  would 
have  too  free  a  view' of  surrounding  terraces  and  harems. 

The  five  daily  prayers  are  said  at  home  on  week  days.  Friday  is 
the  Moslem  Sabbath  and  on  that  day  the  mosque  is  crowded  by  all  classes. 
Within  are  no  seats,  the  floor  being  covered  with  mats  or  carpets. 
Sentences  of  the  Koran  are  inscribed  upon  the  whitewashed  walls,  and 
in  the  direction  of  Mecca  is  the  niche  toward  which  all  faces  are  turned 
in  prayer  and  before  which  the  congregation  arrange  themselves  in  par- 
allel rows.  Toward  the  southeast  is  a  pulpit,  and  opposite  the  pulpit  a 
desk  upon  which  is  placed  the  Koran.  On  entering,  the  Moslem 
removes  his  shoes,  carries  them  in  his  left  hand,  sole  to  sole,  and  placing 
his  right  foot  first  over  the  threshold,  performs  his  ablutions,  and  con- 
cludes by  putting  his  shoes  and  any  arms  he  may  have  with  him  upon 
the  matting  before  him.  He  is  faithful  in  his  devotions,  but  having 
prayed  he  is  authorized  by  his  faith  to  engage  in  trade,  if  necessary,  and 
it  is  even  not  required  that  he  should  conduct  his  business  outside  of 
the  mosque.  When  services  are  not  in  progress  a  group  of  Moham- 
medan merchants  will  often  be  observed  trying  to  turn  an  honest 
pennj-. 


OUTSIDE    THE    MUSI^UE.  48 1 

OUTSIDE    THE  MOSQUE. 

In  the  center  of  the  outer  court  is  usually  a  square  solid  fountain 
basin,  guarded  by  slender  pillars  and  a  tent-like  roof,  which  is  also 
crowned  with  a  star  or  crescent.  The  water  escapes  by  taps,  and  the 
water-carriers  are  sitting  upon  the  steps  to  gossip,  while  the  pigeons 
which  make  their  homes  in  the  thousand  cornices  and  niches  of  the 
mosque,  are  flitting  round  the  fountain.  Near  by  will  sometimes  be 
seated  a  ragged  old  Turk,  and  beside  him  a  chest  of  millet  seed.  For  a 
slight  consideration  he  dips  out  a  cupful  and  rattles  the  iron  hasp  of  the 
chest ;  dark  clouds  of  the  birds  respond  by  dropping  from  every  dome, 
minaret,  crescent  and  niche  of  the  mosque  and  fountain,  and  crowding 
and  pushing  for  their  spoils. 

Another  beggar,  before  the  mosque  is  left  behind,  obtains  his  point 
by  pure  Mohammedan  eloquence.  "Alms  quench  sin,"  he  cries,  "as 
water  quenches  fire.  Alms  shut  the  seventy  gates  of  hell.  At  the 
gates  of  paradise  stands  an  angel  crying  continually,  '  Whoso  giveth 
alms  to-day  shall  be  rewarded  of  God  to-morrow.'  Generosity  is  a  tree 
by  which  men  climb  into" — 

FASTING   AND    PILGRIMAGES. 

None  are  exempt  from  fasting  except  the  sick,  travelers,  and  sol- 
diers in  time  of  war ;  in  other  words,  every  one  is  to  fast  whose  health 
will  not  be  injured  by  it.  The  great  season  of  fasting  is  during  the 
month  of  Ramadan,  which  often  falls  in  mid-summer,  so  that  it  is  espe- 
cially hard  for  the  devotees  to  abstain  from  eating,  drinking,  smoking, 
bathing  or  inhaling  refreshing  perfumes  from  daybreak  until  sunset; 
after  that  time  until  morning  they  can  feast  to  their  satisfaction.  At 
the  end  of  the  sacred  month  it  is  customary  to  bestow  a  measure  of 
provisions  upon  the  poor.  There  is  also  annual  alms-giving  of  cattle, 
money,  fruit  and  wares.  The  duty  of  giving  alms  is  next  to  prayer  ; 
then  comes  fasting  and  the  pilgrimage  to  Mecca. 

Mecca,  the  holy  city,  is  in  the  midst  of  a  desolate  country  forty 
miles  from  the  Red  Sea.  Within  its  great  mosque  is  the  "  Kaaba,"  a 
square  stone  temple  said  to  have  been  built  by  Abraham,  and  within 
the  Kaaba  is  the  black  stone  which  the  true  Mohammedan  believes  was 
brought  by  the  angel  Gabriel.  When  the  pilgrim  has  arrived  at  the 
goal  of  his  desires,  he  passes  seven  times  round  the  Kaaba,  reciting 
verses  and  psalms  in  honor  of  God  and  the  prophet,  and  kissing  each 
time  the  sacred  stone.  The  pilgrimage  to  Mt.  Ararat,  thirty  miles  south 
of  the  city,  is  also  undertaken  by  the  truly  zealous. 

31 


482       '  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

It  was  formerly  the  custom  after  the  great  fast  of  Ramadan  for 
three  immense  caravans  from  Cairo,  Damascus  and  Arabia  to  set  out 
for  Mecca.  During  some  years  these  pilgrims  have  numbered  100,000 
souls,  with  150,000  camels.  They  have  always  combined  business  with 
their  devotions,  carrying  with  them  camels  loaded  with  the  choicest  of 
goods  to  exchange  for  the  spices  and  riches  of  the  East.  Mecca  has 
therefore  been  a  city  of  no  small  commercial  importance,  although 
since  the  mosque  was  stripped  of  its  magnificence  and  the  tomb  of 
Mohammed  destroyed  by  the  Arabian  dissenters,  the  Wahabees,  it  has 
declined  both  as  a  sacred  and  a  commercial  city. 

THE  DERVISHES 

These  singular  and  fraudulent  monks  of  Mohammedanism,  the  der- 
vishes, are  found  wherever  the  faith  is.  The  dancingf  or  whirling  der- 
vishes  are  said  to  have  had  as  their  founder  a  Persian  poet,  who  spun 
around  for  four  days  without  nourishment,  while  his  companion  played 
the  flute.  The  howling  dervishes  howl,  writhe,  and  foam  at  the  mouth 
during  their  religious  paroxysms,  in  remembrance  of  a  crazy  sheik  some- 
body who  did  the  same  thing  centuries  ago.  They  gather  in  communi- 
ties, monasteries,  or  villages,  in  charge  of  a  sheik,  and  twice  a  week 
throw  open  their  churches  to  wdioever  wishes  to  come  in  and  see  the  per- 
formances. A  wire  gallery  or  apartment  is  often  reserved  for  Turkish 
ladies  who  may  wish  to  attend.  Loungers  and  curiosity-seekers,  Per- 
sians, Americans  and  Englishmen,  repair  to  the  dancing  dervishes,  and 
enjoy  a  season  of  Punch  and  Judy.  The  flute  furnishes  the  music,  and 
the  dervishes,  who  twirl,  and  twist,  and  glide  about  in  their  church  arena, 
continue  this  kind  of  worship  until  the  music  or  their  breath  ceases. 

"  Deeper  grew  the  mystery,  deeper  the  expectation,"  says  a  witness 
of  the  spectacle,  "as  the  Koran  reader  above  the  gallery  began  the 
appointed  chapters  of  Mohammed's  fervid  rhapsody,  half  ejaculation, 
half  hymn  ;  and  the  brotherhood  commenced  slowly  pacing  procession- 
ally  round  the  enclosure,  past  the  sheik,  who  gave  them  each  his  bene- 
diction as  they  went  by.  But  before  this  each  of  the  dervishes  had 
peeled  off  his  dressing-gown  robe,  untwisted  his  scarf-girdle,  and  handed 
them  to  an  old  brother,  who  seemed  to  act  as  master  of  ceremonies;  and 
they  appeared  lithe  and  active,  though  differing  in  age  and  degree  of 
corpulence,  from  the  mere  stripling  to  the  heavy  twelve-stoner,  already 
perspiring  by  mere  anticipation.  Now  crossing  their  arms  on  their 
breast,  placing  the  right  hand  on  the  left  shoulder,  they  began  to  file 
past  the  sheik,  bowing  as  they  passed  him ;  then  turning  to  bow  to  the 


THE    DERVISHES.  483 

next  comer,  who,  in  his  turn,  bowed  too,  both  to  his  predecessor  and 
successor.  Now,  the  master  of  ceremonies  having  collected  on  his  arm 
piles  of  cloaks,  the  barefooted  men  prepare  for  the  dance  by  tucking 
one  flap  of  their  white  jackets  within  the  other,  and  stretching  out  their 
arms  horizontally,  the  right  hand  pointing  downwards,  and  the  left 
stretched  upwards  for  balance  and  counterpoise.  Then  slowly  pivoting 
round,  one  after  the  other,  the  dervishes  began  to  get  in  motion,  their 
naked  feet  performing  skillfully  a  sort  of  waltzing  step,  which  increased 
in  speed  as  the  music  of  the  flute  grew  faster  and  faster.  The  most 
astonishing  part  of  the  mystical  circling  dance  was  that,  although  the 
dozen  or  fourteen  men  twirled  all  around  the  enclosure,  they  never 
touched  each  other — no,  not  even  the  fringe  of  each  other's  garments." 
One  order  of  the  dervishes  either  dress  in  costumes  of  many  colors, 
or  in  sheepskins  about  the  loins,  the  upper  part  of  the  body  being  painted 
in  a  way  to  inspire  curiosity  or  awe.  The  dervishes  mortify  the  flesh, 
pray  and  rave  on  the  corners  of  the  streets,  or  take  the  parts  of  jugglers 
and  mountebanks,  and  wander  from  country  to  country,  being  lodged 
and  fed  in  convents  of  their  order.  They  are  always  bare-breasted  and 
bare-legged  and  wear  coarse  robes,  as  badges  of  their  poverty  and 
humility.  Begging  is  generally  forbidden  among  the  orders,  one  of 
their  rules  (which  goes  somewhat  lame)  being  that  each  dervish  must 
support  himself  by  the  labor  of  his  own  hands.  In  some  respects  the 
dervishes  are  like  monks  ;  in  others  the  distinction  is  sharp.  With  the 
exception  of  one  order  they  may  all  marry  and  reside  with  their  families, 
being  only  required  to  act  with  their  religious  fellows  two  nights  in  the 
week.  Their  dwelling  places  may  be  within  or  without  the  monasteries, 
but  they  are  always  grouped  into  companies  under  charge  of  sheiks.  In 
addition  to  the  Ramadan,  they  observe  a  weekly  fast,  peculiar  to  them- 
selves. "  Religous  orders  similar  to  the  dervishes  are  traced  in  the  East 
beyond  the  Christian  era,  and  tradition  assigns  many  of  the  existing 
brotherhoods  to  the  earliest  days  of  Islam,  the  foundation  of  some 
being  attributed  to  the  caliph  Ali ;  but  it  is  doubtful  if  any  of  them  are 
older  than  the  ninth  centurv.  The  Marabouts  amonar  the  Mohamme- 
dans  of  the  Barbary  states  (and  Arabia)  are  similar  to  the  dervishes." 
Wherever  Mohammedanism  holds  sway  in  Western  Asia  the  dervish  is 
found  working  at  his  trade.  He  is  as  easily  recognized  on  the  shores  of 
the  Mediterranean  Sea  as  of  the  Indian  Ocean.  And  the  Turk  is  a 
Turk  the  world  over,  certain  statements  applying  to  him  whether  he  is  a 
European  oi  an  Asiatic. 


484  PANURAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

SAVING  REMNANTS. 

But  within  the  Ottoman  Empire  there  are  races  which  have  traits 
pecuHar  to  themselves.  They  are  not  Turks  and  never  will  be.  They 
have  faces  and' ideas  of  their  own  and  are  merely  living  in  the  empire ; 
they  are  no  part  of  it,  considered  as  a  Tartar  despotism.  They  are  peo- 
ple who  descend  from  the  primitive  Semitic  stock  ;  who  cleave  to  one 
wife  and  punish  impurity  with  decapitation  ;  who  are  among  the  earliest 
followers  of  Christ  as  they  understand  his  teachings  ;  who  worshiped 
their  God  and  believed  in  their  prophet  thousands  of  years  before  Jesus 
or  Mohammed  came  to  the  world  ;  who  have  seen  mighty  empires  and 
races  of  men  sifted  over  the  face  of  the  earth  and  yet  are  able  to  hold  up 
their  heads  as  strong  people,  albeit  they  are  politically  nothing.  They 
are  the  saving  remnants  of  the  Semitic  race,  representing  the  survival  of 
the  fittest  and  the  weather  beaten  rocks  which  have  withstood  their 
worst  storms.  Wherever  the  original  home  of  the  race  may  have  been, 
the  events  which  prove  most  momentous  to  Indo-European  civilization 
were  enacted  on  the  shores  of  the  Mediteranean  Sea,  within  the  present 
limits  of  Syria. 


THE  SYRIANS. 

HEN  Greece  was  young  and  Rome  was  not  born,  Syria 
was  a  wealthy  land,  her  coast  cities  being  centers  of  a  vast 
commerce  and  civilization.  Tyre  and  the  Phoenicians  include 
their  greatest  features.  Berytus,  or  Beyrout,  was  among  her 
famous  ports  ;  and  although  Sidon  and  Tyre  have  disappeared, 
and  her  ancient  prominence  has  been  dimmed  by  the  ruth- 
less hands  of  many  conquerors,  the  city  bids  fair  to  rise  to 
eminence  now  that  the  Suez  Canal  is  drawingr  the  trade  of 
two  hemispheres  through  the  Mediterranean  Sea  and  the 
Persian  Gulf.  Nineveh  and  Babylon  are  fallen,  but  the 
Tigris,  the  Euphrates  and  the  Jordan  remain  as  possible  arteries  of 
trade,  while  all  around  is  the  country  which  the  Turks  say  is  "  the 
odor  of  Paradise,"  the  Hebrews,  "  a  garden  planted  by  God  for  the  first 
man,"  and  the  Arabs,  a  land  "where  the  mountains  bear  winter  on  their 
heads,  autumn  on  their  shoulders,  spring  in  their  bosoms,  while  summer 
is  ever  sleeping  at  their  feet." 

Beyrout  is  the  natural  commercial,  port  of  Syria  and  a  favorite  city 
of  the  Roman  emperors.  It  was  called  the  Nurse  of  the  Law,  for  the 
Roman  jurisprudence  was  ably  taught  in  its  schools.  Portions  of  beau- 
tiful pavements  and  columns  are  still  seen  in  its  gardens  and  on  the  sea 
shore.  It  was  destroyed  in  the  Roman  wars  and  rebuilt  by  Augustus, 
who  still  considered  it  a  gem  of  his  empire.  It  was  from  Beyrout,  also, 
that  the  vircrin  was  sent  to  the  dratron,  whom  St.  George  slew  about  ten 
minutes'  walk  from  the  city.  Out  in  the  sea  is  Cyprus  where  the  lovely 
goddess  rose  from  the  ocean.  Spots  of  historic  interest,  better  authenti- 
cated, are  grouped  all  around.  Tyre  and  Acre  are  on  the  coast.  Opposite 
is  Carmel,  and  a  few  hours  away  Nazareth,  Mount  Tabor  and  Genes- 
areth.  The  Druse  and  Maronite  villages  cover  the  mountains  for  many 
miles  east  and  north  of  it.  Twelve  hours  distant  is  Damascus,  and 
Baalbek  is  forty  miles  away. 

The  modern  city  is  built  u|)on  the  slope  of  a  hill  which  overlooks 
the  sea,  having  as  a  background  the  bold  peaks  of  Mount  Lebanon, 
Mulberry  gardens,  orange  and  citron  groves,  palms,  mosques,  light  Bat- 

4S5 


486 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


roofed  houses  painted  in  lively  colors,  terraces  filled  with  flowers,  blend 
into  a  charming-  picture.  Its  bazars  are  filled  with  goods  of  the  East  and 
the  West,  and  Armenian,  Druse,  Maronite,  Turk,  Greek  and  Arab  are 
all  there  or  strolling  along  their  favorite  sea-shore  walk..  Besides  being 
a  commercial  point  of  no  mean  standing  the  city  is  becoming  quite  a 
resort  for  tourists  and  invalids.  Its  citizens  are  wide-awake,  metropoli- 
tan and  always  picturesque.  The  accompanying  cut  gives  a  good  idea 
of  their  average  appearance. 

The  plain  of  Beyrout  stretches  out  to  the  east,  covered  with  ever)' 
variety  of  foliage  —  the  orange,  date,  fig,  pine, — ^and  sweet  with 
hyacinths  and  gillyfiowers;  and  still  beyond  it  is  Mount  Lebanon,  cut 

up  into  deep  ravines  and  charming  valleys, 
the  particular  home  of  those  mysterious  peo- 
ple the  Druses  and  Maronites.  One  of 
their  mixed  villages  called  Beit-Miry  is  a 
summer  resort  for  many  of  the  Europeans  of 
Beyrout.  Other  villages,  more  distant,  are 
frequently  visited  by  tourists ;  but  those 
occupied  by  the  Druses  alone  are  not  so 
often  entered. 

THE    DRUSES. 

In  the  northern  and  central  portions  of 
Syria  are  the  Druses,  who  are  supposed  to 
be  a  conglomeration  of  Kurds,  Persians  and 
Arabians.  They  hold  exclusive  possession 
of  about  1 20  villages  and  share  200  more 
A  SYRIAN.  with  the  Maronites.     Among  the  mountains 

of  the  Lebanon  a  religion  slowly  grew,  which,  in  the  eleventh  century, 
was  personified  in  a  caliph  of  Egypt,  who  proclaimed  at  Cairo  that  the. 
.spirit  of  God  was  incarnate  in  him.  The  new  faith  was  not  weli 
received  outside  of  Syria,  and  the  caliph's  confessor  and  one  of  his  dis- 
ciples, a  Persian,  retired  to  the  mountains  and  deserts  of  the  Lebanon, 
and  there  established  the  religion  which  the  Druses  now  profess.  It  ia 
a  stranoe  combination  of  Judaism,  Christianit)-  and  Mohammedism, 
but  is  founded  upon  the  unusual  basis  of  strict  exclusiveness,  separa- 
tion from  heretics,  veracity  to  each  other  only,  and  mutual  protection 
and  assistance.  The  unity  of  God  is  the  great  tenet  of  their  faith. 
They  call   themselves,  in  fact.  Unitarians. 

For  eight  hundred  years  they  have  retained  a  distinct  religion  and 
nationality,  not  seeking  to  extend  their  power,  but  to  hold  fast  to  that 


THE    DRUSES. 


487 


which  they  have.  They  are,  however,  divided  into  two  classes,  tliose 
initiated  into  the  mysteries  of  the  faith  and  the  uninitiated.  The  former 
are  moral  and  abstain  from  all  luxuries  and  personal  adornments.  The 
latter  are  free  from  all  religious  duties  and  are,  if  anything,  prone  to 
dress.  Polygamy  is  unknown,  and  the  general  morality  of  the  Druses 
is  said  to  be  above  the  average  of  eastern  sects.  The  wife's  rights  are 
maintained.  She  can  own  personal  property,  chooses  her  own  husband, 
and  if  divorced  retains  her  half  of  the  dower. 

The  Druses  have  their  princes,  chiefs  and  common  people.  They 
pay  a  stated  sum  to  the  Sublime  Porte,  but  are  as  nearly  independent 
as  any  people  who  live  in 
the  empire.  Their  villages 
are  usually  placed  at  the 
entrances,  to  passes,  the 
houses  rising  tier  upon  tier, 
sometimes  one  village 
almost  overlapping  another, 
and  the  whole  mountain 
side  being  covered  with 
habitations  and  artificial 
gardens.  Their  churches 
are  usually  some  distance 
awa)%  jealously  guarded 
from  intrusion,  and  their 
u  k  k  a  1  s  (who  are  the 
initiated,  or  religious  teach- 
ers) see  to  it  that  neither 
stranger  nor  infidel  pene- 
trates the  mysteries  of  their 
worship.  The  people  are  simple  in  their  habits  and  generally  well 
educated  and  industrious.  The  sheiks  often  labor  with  the  common 
people,  but  sometimes  live  in  state.  Some  of  them  are  artisans,  but  the 
bulk  of  the  population  cultivate  the  mulberry,  olive  and  vine  upon  their 
terraced  hill-sides,  and  the  women  spin  and  weave  at  home.  Silk  is 
the  chief  manufacture. 

The  Druses  are  divided  into  a  number  of  tribes  who  are  often  at 
war  with  each  other,  but  when  danger  threatens  from  without  they  unite 
under  the  leadership  of  the  emir,  or  prince,  and  from  their  mountain 
homes  bid  defiance  to  the  Sultan  himself.  Questions  of  peace  and  war 
are  determined,  in  a  way,  by  popular  vote,  the  prince  calling  a  general 


VILLAGE  OF  SVRL-\. 


488 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


assembl)'  on  some  mountain  height,  in  which  every  sheik  and  peasant  of 
any  standing  is  entitled  to  a  voice.  When  war  has  been  determined 
criers  often  ascend  the  summits  of  the  mountains,  shouting  in  aloud 
voice  :  "  To  war  !  to  war  !  Take  your  guns.  Take  your  pistols.  Noble 
sheiks,  mount  your  horses.  Arm  yourselves  with  lance  and  saber.  Gather 
to-morrow  at  Dair  el-Kamar  (once  their  capital).  Zeal  of  God  !  Zeal  of 
combat !  " 

The  hardy  peasants,  with  their  muskets  and  little  bags  of  flour,  their 
legs  bare,  and  wearing  short  coats,  promptly  assemble  under  their  chosen 
leaders.  They  are  skillful  marksmen,  intrepid  when  brought  to  close  quar- 
ters, but  fighting  mostly  from  behind  rocks  and  bushes,  and  trusting  to 
their  success  in  skillful  ambuscades. 

The  common  dress  of  the  men  is  a  coarse  black  woolen  cloak,  with 
white  stripes,  thrown  over  a  waistcoat,  and  loose,  short  trowsers  of  the 

same  stuff,  tied  around  the  waist  by  a  white 
or  red  linen  sash.  On  the  head  is  worn  a 
flat,  turnip-shaped  turban.  The  women  wear 
a  coarse  blue  jacket  and  petticoat,  without 
any  stockings,  and  a  sort  of  winding  hood 
and  veil,  their  hair  being  plaited  and  hang- 
ing down  behind. 

The  Druse  women  generally  have  fair 
complexions,  dark  blue  eyes,  long  black  hair 
and  white  teeth.  The  dress  of  those  of 
high  standing  who  have  no  religious  scruples, 
as  well  as  that  of  Maronite  ladies,  is  very 
striking  and  elegant.  The  most  prominent 
ornament  is  the  tantoor,  a  conical  tube  oi 
silver  from  a  foot  to  two  feet  in  length, 
secured  to  a  pad  on  the  head  by  two  silken 
cords  which  hang  down  the  back  and  termi- 
A  DRUSE  LADY.  ^^^^  -^^  j^^.^^  j^ssels  or  kuobs  of  silver.      It 

supports  a  long  white  veil,  which  falls  over  the  shoulders  or  the  face,  as 
required.  The  tantoor  is  worn  by  only  married  women.  Other  items 
of  dress  are  a  silk  pelisse,  fringed  with  gold  cord,  over  an  embroidered 
silk  vest,  a  rich  shawl  bound  around  the  waist,  a  diadem  of  silver  and 
gold,  earrings  and  necklaces,  loose  silk  trowsers  and  soft  leather  shoes. 
The  life  which  they  lead  in  the  mountains  gives  them  a  vigor  and  anima- 
tion, which  add  to  their  natural  charms  of  form  and  feature. 

The  men  marry  at  from  sixteen  to  eighteen  years  of  age  and  the 
women  gencrall)'  three  or  four  years  earlier.     After  the  consent  of  the 


THE    MORONITES.  489 

parents  has  been  obtained  and  the  dowry  decided  upon,  the  bride  pre- 
sents her  future  husband  with  a  dagger.  With  this  he  binds  himself  to 
protect  her  during  Hfe,  if  she  prove  a  true  wife  to  him.  Should  she 
prove  unfaithful  he  sends  her  back  to  her  father's  house,  and  with  her 
the  dagger  without  the  shield.  She  is  tried  for  her  offense  by  her  father 
and  brothers  at  her  husband's  house,  and,  if  found  guilty,  one  of  the 
brothers  usually  acts  as  executioner.  The  tantoor  and  a  lock  of  bloody 
hair  are  afterwards  sent  to  the  husband,  as  an  evidence  that  the  awful 
duty  has  been  performed  and  the  family  dishonor  wiped  out  with  the 
deed. 

THE  MARONITES. 

The  Maronites,  who  dwell  in  the  same  district  as  the  Druses,  are 
Christians  who  have  invariably  supported  the  Roman  Pontiff,  and  the 
patriarch  of  their  church  is  subject  to  his  confirmation.  They  were  friends 
of  the  Crusaders,  and,  with  the  Druses,  have  always  been  enemies  of  the 
Mohammedans  ;  they  both,  however,  have  been  so  far  reduced  by  the 
Porte  as  to  pay  tribute  to  a  Turkish  governor  who  resides  at  Dair  el- 
Kamar.  They  have  even  had  their  bloody  conflicts  with  the  Druses, 
the  difficulty  between  them  having  been  that  the  Maronites  were  too  tardy 
in  fighting  for  their  independenee  to  suit  their  more  energetic  neigh- 
bors. 

The  villages  which  the  Maronites  solely  occupy  are  chiefly  situated 
IB  the  country  east  of  Tripoli  and  Tyre  to  the  lake  of  Genesareth. 
They  formerly  held  the  entire  chain  of  mountains  from  Antioch  to  Jeru- 
salem, and  their  homes  were  long  the  asylums  of  the  Christians  who  were 
persecuted  and  driven  away  by  the  Saracens.  Their  ways  of  living  are 
similar  to  those  of  the  Druses.  As  with  the  latter,  property  is  sacred 
among  them.  Their  priests  marry  as  in  the  early  days  of  the  Christian 
church,  their  dress  being  a  black  cossack,  with  a  hood  and  leather  girdle. 
The  communion  is  celebrated  by  throwing  the  pieces  of  bread  into  the' 
wine  and  feeding  them  to  the  communicants  with  a  spoon.  Among  the 
relics  of  barbarism  which  the  Maronites  have  retained  is  that  of  retalia- 
tion—  the  custom  by  which  the  nearest  relative  of  a  murdered  person  is 
bound  to  avenge  him. 

SMYRNA. 

Most  of  the  nationalities  and  religions  of  Turkey  are  represented 
at  Smyrna,  on  the  western  coast  of  Asia  Minor  and,  perhaps,  next  to 
Constantinople,  the  most  important  commercial  port  of  the  empire. 
There  are  Greeks  and  Turks,  Jews  and   Roman  Catholics,  Armenians 


490 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


AX  OLD  TLKK. 


and  Americans.      The  city  runs  clown  the  yentle  slope   of  a  hill   to   the 

water's  edc^e,   the   Armenians  living  upon    the  lower  ground,  while  be- 

-  twccn    them   and    the  Turks   is   the  Jewish 

cpiarter.      Smyrna  is  the  Christian  city  of  the 

Ottoman   Empire,    and    here    reside    Arch- 

'fe^^'  ^    bishops  of  the  Greek,  Armenian  and  Roman 

Catholic  churches. 

THE  HEBREWS  AND  JERUSALEM. 

The  Hebrew,  or  Jew,  is  to  be  viewed 
merely  as  a  native  of  Palestine,  or  as  a  pil- 
grim to  the  Holy  Land  and  to  Jerusalem. 
From  all  c[uarters  of  the  globe  the  people 
of  a  great,  and  yet  almost  invisible,  nation 
come  to  wail  over  their  fallen  state.  Of 
ancient  Jerusalem  little  remains.  Warriors 
of  Europe,  Asia  and  Africa,  and  representa- 
tives of  nearly  every  religion,  have  besieged 
and   devastated  it,  and  were  it   not  for  the 

mountains  and  valleys  which  are    so  associated  with  Christian  remem- 
brances and     surround    it,    the     identity  of 

the   Holy  City  might  almost  be  questioned. 
Within,  are  crumblino-   walls  and  dirty 

narrow  streets,   and    various    unsatisfactory 

reasons  are  adduced  for  fixing   upon  spots 

where  were  the  scenes  in   the   life  of   Christ 

with    which    the    Christian  is    so     familiar. 

Constantine,  for    example,    is    reported    to 

have    recovered    the    Holy  Sepulcher,  over 

which    the  pagans  had  heaped  a  mound    of 

earth,  and  to  have  erected  a  basilica  to  mark 

the  spot.      But  while  the  Christians  were  ban- 
ished from  Jerusalem  there  is  no  evidence  to 

show  that  the  locality  was  allowed  to  be  thus 

marked,  or  that  the  present  Church  of  the 

Holy  Sepulchre  was  erected  therein. 

The  site  of  Solomon's  Temple,  on  the 

other   hand,   has  been  fixed    with    tolerable 

certainty  as  being  to  the  east  of  the  modern  city,  u|)on  a  ridge  guarded 

by  valleys  on    every  side.      .Still    further  east    is  the    Golden   Gate,    a 


nqfUtti. 


A  MAN  OF  JERUSALEM. 


THE    HEBREWS    AND    JERUSALEM. 


491 


double  passage  way,  through  which  the  Mohammedans  are  convinced 
that  the  King  of  the  Christians  may  ride  victoriously  into  Jerusalem. 
The  gate  is  therefore  walled  up  with  solid  masonry. 

Running  from  one  of  the  ruined  walls  of  the  Temple  area  have 
been  excavated  a  series  of  piers  upon  wliich  were  arches,  the  remains  of 
the  bridge  mentioned  by  ancient  historians  as  spanning  the  valley  and 
connecting  the  Temple  with  Jerusalem.  Within  the  Temple  area  is  the 
Mosque  of  Omar,  or  the  Dome  of  the  Rock,  a  magnificent  structure 
rising  in  its  dome-like  grandeur  from  a  great  marble  platform.  There 
are  other  mosques  within  the  area,  but  none  equal  to  this,  "  next  after 
Mecca  the  most  sacred,  next  after  Cordova  the  most  beautiful,  of  all 
Moslem  shrines."  Beneath  the  foundation  of  the  Temple  area  are 
various  subterranean  chambers,  one  of  them,  according  to  Mohammedan 


AT  JERUSALEM'S  WALL. 

tradition,  being  the  birthplace  of  Jesus,  and  used  as  a  chapel,  which  is 
dedicated  to  him.  The  site  of  the  Temple,  itself,  is  a  matter  of  warm 
dispute.  Some  incline  to  the  belief  that  the  Mosque  of  Omar  stands 
over  the  altar  of  the  Temple  and  that  its  marble  platform  marks  the 
site.  Another  theory  is  advanced,  and  voluminously  supported  by  cir- 
cumstantial evidence,  that  a  certain  cave  in  a  mysterious  rock  which  the 
mosque  incloses  is  the  Holy  Sepulcher.      It  will  thus  be  seen   how  the 


492  TAN  ORAM  A    OF    NATIONS. 

minds  of  the  Hebrew  and  the  Christian  must  be  torn  with  conflicting 
emotions  in  their  vain  endeavors  to  fix  upon  the  exact  locahty  of  the 
spot  whicli  each  considers  so  hoi)'. 

At  the  western  wall,  near  where  the  piers  and  bridge  arches  were 
discovered,  is  the  wailing  place  of  the  Jews;  and  here  gather  the  pil- 
grims from  all  lands,  as  well  as  the  residents  of  Jerusalem,  to  bewail 
their  national  misfortunes,  and  especially  their  exclusion  from  the  Tem- 
ple where  their  fathers  worshiped  and  which  is  now  in  ruins.  This 
locality  is  near  the  squalid  quarter  of  the  city  which  is  occupied  by  the 
Jews,  and  they  seem  to  have  chosen  it  because  of  the  fine  state  of  pre- 
servation in  which  they  found  the  wall,  retaining  as  it  does  a  trace  of 
the  massive  and  perfect  character  of  the  Temple's  architecture,  and 
bringing  to  their  minds  something  of  its  past  glories  and  sanctities. 
"  Many  of  the  stones  are  twenty-five  feet  in  length,  and  apparently  have 
remained  undisturbed  since  the  time  of  the  first  builder.  Here  the 
Jew^s  assemble  ever)'  Friday  to  mourn  over  their  fallen  state.  Some 
press  their  lips  against  the  crevices  in  the  masonry  as  though  imploring 
an  answer  from  some  unseen  presence  within.  Others  utter  loud  cries  of 
anguish.  Here  is  one  group  joining  in  the  prayers  of  an  aged  rabbi  ; 
yonder  another  sitting  in  silent  anguish,  their  cheeks  bathed  in  tears. 
The  stones  are  in  many  places  worn  smooth  with  their  passionate  kisses. 
The  grief  of  the  new-comers  is  evidently  deep  and  genuine,  but  with  the 
older  residents  it  has  subsided  into  little  more  than  a  mere  ceremonial 
observance  and  an  empty  form." 

Lying  north  of  the  Temple  area  is  the  Valley  of  Jehosaphat,  on 
the  other  side  of  which  is  the  garden  of  Gethsemane,  and,  beyond,  the 
Mount  of  Olives.  Both  Jew  and  Mohammedan  believe  that  the  valley 
is  to  be  the  scene  of  the  final  judgment ;  the  Mohammedan  that  his 
prophet  will  stand  upon  the  Golden  Gate,  and  Jesus  upon  the  Mount  of 
Olives,  and  together  judge  the  world.  The  valley  is  therefore  a  con- 
tinuous grave-yard.  The  garden  is  about  80  yards  square,  contains  a 
number  of  neat  fiower  beds  and  gnarled  olive  trees,  and  is  fenced  with 
sticks.  A  rambling  church  building  is  perched  upon  the  summit  of  the 
mount. 

THE  ROAD  TO  JERICHO. 

Taking  the  road  which  carries  us  past  the  Mount  of  Olives,  in  a 
northeasterly  direction,  we  journey  along  the  bases  of  wild  mountains 
and  robber-like  glens,  toward  Jericho  and  the  plains  of  the  Jordan.  We 
have,  in  fact,  a  guard,  for  the  Bedouins  are  frequently  desperate.  In  the 
middle  of  the  journey  are  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  "khan,"  a  resting  place 


BETHLEHEMITES.  493 

for  travelers,  and  which  has  stood  in  the  same  place  from  time  im- 
memorial, the  only  one  on  the  road  ;  in  fact,  the  inn  where  the  Good 
Samaritan,  who  so  tenderly  cared  for  him  who  had  been  wounded  and 
robbed. 

Jericho,  the  ancient,  a  great  commercial  city,  stood  upon  the  plain 
of  the  Jordan.  Joshua  destroyed  it  when  he  entered  into  the  promised 
land.  Three  times  more  it  became  mighty  and  the  residence  of  kings, 
and  was  thrice  leveled  to  the  ground,  by  Romans  and  Mohammedans. 
A  Turkish  hamlet  next  sprung  up,  and  of  this  there  only  now  remain 
a  few  wretched  mud  huts  and  a  ruined  Saracenic  tower. 

BETHLEHEMITES. 

The  men,  many  of  whom  are  shepherds  tending  their  flocks,  usually 
are  seen  with  their  musical  pipes  of  reed  with  mouth  pieces  of  hardwood, 
all  of  home  make.  But  the  truth  must  be  told,  the  words  being  bor- 
rowed from  an  English  traveler  and  Christian,  that  although  the  Bethle- 
hemites  are  all  professedly  Christians,  they  are  a  turbulent,  quarrelsome 
set,  ever  fighting  amongst  themselves  or  with  their  neighbors.  In  the 
disturbances  which  take  place  so  frequently  at  Jerusalem,  it  is  said  that 
the  ring-leaders  are  commonly  found  to  be  Bethlehemites.  About  five 
miles  from  Bethlehem,  in  the  side  of  a  limestone  mountain,  and 
approached  by  a  narrow  path  through  a  rugged  ravine,  is  a  black  slit 
through  which  one  person  can  crowd,  only  to  find  before  him  a  series  of 
vast  vaulted  chambers.  This  has  been  fixed  upon  as  the  retreat  of 
David  and  his  followers,  the  cave  of  Adullam. 

Just  outside  of  the  village  is  the  Church  of  the  Nativity,  situated 
upon  the  limestone  hill  which  is  the  site  of  Bethlehem,  being  a  noble 
structure  with  stately  columns.  The  inn,  or  khan  of  the  East,  is  gener- 
ally without  the  town,  and  that  of  Bethlehem,  upon  whose  site  the  church 
stands,  was  upon  ground  which  had  descended  to  David  and  to  David's 
adopted  son,  Chimham.  Long  after  the  time  of  David  it  was  known  as 
the  khan  of  Chimham,  being  the  first  resting  place  from  Jerusalem  on 
the  road  to  Egypt.  The  chapel  of  the  Nativity  is  a  grotto,  and  there  is 
strong  evidence  to  prove  that  the  Saviour  was  born  in  a  cave  which 
mieht  have  served  as  a  stable  to  the  inn. 


't» 


NAZARETH. 

Rapidly  passing  over  the  steep  hills  that  encompass  Nazareth  the 
little  village  itself  is  reached.  Before  a  visit  is  paid  to  the  Church  of  the 
Annunciation,  supposed  to  have  been  built  on  the  site  of  Joseph's  work- 


494 


PANORAMA    UK    NATlUXS. 


shop,  it  is  proposed  to  glance  a  moment  at  the  women  of  Nazareth.  As 
of  old  they  are  still  bearing  jugs  of  water  to  their  homes,  washing  their 
clothes  in  little  streams,  engaging  in  the  fields  or  in  household  duties. 
They  are  tall,  erect  and  handsome,  with  Grecian  features,  seeming  to 
have  a  touch  of  pride  in  their  carriage,  although  they  are  courteous  and 
pleasing.  They  do  not  veil  their  countenances,  and  instead  of  wearing 
gold  and  silver  coins  in  their  hair  their  faces  are  framed  in  a  sort  of  cap 
to  which  is  attached  a  pad  covered  with  the  coins,  the  lower  row  of 
which  usually  falls  over  the  forehead.  A  similar  fashion  prevails  among 
the  Kurdish  maidens. 

The  chief   attraction,  artistically  speaking,  of    the  Church  of  the 

Annunciation  is  a  painting  which 
hangs  over  its  altar.  The  central 
figure  is  Joseph,  the  carpenter,  with 
his  a.xe  upon  a  block  of  wood,  but 
his  fatherly  and  wondering  eyes  are 
fixed  upon  the  child  Jesus,  who  sits 
on  a  low  stool  by  the  bench  and 
is  reading  to  him  and  to  Mary,  who 
likewise  is  seated  and  forgetful  of 
all  but  her  love  and  her  wonder. 

THE    ARMENIANS. 

Armenia  is  a  province  of  indefi- 
nite extent,  whose  original  inhabi- 
tants occupied  a  region  lying  within 
the  present  limits  of  Turkey  in  Asia.  They  call  themselves  Haiks, 
from  Haig,  a  traditional  great  grandson  of  Noah,  who  was  one 
of  the  directors  of  the  Tower  of  Babel ;  but  being  dissatisfied 
with  the  Babylonian  form  of  worship  he  went  north  and  founded 
cities  and  established  a  kingdom.  His  successors  conquered  a  large 
part  of  Asia  Minor,  and  one  of  them  was  sought  in  marriage  by 
Semiramis,  the  great  Queen  of  Assyria,  who  defeated  him  in  battle  and 
killed  him  on  account  of  his  refusal.  The  Armenians  became  subjects 
of  Assyria;  afterwards  acquired  their  independence  under  powerful 
monarchs  ;  fell  under  the  Roman,  Persian  and  Arabian  yokes,  and  were 
split  into  little  kingdoms,  which  were  cut  into  smaller  fragments  by 
the  Turks,  Mongols,  Kurds,  Persians  and  Russians,  until  they  cease  to 
exist  as  a  nation.  But  as  a  people  they  are  strong,  commercially  as 
well  as  intellectually,  and  are  respected  throughout  Turkey  and  Russia 


AN  ARMENIAN. 


THEIR    POWERFUL    CHURCH. 


495 


as  are  no  other  race  who  are  without  a  government  or  political  power 
of  their  own.  Not  only  have  the' wars  for  the  possession  of  their  terri- 
tory caused  thousands  of  them  to  emigrate  to  Europe,  Asia  and  Africa, 
but  the  Assyrians  carried  them  into  their  kingdom  as  slaves,  and  as  cap- 
tives they  were  borne  to  Constantinople,  to  Persia,  to  Greece,  to  Arabia, 
and  to  Russia,  while  the  Tartars,  who  repeatedly  overran  their  territory, 
dragged  them  to  the  four  quarters  of  the  ancient  world. 

Like  the  Jew,  when  the  Armenian  has  once  left  his  native  land,  his 
taste  runs  to  finances.  Thousands,  even  now,  migrate  from  their  moun- 
tain homes  to  the  large  cities  of  Turkey,  where,  if  they  start  as  porters, 
water-carriers,  or  mechanics,  they  are  almost  sure  to  develop  into  mer- 
chants, or,  better  still,  into  bankers.  It 
matters  not  how  distant  the  scene  of  their 
transactions,  they  prefer  to  co'nduct  their 
business  in  person,  so  that  almost  every 
important  exposition,  fair  or  market,  from 
London  and  Paris,  to  Leipsic,  St.  Peters- 
burg, Bombay  and  Calcutta  numbers  among 
its  customers  or  visitors  the  Armenian  mer- 
chants. It  is  said  of  him  that  "he  differs 
materially  from  a  Greek.  As  in  his  national 
character  there  is  more  sense  and  less  wit, 
so  in  his  trade  there  is  more  respectability 
and  less  fraud." 

THEIR  POWERFUL  CtiURCH. 


AN  ARMENIAN  BISHOP. 


The  Armenians  claim  to  have  been  the 
first  Christian  nation  of  the  world,  their  pre- 
vious   religion    having   been   a    jumble    of 

Scythian,  Indian  and  Grecian  superstitions  and  idolatry.  The  Arme- 
nian church  has  been  anathematized  1:^'  both  the  Greek  and  Roman 
Catholic  churches.  A  branch  of  the  church,  however,  acknowledges  the 
Pope's  supremacy,  and  there  is  still  another  split,  of  fifty  years'  stand- 
ing, by  which  a  faction  severed  themselves  from  the  main  body  because 
of  its  errors.  They  are  known  as  Protestant  Armenians.  Three  or  four 
million  communicants  yet  remain  with  the  parent  church.  Services 
are  conducted  in  their  ancient  tongue,  one  of  the  oldest  of  the  Indo- 
European  languages. 

The  head  of  the  church  is  the  Catholicos,  who  resides  in  the  Rus- 
sian province  of  Erivan.  Beneath  him  are  the  four  patriarchs,  the  most 
powerful  of  whom  is  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople,  who  is  virtually  at 


4q6  anorama  of  nations. 

the  head  of  the  Turkish  Armenians  and  independent  of  the  CathoHcos. 
The  Patriarchate  of  Constantinople  embraces  eighteen  archiepiscopal 
dioceses. 

In  general  the  Armenians  agree  with  the  doctrines  of  the  Greek 
Church.  Unlike  the  latter,  however,  they  are  not  Trinitarians,  but  be- 
lieve in  the  doctrine  of  the  two  natures  made  one  in  Christ.  They  there- 
fore make  the  sign  of  the  cross  with  two  fingers.  The  mode  of  baptiz- 
ing infants  and  those  converted  from  other  religions  is  the  same,  viz.: 
by  partial  immersion  and  pouring  water  upon  their  heads  three  times. 
The  church  rejects  purgatory,  but  regards  confession  and  absolution  as 
essentials  to  salvation.  Their  feasts  and  fasts  number  at  least  five  hun- 
dred. They  adore  the  Host,  and  worship  saints  and  their  pictures  as 
well  as  the  cross. 

Proud  of  their  nationality  and  their  church,  and  yet  possessed  of  a 
worldly  character  which  is  thoroughly  saturated  with  finances  and  trade, 
the  Armenians  are  a  strong  and  united  people,  dispersed  though  they  be. 
The  Patriarch  at  Constantinople  is  highly  honored  by  the  Sublime 
Porte,  and  through  him  the  whole  people.  He  ranks  as  a  great  pacha, 
being  elected  by  the  ecclesiastics,  Armenian  bankers  and  merchants,  and 
high  Turkish  officials,  residents  of  the  city. 

The  Armenians,  however,  do  not  confine  themselves  to  the  drudgery 
of  trade  for  a  livelihood.  They  have  considerable  musical  talent,  and 
often  form  traveling  companies,  both  for  pleasure  and  profit. 

THE  KURDS. 

Kurdistan,  or  the  country  of  the  Kurds,  is  a  great  tract  of  Central 
and  Eastern  Turkey,  even  extending  into  Western  Persia,  which  lies 
principally  in  the  valley  of  the  Tigris.  The  Kurds  are  the  descendants 
of  an  ancient  warlike  people  who,  for  centuries,  bid  successful  defiance  to 
Persia.  Both  men  and  women  are  elegant  in  form  and  feature,  with 
dark,  intelligent  eyes  and  beautiful  mouths.  The  people  are  still  war- 
like and  retain  the  same  character  for  boldness  and  dash  which  they 
possessed  when  Xenophon  was  obliged  to  fight  his  way  through  their 
country  in  conducting  the  famous  retreat  of  Ten  Thousand.  The  men 
wear  a  cloak  of  black  goat's  hair,  and  a  red  cap  from  which  a  silk  shawl 
falls  upon  the  shoulders.  They  have  mustaches,  handsome  hands  and 
feet,  athletic  frames,  are  expert  horsemen  and  generally  frank  and  noble 
in  their  bearing.  The  women  are  treated  with  marked  respect,  and  unless 
of  very  high  rank  go  unveiled. 

Unlike  the  Druses,  the  Maronites,  and  other  people  who  live  m  the 
mountainous  districts,  the  Kurds  have  their  villages  and  fortifications 


THE    KURDS.  497 

separate,  retiring  to  the  mountains  when  there  is  a  quarrel  between  rival 
chiefs,  or  they  are  threatened  by  Turkish  or  Persian  forces. 

The  peasantry,  who  are  distinct  from  the  warriors  and  the  villagers, 
crive  much  attention  to  the  breeding  of  horses,  the  animals  being  small 
but  remarkably  hard\-,  and  in  great  ilemand  for  the  Turkish  and  Persian 
cavalry.  Their  long-tailed  sheep  yield  the  finest  wool.  Cotton  is  raisctl 
to  some  extent  and  mulberry  trees  are  cultivated  for  silkworms.  Thus 
are  obtained  the  raw  products  upon  which  the  villagers  work.  "A 
remarkable  vegetable  production  is  found  here,  answering  in  most 
respects  to  the  manna  which  fed  the  children  of  Israel  in  the  wilderness ; 
it  is  collected  from  leaves  of  trees  and  occasionally  from  the  ground,  and 
is  dried,  pounded  and  eaten  as  a  sweetmeat.  Medicinal  plants,  especially 
gall  nuts  of  superiorquality,  are  largely  exported  byway  of  Alexandretta 
and  Smyrna." 

The  forays  of  the  Kurds  into  Persian  territory  have  several  times 
threatened  to  cause  war  between  the  Sultan   and   the   Shah.     A   few 
years  ago  one  of  their  most  powerful  sheiks,  who  had  nearly  captured 
the  Persian  city  of  Tabreez,  upon  the  summons  of  the   Sultan,  went  to 
Constantinople  as  a  hostage  and  an  earnest  of  peace.     After  a  year's 
stay  he  returned  to  his  tribe,  but  afterwards  consented  to  live  in  retire- 
ment at  Mosul.      But   the   Kurds   did  not  propose  to  lose  so  valiant  a 
leader  without  a  struggle,  and  while  he  was  being  conducted  to  his  new 
home,  a  baml  of  them,  led  by  his  son,  pounced  upon  the  guard  and  carried 
him   off  to   one  of   their  mountain   strongholds.      The    country   of  the 
Kurds  is  especially  adapted  to  their  style  of  warfare  and  living,  for  the 
northern   districts  are  covered  with  mountains,  some  of  which  are  12,000 
feet  in  height  and  covered  with  snow  for  half  the  year.      The   southern 
portion  of  Kurdistan,  on  the  contrary,  is  generally  low  and  the  soil  fer- 
tile, the  grains  and   fruits   of   the   temperate  zone   flourishing;  so  that 
Southern  Kurdistan  is  their  garden  and  granary,  and  Northern   Kurdis- 
tan   their   fortress.      This  combination   of  great  fertility  and   repulsive 
ruggedness  has  made  Kurdistan  a  country  which  is  well  nigh  impregna- 
ble.     Their   store   houses,  those  of  the  wealthy  being   surmounted  by 
towers,  have  the  appearance  of  tiny  castles.      Xenophon,  whom  they  so 
harassed   when   marching   through  their  country,  gives   an  account    of 
the  Carduchi,  who  are  supposed  to  be  their  ancestors.      In  his  time  the 
bow  and  arrow  constituted  their  national   weapon,  and   with   this   they 
were  as  skillful  as  the  Parthians.       The   story  told  by  the  Greek  histo- 
rian and  leader  of  the  sufferings  of  his  little  army,  many  of  whom  died 
in  drifts  of   snow,  being  assailed  on  all   sides  by  the  barbarians,  recalls 
the^qually  famous  retreat  of  modern   times  over  European    wastes   of 


498  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

snow.  The  loss  to  the  Greeks,  however,  was  hght  compared  to  that 
suffered  by  the  French,  and  also  in  proportion  to  the  number  who  under- 
took the  desperate  enterprise. 

In  the  Kurds  are  seen  some  of  the  purest  specimens  of  the  Indo- 
European  or  Iranic  race  which  the  world  can  show.  They  are  Persians 
in  the  rough.  But  as  they  are  Mohammedans,  their  language  has  been 
corrupted  by  both  Turkish  and  Arabian  words.  The  Persian-Arabic 
alphaljet  is  in  use  bv  a  very  small  number  of  the  Kurds,  either  reading 
or  writing  being  considered  a  superfluity.  There  have,  however,  at  rare 
intervals  been  poets  and  scholars  of  the  race. 

Although  nomadic,  the  Kurds  do  not  wander  far  from  home,  and  in 
their  proneness  to  bind  themselves  to  a  country  which  the)-  may  call  their 
own,  is  found  the  dividing  line  between  them  and  the  Semites,  the 
Hebrews,  the  Phoenicians,  the  Armenians  and  the  Arabs.  Partly  from 
necessity  and  partly  by  nature  they  are  at  home  with  all  people  ;  and 
amone  the  branches  of  the  Semitic  race  none  has  shown  more  wonder- 
ful  adaptability  and  the  power  of  extending  religion,  literature  and 
individuality  over  the  world  than  the  Arabs.  The  career  of  the  Moors, 
or  the  Arabs,  in  Spain,  is  particular  evidence  of  their  genius  for  prose- 
lyting, establishing  as  they  did  a  new  civilization  among  a  distinct  race 
which  endures  in  a  noteworthy  degree  to  this  day. 


frM  L^-l^Vi^^:-iiC^rf\  Car/  (jT   '  #: 


position 


THE  ARABS. 

DECLINE  OF  MOHAMMEDANISM. 

IIICRE  is  littlt;  doubt  that  the  country  which  orave  birth  to 
Mohammed  and  his  rehgion  exhibits  less  zeal  and  more  skep- 
ticism than  any  other  eastern  land  which  professes  the  faith. 
Some  of  the  mountain  tribes  even  go  to  the  length  of  giving 
their  allegiance  to  a  prophet  who  preceded  Mohammed  and 
cursc'd  him  and  his  followers. 

With  the  decline  and  fall  of  the  idea  that  religion  can  be 
spread  over  the  world  by  the  swortl,  the  Arabs,  and  particu- 
larh-  the  wandering  tribes  of  Arabia  and  Syria,  have  gradually 
Ijecn  losing  interest  in  the  Faith.  They  have  fallen  from  their 
as  the  scourges  of  Europe  and  Asia,  and  although  they  have 
never  been  conquered  they  are  divided  into  tribes  of  a  few  hundred  to 
20,000  or  more,  wandering  about  with  their  t]ocks  and  herds,  selling 
their  horses  and  camels  to  the  "  dwellers  in  clay  houses,"  or  falling  upon 
a  caravan  for  plunder;  but  they  are  without  organization  or  great 
leaders,  and  their  roving  lives  have  influenced  their  religious  beliefs. 

Although  the  Koran  la\'s  down  a  fragmentary  code  of  laws  as  well 
as  morals,  the  Bedouins  do  not  even  acknowledge  them  in  their  lives. 
The  only  law  which  they  acknowledge  is  that  of  retaliation,  which  is  also 
found  among  many  of  the  African  tribes.  It  rages  most  fiercely  among 
the  Abyssinians,  and  under  it  the  relatives  of  a  murdered  person  take 
the  punishment  of  the  murderer  into  their  own  hands.  The  ofTense, 
however,  is  often  condoned  by  the  payment  of  blood  money.  Among 
the  Arabs  the  price  varies,  a  sum  from  $150  to  $1,500  being  paid  for  the 
murder  of  a  man  and  about  one-third  as  much  for  that  of  a  woman.  Though 
the  Bedouins  are  naturally  fierce  and  blood-thirsty,  the  existence  of  tliis 
law  has  operated  in  a  way  to  curb  their  propensities  ;  for  they  know  not 
but  that  one  act  of  theirs  may  result  in  the  extermination  of  whole  fami- 
lies. The  Koran  sanctions  both  the  avenging  of  blood  by  the  nearest 
kinsman  and  the  pecuniary  commutation.  But  what  has  been  said  of  the 
decline  of  Mohammedanism  among  the  Arabs  has  no  bearing  upon  its 

499 


500  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

wonderful  spread  over  Africa  and  the  islands  of  the  sea,  it  having  pene- 
trated the  peaceful  natures  of  the  Chinese,  so  as  to  be  an  established 
religion  in  the  empire. 

THE   MARABOUTS. 

These  form  a  class  of  Mohammedan  priests  who  are  especially 
numerous  in  Atrica,  having  much  intluence  with  many  negro  tribes  of 
Soudan  and  the  Bedouins  of  the  Great  Sahara.  They  are  also  found 
among  the  wandering  tribes  of  Arabia,  and  even  work  upon  the  super- 
stitions of  the  settled  population  so  that  they  often  have  dome-like 
temples  erected  over  their  tombs.  Great  chiefs  believe  that  they  owe 
their  power  to  the  influence  and  charms  of  these  priests.  They  travel 
over  the  deserts  with  their  talismans  of  beads,  or  of  paper  upon  which 
are  magical  figures  and  Koran  verses,  selling  them  to  the  Bedouins  as 
protections  in  war  and  in  the  chase.  Wives  and  children,  horses  and 
camels,  are  decketl  with  them  and  the  fetiches  of  Africa  are  repeated 
among  the  Arabians. 

The  Arabian  women  are  not  excluded  from  the  ranks  of  the  Mara- 
bouts and  are  the  gypsies  of  the  country — old  and  wrinkled  fortune- 
tellers, discoverers  of  secrets,  workers  of  miracles  and  encouragers  of 
all  forms  of  superstition. 

The  Marabouts  cling  to  certain  forms  of  Mohammedanism  even 
among  the  children  of  the  desert,  but  have  seen  the  folly  of  attempting 
to  propagate  it,  systematically  or  faithfully.  As  one  of  them  once  said 
to  a  traveler  who  found  him  with  a  Bedouin  tribe,  "Our  horses  are 
our  lives  and  our  religion";  and  the  Bedouin  masses  add  :  "  In  the 
desert  we  have  no  water;  how  then  can  we  make  the  prescribed  ablu- 
tions? We  have  no  money,  and  how  can  we  bestow  alms?  Why 
should  we  fast  in  the  Ramadan,  since  the  whole  year  is  with  us  one  con- 
tinued abstinence?  And  if  God  be  present  everywhere,  why  should  we 
go  to  Mecca  to  adore  him  ?" 

THE  CHIEFS. 

Not  only  arc  the  Bedouins  of  Arabia  split  into  many  tribes,  but  the 
territory  which  contains  permanent  inhabitants,  cities  and  villages,  is 
ruled  by  military  chieftains.  The  most  extensive  of  these  districts  and 
one  of  the  most  powerful  of  the  native  states  is  that  of  the  Wahabees, 
a  sect  of  Mohammedans,  who,  during  the  last  of  the  centur\',  became 
apostates  from  the  true  faith,  den)-ing  the  divine  nature  of  Mohammed 
and  the  inspiration  of  the  Koran,  [)rohibiting  the  worship  of  the 
prophet's  tomb  as  a  form   of   idolatry,  and   propagating  these  doctrines 


THE    I  liIp:FS. 


501 


greatly  by  the  power  of  the  sword,  so  that  under  tlie  leadership  of 
powerful  chiefs  they  subdued  Mecca  itself.  The  Holy  City  was  after- 
wards surrendered  to  the  Porte,  but  the  empire  of  the  Wahabees  still 
includes  the  central  antl  eastern  portions  of  Arabia,  several  hundred 
towns,  and  villages,  and  with  the  Bedouins,  who  have  been  subdued, 
a  million  and  a  half  of  people.  The  land  of  pilgrimage,  through 
whicli  millions  of  Mohammedans  have  passed  along  the  shores  of  the 
Red  Sea  to  Mecca,  is  bounded  east  by  the  great  Arabian  desert  and  by 
a  fierce  tribe  of  Bedouins  who  levy  contributions  on  the  pious  pilgrims. 
Their  profitable  occupation  is,  however,  greatly  curtailed  since  the  open- 
ing of  the  Suez  Canal  and  the  consequent  running  of  vessels  and  steam- 
ships from  Turkish  ports  to  Mecca.  This  is 
also  said  to  have  had  the  effect  of  increasing 
the  number  of  pilgrims  of  late  years  and  caus- 
ing quite  a  revival  among  the  Mohammed- 
ans of  Turkey. 

South  of  the  land  of  the  pilgrims  is  the 
district  of  Yemen,  in  which  is  Mocha,  the 
center  of  the  famous  coffee  country.  Here 
is  also  Aden,  now  a  British  port.  The 
country  of  frankincense  and  myrrh  is  Had- 
ramaut,  a  gn'at  district  l)ing  (mi  the  shores  't| 
of  the  Indian  Ocean  and  stretching  into 
the  interior  to  the  desert. 

The  Sultan  of  Oman  is  tlie  most 
])owerful  cliief  of  Arabia,  and  has  triljutary 
to  him  a  number  of  other  sheiks.  The 
efforts  of  the  Sultan  to  extend  not  only  the 
foreign  trade  of  Oman,  but  of  the  whole  country,  have  made  him  known 
more  generally  than  an)-  other  Arabian  leader.  Besides  claiming 
authority  over  this  district,  he  has  e.xtended  his  sway  over  the  islands 
of  the  Persian  Gulf,  a  portion  of  the  Persian  coast,  and  the  extensive 
tract  of  Eastern  Africa  known  as  Zanzibar.  Beyond  Oman,  on 
the  Persian  Gulf,  are  the  pearl  fisheries.  Farther  to  the  north 
the  territory  of  the  Wahabees  is  reached,  a  country  of  grain,  dates 
and  fruits,  and  horse  and  cattle-raising,  its  broad  plains,  which  are 
covered  with  grass  and  shrubbery,  lying  between  mountain  ranges. 
Beyond  this  and  includinof  the  whole  of  Northern  Arabia  is  the  ereat 
desert,  which  stretches  also  into  Syria,  and  whose  fertile  spots  are  par- 
celled out  among  the  wild  Bedouin  tribes. 

The  sheiks  are  the  leaders  of  bands  which   form   tribes,  and   select 


A  WOMAN  OF  ADEN. 


502  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

from  their  number  one  -whoni  they  call  Sheik  of  sheiks.  Their  leader 
is  expected  to  lead  them  in  war  and  maintain  the  independence  of  the 
tribe  against  all  others.  He  may  be  deposed  any  moment  or  abandoned 
by  his  allies  to  the  mercies  of  his  bitterest  rival.  Families,  even,  may 
desert  a  band  in  the  same  manner.  There  is  no  bond  of  union,  and  the 
most  insignificant  thing  may  cause  a  rupture.  In  disputes  which  arise 
between  members  of  the  same  tribe  the  sheik  and  the  elders  are 
usually  resorted  to  as  arbitrators,  although  the  most  that  they  can  do  is 
to  advise. 

THE  BEST  BREED  OF  HORSES. 

Next  to  the  spices  of  "  Araby  the  Blest,"  which  come  from  the 
shores  of  the  Red  Sea  and  Indian  Ocean,  its  horses  are  famous,and,  in 
the  minds  of  people  generally,  arouse  the  most  enthusiasm.  They  com- 
bine tleetness  with  endurance  and  docility,  and  their  blood  is  in  the  most 
valued  breeds  of  Persia  and  Turkey,  Europe  and  America.  The 
Arabian  horse  may  be  seen  in  his  perfection  in  Nejed,  the  district  of  the 
Wahabees. 

The  "kochlani"  are  the  horses  whose  genealogy  has  been  carefully 
preserved  since  even  the  days  of  Solomon  ;  the  "kadeshi  "  those  whose 
pedigree  is  unknown.  The  former  are  reared  with  the  Arab's  children 
sharing  their  master's  tent,  are  fed  with  bread,  milk  and  dates,  and  petted 
and  treasured  as  honored  guests.  Barle\-  and  pounded  straw  is  the 
kochlan's  principal  food.  He  becomes  both  the  friend  and  companion- 
in-arms  of  his  master,  and  shares  with  him  the  honors  of  the  song  and 
ballad. 

In  their  meetings  outside  tlie  tent  the  elders  of  a  tribe  always  have 
some  wonderful  stories  to  tell  of  the  bravery  and  faithfulness  of  their 
blooded  steeds,  wdiich  do  not  desert  them  even  with  the  death  of 
those  who  have  so  tenderly  cared  for  them.  In  one  of  the  stables  of  a 
pacha  of  Egypt  stands  a  noble  looking  animal,  covered  with  scars.  His 
master  was  a  renowned  Arabian  sheik,  who,  with  a  hardy  band  had 
rushed  upon  a  camp  of  the  Egyptians  who  had  marched  into  their 
country  to  chastise  them.  The  last  to  fall  in  the  mad  charge  against 
such  overwhelming  numbers  was  the  sheik,  who  w^as  beheaded  in  the 
fight  by  a  Turkish  soldier.  When  he  felt  his  back  lightened  of  its  pre- 
cious load,  the  horse's  eyes  seemed  to  flash  fire,  and  despite  the  fact  that 
he  was  covered  with  wounds  he  dashed  at  the  slayer  of  his  master  with 
such  resistless  force  that  he  bore  the  soldier  to  the  ground  and  trampled 
him  under  foot 

The     unvarying  care  which   the  horses  receive   has  the   efiect    of 


AN  ARAB  WAKKIOR. 


BLUODEU    CAMELS.  503 

making  them  gentle  as  well  as  affectionate.  The  sheik  possessed  of  a 
first  prize  in  horse-flesh  can  not  forbear  to  show  off  these  good  points 
whenever  he  is  at  leisure.  A  dozen  times  a  day  he  will  suddenly  mount 
his  steed,  dash  across  a  valley,  up  the  sides  of  a  hill,  down  again,  come 
toward  the  camp  at  full  gallop  with  his  long  spear  poised  and  his  head- 
dress flowing  out  behind  him,  rush  round  and  round  like  a  whirlwind, 
and  with  a  touch  of  the  hand,  or  a  whisper,  bring  the  beautiful  animal  to 
a  walk  or  a  stand-still. 

BLOODED  CAMELS. 

Nejed  likewise  produces  the  best  camels  of  Arabia,  Bedouin  and 
merchant  journeying  thither  to  obtain  their  supply.  The  district  is 
called  by  the  Arabs  "  the  mother  of  camels,"  and  the  natives  are  as  careful 
to  maintain  the  purity  of  their  breetls  as  in  the  case  of  their  most  valu- 
able horses.  The  camel  is  one  of  the  family  as  long  as  his  education  is 
incomplete.  As  soon  as  the  young  dromedary  will  stop  when  his 
master  dismounts  and  plants  a  lance  in  the  sand,  and  not  renew  his 
gallop  until  the  weapon  is  removed,  then  he  is  considered  competent  to 
engage  in  travel. 

Tills  blooded  camel  has  been  both  refined  and  hardened,  when 
compared  to  the  common  stock,  being  cleaner  limbed  and  better  able  to 
endure  hunger  and  thirst.  If  grass  is  abundant  he  will  pass  the  winter 
and  spring  without  drinking.  In  autumn  he  drinks  but  twice  a  month. 
In  summer  it  is  enough,  even  on  a  journey,  if  he  drinks  once  in  five  days. 
He  will  maintain  a  pace  of  eight  or  ten  miles  an  hour  for  twenty  hours 
in  succession  ;  but  his  pace  is  so  rough  that  the  rider  is  obliged  to 
secure  himself  from  serious  injury  by  tight  bandages. 

Unlike  the  horse  the  education  of  the  camel  does  not  stir  in  his 
breast  any  feelings  of  affection,  and  he  remains  throughout  life  a  stupid, 
groaning,  selfish,  revengeful  beast;  loudly  complaining  when  the  load  is 
placed  upon  his  back  ;  going  on  and  on,  seeking  his  own  pasturage, 
and  never  stopping  should  the  rider  fall  off  and  not  have  time  to  fix  a 
spear  in  the  sand  ;  committing  murder — deliberate,  cold-blooded  murder — 
if  he  feels  that  he  has  been  unjustly  beaten.  Some  Arabs  of  this  region 
tell  of  a  horrible  sight  which  they  witnessed — that  of  a  huge  camel,  who 
had  been  whipped  by  a  boy  on  a  previous  trip,  calmly  facing  his  perse- 
cutor in  the  middle  of  a  great  plain,  making  a  sudden  stoop  forward, 
seizing  the  unlucky  youth's  head  in  his  monstrous  mouth,  lifting  his 
enemy  up  in  the  air,  and  flinging  him  down  again  upon  the  earth  with 
the  upper  part  of  his  skull  completely  torn  off  and  his  brains  scattered 
on  the  ground.  They  had  no  compunctions  in  killing  such  a  fiend  ;  for, 
dead  or  alive,  the  camel  is  wealth. 


504  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

As  an  Arabian  prince  once  said  :  "  Living-  he  carries  tlie  tents  and 
provisions  ;  war  and  trade  are  carried  on  by  means  of  him  ;  he  fears 
neither  hunger  nor  thirst,  heat  or  fatigue;  his  hair  suppHes  our  tents 
and  our  burrows  ;  the  milk  of  the  female  supports  rich  and  poor, 
and  nourishes  our  horses  —  it  is  a  well  that  never  fails.  Dead,  the  flesh 
is  good;  his  skin  makes  bottles,  proof  against  wind  and  heat;  shoes 
which  can  tread  on  the  viper  without  danger  and  protect  the  feet  from 
the  burning  sands  of  the  desert  ;  stripped  of  the  hair  and  welted,  it 
adheres  to  the  wood  of  the  saddle,  without  nails  or  seams,  like  the  bark 
to  a  tree,  and  makes  the  whole  so  solid  as  to  endure  war,  the  chase  or 
the  fantasias." 

THE    BEDOUINS. 

We  have  already  caught  glimpses  of  these  restless  Arabs  in  the 
deserts  of  Africa,  from  the  Red  Sea  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  but  have 
reserved  a  more  intimate  acquaintance  until  they  could  be  met  at  home. 
They  scorn  all  ways  of  living  but  their  own,  and  pride  themselves  on 
the  purity  of  their  Semitic  blood,  Avhich  first  flowed  in  the  veins  of  Ish- 
mael.  From  hard  lixing  and  constant  exposure  their  persons  are  lank  and 
thin,  and  during  their  plundering  expeditions  their  clothing  is  often 
reduced  to  a  single  cotton  shirt,  bound  around  the  waist  with  a  leather 
girdle,  in  which  are  stuck  the  light  arms,  pipe  and  apparatus  for  striking  a 
light. 

When  livine  in  their  tents  their  common  dress  consists  of  a  skull- 
cap  and  slippers,  with  a  striped  woolen  or  cotton  garment,  which,  cover- 
ino-  the  whole  body,  reaches  to  the  calf  of  the  leg,  and  has  a  hood  for 
the  head,  and  holes  for  the  arms  to  pass  through.  The  sheik,  however, 
cuts  a  far  different  figure,  with  his  long  scarlet  gown,  silver-mounted 
dagger  and  pistol  in  his  girdle,  and  sword  swung  across  his  shoulder, 
boots  of  morocco  leather,  and  for  a  head-dress  a  woolen  or  silken  shawl 
embroidered  and  fringed  with  gold  lace.  Place  him  on  a  gallant  Ara- 
bian steed  and  he  cuts  a  great  figure. 

A  loose  wrapper  completely  covers  the  women,  over  wliich,  when 
they  go  abroad,  they  wear  the  same  kind  of  cloak  as  the  men  ;  if  they 
can  afford  it  they  string  gold  and  silver  coins  across  their  foreheads, 
and  if  they  can  not,  they  substitute  lead.  They  stain  their  eyelids  with 
a  lead  pigment,  color  their  hands  and  feet  with  henna,  and  decorate 
their  arms  and  legs  with  rings. 

The  Bedouins  are  all  for  war  and  adventure,  and  their  domestic 
duties  are  almost  confined  to  milking.  Boys  and  girls  tend  the  camels, 
sheep  and  goats,  and  the  women  and  slaves  do  all  the  rest,  even  to  dress- 


THE    BEDOUINS. 


505 


inq-  the  beautiful  locks  o.  the  warriors.  Their  wives,  however,  are  not 
made  to  labor  in  the  fields  or  at  other  heavy  occupations,  for,  with 
the  proceeds  of  their  forays,  and  from  their  legitimate  sources,  some  are 
enabled  to  engage  peasants  from  neighboring  villages,  boarding  the 
laborers  while  they  are  cultivating  the  land  or  gathering  the  crops  of 
millet,  wheat,  barley  and  other  grains,  besides  paying  them  one-third  of 
the  produce.  Others  derive  their  food  almost  entirely  from  their  herds, 
eating  on]\-  a  few  vegetables  and  not  hesitating  to  devour  locusts  and 
lizards.  A  common  substitute  for  bread  are  cakes  made  of  millet,  mixed 
with  camel's  milk  and  slightly  baked. 

The  Bedouins  are  poets  and  fictionists,  and  a  thousand  and  one 
Arabian  Nights' Tales  are  still  current  among  them.      Each  tribe  has  its 

bard,  who  celebrates  the  dee'ds  of  its  robber 
chief  and  great  leaders,  and  every  Bedouin  is 
an  aspirant  for  the  position.  Their  pastimes 
include  story-telling,  singing,  dancing,  ball- 
playing,  feats  of  horsemanship,  drinking  coffee 
and  smoking.  Their  favorite  amusement  is 
throwing  the  "  djereed,"  or  the  fantasia,  which 
is  a  heavy,  blunt  spear  made  of  hard  wood. 
The  sport  consists  in  casting  this  b\-  no  means 
harmless  toy  at  a  rider,  who  shows  wonderful 
jl  address  in  avoiding  it,  and  then  pursues  his 
adversar}".  Their  manner  of  fencing  is  for 
ihi'  combatants  to  first  rest  their  spears  in  the 
sand,  and  then  ride  round  and  round,  using 
them  as  a  pivot,  and  keenly  watching  for  an 
opening  to  strike.  Occasionally  the  spears  are 
raised,  crossed  and  struck  together  ;  then  there 
is  chasing,  turning  and  circling  around  again,  with  their  long  weapons 
as  pivots. 

When  the  Bedouins  decide  to  indulye  in  the  recreation  of  chasmg 
the  ostrich,  they  put  their  horses,  for  a  week  or  more,  upon  a  slender 
diet  of  barley  and  water,  and  exercise  and  wash  them  well.  Then  lightly 
dressed,  and  armed  onh'  with  a  stick,  they  assemble  at  the  resort  of  the 
birds  and  simply  run  them  down  with  their  fleet  horses,  knock  the  game 
on  the  head  and  cut  their  throats. 

The  wandering  habits  of  the  Bedouins  makes  it  impossible  for  them 

.  to  seclude  their  wives,  as  do  the   more  settled   nationalities  of  the  East. 

They  often  appear  before  strangers,  and  even  in  the  villages,  with  little  or 

no  covering  to  their  faces.    Like  the  Persians  the  women  have  great  power 


A  BEDOUIN 


5o6  PANORAMA    OK    NATIONS. 

in  their  families,  and  if  ill-used  they  have  a  right  to  demand  a  divorce. 
As  a  rule  the  Bedouins  do  not  practice  polygamy,  although  it  is  said 
they  have  established  in  its  place  the  custom  of  a  constant  interchange 
of  wives.  .   ,      . 

.    -     -       IN  THE  TENT. 

The  spirit  of  hospitality  is  as  much  a  part  of  the  Bedouin's 
relieion,  as  his  horse  and  his  love  of  war.  Outside  of  his  tent  he  will 
rob  a  stranger  whom,  within,  he  can  not  serve  too  much.  As  long  as 
you  are  the  Arab's  guest  )Ou  are  safe.  When  the  shadow  of  his  dark 
cloth  tent,  woven  of  goat's  or  camel's  hair,  falls  upon  you,  you  should 
call  with  a  loud  voice,  "  tarike  "  (retire),  as  a  signal  that  the  women  may 
withdraw  behind  the  carpet  which  tllvides  the  house  into  two  apart- 
ments. 

Without  ceremony  the  traveler  unloads  his  camels  at  the  first  tent 
of  the  first  encampment  he  reaches,  although  the  Arab's  spear  is  planted 
before  his  door  and  his  war-horse  stands  ready  to  mount,  gives  this 
notice  of  his  arrival  and  sits  down  by  the  fire.  If  the  proprietor  is  at 
home  he  courteously  greets  his  guest  and,  without  question,  offers  his 
pipe  to  him,  replenishes  the  fire,  and  commences  to  roast  and  pound 
coffee.  Bags  of  grain  and  other  provisions  stand  near  the  carpet  parti- 
tion, with  saddles  and  weapons  not  in  use.  The  apartment  in  which  he 
finds  himself  is  furnished  with  mats  and  sheep-skins,  with  crude  looms, 
earthen  vessels,  goat  skins  of  water  and  sour  milk,  and  if  the  master  is 
quite  enterprising,  he  exhibits  a  coffee-mill,  formed  of  two  stones,  one 
within  the  other  and  turned  with  the  hand. 

The  coffee  which  the  Arab  grinds  forms  an  important  item  of  the 
meal  which  is  being  prepared  beyond  the  partition.  As  soon  as  all  is  ready 
the  wife  brings  in  the  result  of  her  labors  —  coffee,  a  large  wooden  bowl 
of  camel's,  goat's  or  sheep's  milk,  boiled  corn  and  milk,  lentil  soup,  or 
melted  butter  with  bread  to  dip  into  it.  She  then  decorously  retires, 
leaving  her  husband  to  do  the  honors  of  pouring  the  water  with  which 
the  guest  washes  his  right  hand,  and  of  heartily  repeating,  throughout 
the  entire  meal,  "Eat  all,  eat  all."  If  the  stranger  is  an  Arab  he 
knows  better  than  to  eat  all,  for  his  host  eats  only  what  remains. 

If  the  master  happens  to  be  out  when  the  stranger  arrives  at  his 
tent  the  wife  or  daughter  receives  and  entertains  him  with  the  same 
courtesy.  b>om  all  accounts  they  are  not  onl)'  courteous,  but  kind 
hearted  and  ever  ready  to  relieve  the  needy. 

The  sheiks  themselves  entertain  with  the  same  faithfulness  as  their 
humblest  warriors.      How  truly  they  consider  it  a  duty  is  illustrated  by 


IN    THE    TENT. 


507 


tlie  touching  deception  ot  one,  who,  after  warmly  welcoming  a  friend 
and  serving  him  to  rice,  boiled  camel's  meat,  and  the  best  his  table 
afforded,  was  asked  as  to  the  whereabouts  of  a  favorite  son.  "  My  son 
is  asleep,"  quietly  replied  the  host ;  and  continued  to  do  the  honors  of 
his  position,  notwithstanding  that  his  boy  was  lying  dead  in  an  adjoining 
apartment. 

Ouite  a  triumph  in  the  culinary  line  is  a  sort  of  a  rice  pyramid, 
surmounted  by  a  piece  of  camel's  meat,  which  Arabs  of  standing 
often  place  before  their  guests.  This  is  placed  in  a  gigantic  wooden 
bowl  upon  a  mat,  and,  the  company  having  seated  themselves — the  feast 
is  commenced  by  the  most  aged  or  honored  of  them  usually — a  patriarch 
with  a  long  v/hite  beard  dyed  red,  who  scoops  out  a  hollow  in  the  rice 

with  his  hand,  pours  therein  some 
sour  milk,  and  (Iroi)s  into  the  milk 
small  bits  of  the  meat,  which  he 
divides  with  his  fingers.  Each  goes 
through  with  the  same  motions  and 
the  conclusion  of  the  matter  is  that 
the  whole  pyramid  is  eventually 
moulded  into  rice-balls,through  which 
are  scattered  bits  of  good  camel's  meat 
and  which  furthermore  disappear  with 
great  rapidity.  Either  previous  to 
the  hearty  meal,  or  to  the  drinking 
of  coffee,  without  sugar,  the  smoking 
of  pipes,  singing,  or  music  upon  tam- 
borines  and  native  violins  of  camel 
'**'^*" '^""°'*-'  "^     skins,and  listening  to  the  professional 

BEDOUINS.  story-teller  who   stands  in  the  center 

of  a  large  circle  of  rapt  Arabs — either  previous  to  the  feast  or  to  the 
dessert  and  amusements,  the  guests  are  expected  to  wash  the  hands, 
mouth  and  beard  in  a  large  trough  of  camel's  skin  which  is  provided  for 
them  ;  this  ceremony,  of  course,  is  indispensable  if  the  sheik  is  a  true 
Mohammedan. 

The  Bedouins  retire  early  and  do  not  trouble  themselves  to  remove 
their  clothing.  That  of  the  desert  tribes  is  never  washed  except  by  the 
rain  nor  changed  until  it  falls  to  pieces,  and  night  in  a  large  encamp- 
ment is  anything  but  a  season  of  repose  to  any  but  those  initiated  to  its 
distracting  sounds.  "The  laughter  and  chattering  of  the  women 
mingles  with  the  neighing  of  the  horses,  with  the  baying  or  rather  the 
furious  howling  of  those  abominable  dogs  who  guard  the  door,  and  with 


50S  PANORAMA    UF    NATIONS. 

the  bleatinL"'  of  the  ilocks.  At  daybreak,  when  the  wearied  dojjs  cease 
their  clamor,  all  the  varieties  of  fowls  take  up  the  chorus.  And  if  one 
of  the  hungry  dogs  finds  his  way  into  your  tent  in  search  of  the  bones 
remaining  from  "a  feast,  you  may  have  the  jaJeasure  of  hearing  the  crunch- 
ing of  his  jaws  within  a  few  feet  of  you,  in  addition  to  all  the  rest  of  the 
disturbances." 

BOTTOMLESS  GULFS  OF  SAND. 

In  the  country  of  the  Bedouins,  in  Central  Arabia,  have  been  dis- 
covered strange  natural  phenomena  in  the  shape  of  great  pits  or  gulfs  of 
the  finest  sand.  They  arc  not  the  common  variety  of  quicksands,  but 
appear  in  regions  which  were  formerly  volcanic,  and.  it  may  be,  extinct 
craters.  The  sand  is  as  fine  as  powder,  and  a  weight  sinks  in  it  as  rapidly 
as  in  water.      Attempts  to  find  bottom  have  so  far  failed. 

AS  A  COMMERCIAL   PEOPLE. 

The  character  of  the  Arab  inclines  him  to  commerce  rather  than 
to  the  more  patient  domain  of  manufactures.  One  town  only  in  Arabia, 
Loheia,  on  the  Red  Sea,  can  be  said  to  possess  manufactories.  Here 
silk  and  cotton  turbans,  sashes,  can\'as,  arms,  and  gunpowder  are  made 
by  machiner\',  forming  the  exception  to  the  general  rule.  But  her  mer- 
chants are  in  every  land.  They  travel  into  Egypt  for  her  oil.  They 
scour  the  Eastern  coast  of  Africa  for  slaves,  ivory  and  amber.  Their 
caravans  creep  across  the  Great  Sahara  Desert,  laden  with  the  gold  dust, 
ivory,  grain  and  palm-oil  of  Western  Africa,  and  Ijound  for  the  Barbary 
States.  Their  operations  extend  to  the  rice  fields  of  Madagascar,  and 
the  coffee  and  sugar  plantations  of  Java  and  Sumatra.  They  are  the 
nomads  of  the  Eastern  commercial  world.  Their  turbans  are  seen  in 
every  desert  of  Asia  and  Africa,  and  tlicir  barks  are  upon  every  PLastern 
sea.  Much  of  the  "  Mocha"  coffee  which  they  export  to  Europe  they 
buy  in  Egypt,  Nubia  and  Abyssinia.  Arabia  also  sends  from  Muscat 
wheat,  horses,  raisins,  fish  and  drugs,  Hindu  merchants  monopolizing 
her  pearl  trade.  Silver,  iron,  copper  and  lead,  and  a  large  proportion  of 
her  firearms  and  gunpowder  conie  from  Europe. 

P'or  ages  Arabian  merchants  were  the  mediums  by  which  the  pro- 
ducts of  India  reached  Egypt,  and  were  the  principal  means  of  commu- 
nication between  Europe  and  Asia  ;  and  from  the  days  of  Sinbad  the 
Sailor  up  to  the  present  time,  the  livts  of  Arabs,  who  engage  in  mer- 
cantile pursuits,  have  been  full  of  variety  and  adventure.  When  they 
monopolized  so  much  of  the  inter-continental  trafiic  they  were  considered 


DESERT    TRAVEL.  509 

the  wealthiest  class  of  people  in  the  ■world,  and  their  luxurious  habits 
and  surroundings  would  seem  to  uphold  the  supposition.  They  cooked 
with  scented  woods.  The  pillars  of  their  houses  glistened  with  gold 
and  silver,  while  the  doors  were  of  jeweled  ivory.  Their  furniture,  man- 
tles^ bracelets,  armlets  and  utensils  of  all  kinds  were  lavish  combinations 
of  inlaid  wood,  the  finest  of  silks  and  furs,  gold,  silver,  brass  and  iron. 
The  days  when  they  were  the  richest  and  most  enterprising  merchants 
of  the  world,  have  gone  by,  although  they  are  the  same  untiring  crea- 
tures, glorying  in  their  profession.  Even  in  our  days  there  are  Arabian 
merchants  who  have  bank  accounts  of  a  million  dollars. 

DESERT  TRAVEL. 

Merchants  ensfacred  in  the  inland  trade  combine  to  the  number  of 
a  dozen  or  thousands,  and,  at  stated  period's  make  the  journey  across  the 
desert  to  Cairo,  from  Egypt  to  Soudan,  usually  to  Khartoum  or  Tim- 
buctoo,  where  they  purchase  attar  of  roses,  gold-dust,  indigo,  ivory, 
ostrich  featliers,  skins,  etc.,  with  their  cotton  goods,  cutlery,  wea- 
pons, etc.,  and  then,  it  may  be,  strike  across  the  great  desert  for 
Alyfiers  and  Morocco,  braving  storms.  Bedouins  and  Touaricks  with 
equal  fearlessness.  Having  chosen  a  leader,  or  conductor  of  the 
caravan,  and  the  camels  being  loaded  partly  with  merchandise  and 
slaves,  and  partly  with  provisions,  the  party  start  on  their  long  journey, 
and,  if  they  are  good  Mohammedans,  have  not  forgotten  the  mueddin 
to  call  them  to  praj'ers  at  the  proper  times,  or  the  "  iman  "  to  offer  the 
prayers.  The  "  khebir,"  or  leader,  has  under  him  many  subordinates, 
both  to  protect  the  caravan  and  to  spy  out  the  best  route,  and,  if  many 
merchants  have  combined  in  the  enterprise,  a  secretary  to  record  their 
commercial  transactions  as  they  stop  at  regular  stations  and  marts. 
The  khebir  must  be  able  to  direct  the  general  course  by  the  stars;  must 
know  where  are  the  principal  roads,  wells  and  oases  along  their  route  of 
a  thousand  miles,  or  so,  and  avoid  the  favorite  haunts  of  marauding 
tribes  ;  must  be  acquainted  with  all  the  chiefs  through  whose  districts 
it  is  necessary  to  pass ;  must  determine  when  to  fight  and  when  to  com- 
promise ;  and  be  acquainted  with  the  best  remedies  for  the  bites  of  ser- 
pents and  the  stings  of  scorpions.  If  the  stars  fail  him,  he  must  be  so 
intimately  acquainted  with  the  country  that  the  examination  of  a  hand- 
ful of  earth,  the  taste  and  smell  of  a  handful  of  grass,  will  tell  him  the 
locality  in  which  they  are.  Besides  arming  themselves  with  guns, 
pistols  and  sabres,  each  man  takes  with  him  one  hundred  and  eighty 
pounds  of  "  kouskous,"  a  dish  made  of  a  sort  of  highly  seasoned  rice  and 
mutton,  two  hundred  and  seventy  pounds  of  dates,  a  skin  of  butter,  one 


5'o 


PANORAMA    OF     NATIONS. 


of  dried  meat,  two  skins  of  water,  a  leather  bucket  for  the  camels, 
two  pairs  of  shoes,  needles  and  thongs  for  repairing-,  and  a  steel  and 
t'nder. 

When  encamped  for  the  night,  the  leader  appoints  a  certain  num- 
ber of  guards,  the  tents  and  baggage  being  disposed  around  his  tent. 
But  he  does  not  sleep.  From  hour  to  hour  his  voice  will  be  heard  in 
the  vast  solitude  of  the  desert,  "Ho,  guards  are  you  asleep?"  As  they 
proceed  on  their  journey  they  are  often  obliged  to  pass  near  the  resort 
of  tribes  of  desert  robbers.  As  they  approach  a  dangerous  locality, 
the  khebir  orders  a  halt  to 
give  these  instructions: 
"  Speak  only  in  a  whisper  or 
not  at  all.  Bind  the  mouths 
of  your  camels,  and  if  possi- 
ble, do  not  pass  by  them,  lest 
they  groan  at  the  sight  of 
their  masters  who  have 
loaded  them.  We  must 
neither  make  fire,  nor  fetch  ^ 
water,  nor  smoke.  The 
marks  of  our  feet  mieht  be 
discovered- — and  the  odor 
of  tobacco  is,  on  the  desert, 
carried  to  great  distances — 
some  men  can  smell  it  ten 
miles  off.  Have  your  arms 
ready  and  be  on  the  watch." 

If  the  caravan  is  larfje 
it  is   divided    into    sections  ^  loaded  camel. 

of  forty  or  fifty  camels  each,  which  move  across  the  desert  in  [parallel  lines, 
like  a  disciplined  body  of  troops.  Despite  all  these  precautions,  seldom  it 
is  that  a  journey  is  ended  without  a  dash  being  made  into  the  caravan,  and 
rich  merchandize  or  valuable  slaves  seized  from  off  the  camels'  backs,  or 
the  animal  themselves,  under  cover  of  some  dark  night,  mysteriously 
spirited  away.  And  when  the  caravan  reaches  an  oasis,  or  a  series  of  oases, 
which,  for  ages,  has  been  held  fast  by  Touaricks,  the  tribute  is  paid,  it 
matters  not  how  strong  the  force  of  armed  men  ;  for  if  the  merchants 
neglected  to  do  so,  their  enemies  would  thereafter  give  them  no  rest, 
day  or  night.  The  caravan  is  first  stopped  by  small  parties  of  Toua- 
ricks, who,  being  assured  by  the  khebir  that  he  is  on  his  wav  to  their 
chief,  allow  a  free  passage,  but  usually  hang  upon  its  outskirts  prepared 


TOWN    LIFE.  511 

for  mischief  in  case  the  tale  is  false.  The  tribute  thus  exacted  for 
passing  through  their  country  is  for  each  person  three  Spanish  dollars, 
some  tobacco  and  various  articles  of  dress.  This  being  paid,  the  cara- 
van is  often  accompanied  for  the  balance  of  the  journey  which  lies 
through  the  robbers'  country,  by  an  armed  Touarick  escort. 

TOWN    LIFE. 

After  our  merchant  has  accomplished  his  journey  of  seven  or 
eight  months',  or  even  a  year's,  duration,  we  must  imagine  that  he 
returns  to  his  native  town  ;  or  he  may  have  many  vessels  at  his  com- 
ni:uul,  being  a  resident  of  a  Persian  (iulf,  Red  Sea,  or  Indian  Ocean 
port.  At  all  events  his  is  a  substantial  stone  house  ;  and  if  he  resides  at 
the  capital  of  one  of  the  native  states,  it  may  be  situated  within  the 
walls  of  a  fortified  town.  It  is  built  around  a  court  and  approached  by 
a  high  horse-shoe  gateway,  on  either  side  of  which  are  seats  of  beaten 
earth  or  stone.  These  are  occupied  by  persons  who  are  seeking  admis- 
sion to  the  outer  court,  and,  through  a  second  entrance,  to  an  inner 
court,  on  one  side  of  which  is  a  stable  and  on  the  other  two  or  three 
rooms  for  servants. 

Opposite  the  inner  entrance  is  the  reception  room,  a  large  hall, 
perhaps  50x20  feet,  the  walls  being  painted  brown  and  white,  and  the 
floor  strewn  with  sand.  Around  the  sides  are  placed  strips  of  carpet, 
vipon  which  are  cushions  for  the  accommodation  of  visitors  and  coffee 
drinkers,  who  are  synonymous.  Furthest  removed  from  the  large 
door  is  a  large  square  stone,  hollowed  out  and  filled  with  charcoal. 
This  is  brought  quickly  to  a  high  heat  by  means  of  the  tube  which  runs 
in  below,  and  which  is  supplied  with  a  bellows  blast.  On  the  stone  fur- 
nace, or  in  an  open  fireplace  furnished  with  wood,  is  placed  a  great  array 
of  copper  coffee-pots,  of  every  conceivable  design,  their  number  and 
elegance  being  an  index  to  the  wealth  of  the  householder.  If  the  mer- 
chant has  no  black  slave  to  make  and  serve  his  coffee,  he  does  it  him. 
self,  often  assisted  by  his  sons.  The  roasted  berry  is  pounded  in  a 
stone  pestle,  and  after  it  is  boiled,  the  master  drinks  the  first  cup, 
to  show  that  it  is  not  poisoned,  this  portion  of  the  lunch  having  been 
preceded  by  dates  dipped  in  butter.  Commencing  with  the  guest  near- 
est the  fireplace,  the  host  then  makes  the  rounds  with  his  large  tray  of 
tiny  glasses,  filled  about  half  full ;  for  this  is  Arabian  as  well  as  Amer- 
ican etiquette.  As  the  cup,  or  any  article  of  food  is  presented,  the 
Mohammedan  says,  "  Semm  "  ("Say  the  name  of  God");  whereupon 
the  guest  answers  "  Bismallah." 

Beyond  the  Arab's   reception  room   are  the  private  apartments  of 


512  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

his  family,  which  are  Turkish  in  their  appearance  ;  but  the  Arabian  him. 
self  is  far  more  of  a  family  man  than  the  Turk,  and  it  is  not  only  among 
the  higher  classes  that  the  woman  has  influence,  but  among  the  middle 
ranks  of  society.  Family  ties  are  also  strong,  especially  between  mother 
and  son  and  brother  and  sister. 

"  Sisters,  when  unmarried,  reside,  after  their  father's  death,  with 
their  brothers,  and  so  well  established  is  this  custom,  that  a  young  Arab 
being  asked  what  would  become  of  her  if  a  brother  did  not  choose  to 
keep  a  sisterwith  him,  did  not  understand  the  question,  and  on  its  being 
repeated  still  did  not  comprehend  it,  looking  to  his  companion  foran  expia- 
tion. When  at  last  he  took  in  its  meaning,  he  answered,  with  a  look  of 
wonder:  '  It  is  impossible  ;  she  is  his  own  blood.'  The  question  was 
pressed  in  various  forms,  and  the  possibility  suggested  that  the  brother's 
wife  might  dislike  her,  but  still  the  answer  was  the  same  '  It  is  impos- 
sible;  she  is  his  own  blood.'  " 

The  Arab's  important  meal  is  eaten  a  little  before  sunset  and  the 
chief  dish  is  similar  to  the  pyramidal  conglomeration  which  has  already 
been  dissected  (by  hand)  in  the  tent  of  the  Bedouin  chieftain.  The  Arab 
of  means  adds  to  the  boiled  rice,  or  wheat,  and  meat,  vegetables,  cucum- 
bers and  hard  boiled  eggs.  After  supper  comes  the  smoking  of  a  quiet 
pipe  under  a  soft  sky,  the  houses  of  those  in  comfortable  circumstances 
having  large  gardens  and  plantations  attached  to  them. 

If  the  city  is  theresiclence  of  an  emir,  orprince,  in  the  center  is  the  royal 
palace,  a  stone  structure  thirty  or  forty  feet  in  height,  five  hundred  feet 
square,  and  pierced  near  the  top  with  narrow,  unglazed  windows.  It 
fronts  upon  a  square,  around  which  are  also  the  mosque,  the  market 
place  and  the  residences  of  the  government  officers  ;  also  the  govern- 
ment warehouses  and  small  apartments  for  guests.  The  prince  himself 
receives  distinguished  visitors,  being  attired  in  a  white  Arabian  shirt, 
over  which  is  a  delicately-worked  cloak  of  camel's  hair,  fastened  by  a 
broad  belt  of  the  same  material,  and  a  gold-mounted  sword  by  his  side. 
His  head-dress  is  a  silk  handkerchief  embroidered  with  gold  thread. 

The  valley  in  which  the  capital  is  situated,  with  its  twenty  or  thirty 
tliousand  people,  contains  smaller  villages  and  many  modest  houses,  each 
with  its  fruit  or  vegetable  garden,  which  is  industriously  cultivated.  At 
sunrise  hundreds  of  the  peasants  issue  forth  and  drive  their  asses  before 
them,  laden  with  watermelons,  gourds,  egg  plant,  fruits  and  other  pro- 
duce, being  on  their  way  to  the  market  of  the  capital.  The  loaded  camel 
is  also  seen  stalking  along  with  his  measured  pace,  loaded  with  rice,  flour, 
coffee  and  spices,  whose  destination  is  also  the  market.  The  shoemakers 
and  blacksmiths  of  the  city  will  soon  be  at  work  in  their  little  shops,  and 


NATIVK    JUSTICE.  5I3 

a  group  of  Bedouins  are  already  standing  about  in  the  square,  forced  to 
make  some  purchases  of  grain  in  town,  and  looi<ing  decidedly  uncom- 
fortable and  out  of  place.  Later,  the  market-place  is  crowded  from  end 
to  end  with  villagers,  townsmen,  I)edouins,  merchants  and  sheiks  ;  negro 
slaves,  gaily  dressed,  and  making  purchases  for  their  master's  table ; 
court  officers  on  their  way  to  the  palace  ;  camels  loading  and  unloading 
before  the  warehouses  and  booths  ;  purchasers  standing  or  sitting  at  the 
doors,  "arguing  the  point  "  with  the  proprietors  within;  everybody  is 
independently  jostling  everybody  else.  Here  in  tin;  market-place  the 
democracy  of  the  Arabian  character  is  brought  out  in  strong  colors  —  a 
characteristic  which  separates  the  Arab  from  other  Mohammedan  people, 
and  which  makes  the  hold  of  Islam  rather  weak  upon  him. 

NATIVK  JUSTICE. 

If  you  wish  to  see  how  justice  is  administered  in  an  Arabian  town, 
you  will  direct  your  steps  to  the  court  of  the  mosque.  In  the  center  is 
the  invariable  fountain,  with  two  pavilions,  the  whole  surrounded  by 
shrubs  and  banana  or  palm  trees.  Approaching  the  larger  one,  you 
remove  your  shoes  and  sit  upon  the  steps  which  lead  up  to  the  court 
house,  awaiting  your  turn  to  be  heard  by  the  kadi,  or  iman,  who  pre- 
sides over  the  lower  court.  You  may  look  in  through  the  folding  doors 
and  see  at  the  back  of  the  small,  whitewashed  hall,  the  Court  seated  at 
his  desk,  on  a  raised  jjlatform,  over  him  a  low  canopy  of  green  cloth. 
On  each  side  of  him    is    a  row  of  benches,  at  which  sit  the  clerks. 

The  kadi  is  dressed  in  white,  black  and  gray,  his  body  covered  to 
the  waist  with  a  muslin  scarf  which  falls  from  his  turban.  His  scribes 
wear  globular  caps  of  white  cotton,  which  bob  around  in  a  ridiculous  fash- 
ion if  clerical  duties  are  pressing,  and  their  figures  are  completely  envel- 
oped in  robes  of  silk.  The  suitors  enter  the  court  room  together,  sit  down 
upon  some  mats  before  the  judge,  and  state  and  plead  their  own  causes — 
this  statement  to  apply  when  both  of  them  are  men.  I  f  there  be  a  woman 
in  the  case  she  must  lav  her  matter  before  the  iman  through  a  barred 
window,  the  unfortunate  complainant  or  defendant  standing  in  a  gallery 
built  in  the  audience  hall  adjoining  the  court  room,  and,  being  closely 
veiled,  she  has  no  means  of  making  her  story  dramatic,  except  by  skill- 
ful intlections  of  the  \oice  and  the  thrusting  of  her  fingers  through  the 
bars  of  the  eratintr- 

Should  suitors  not  be  satisfied  with  the  decision  of  this  court,  they 

may  appeal  to  the  mufti,  the  expounder  of  the  Koran  and  the  law-giver 

of  high  rank,  who  sits  in  the  next  pavilion.      He  is  apt  to  be  a  venerable 

Arab,  dreaming  under  a  canopy,  withdrawn  like  a  hermit  into  his  small, 

33 


514 


PANORAMA    01-"    NATIONS. 


dark,  cool  retreat,  and  attired  in  yellow  slippers,  a  green  pelisse  and  a 
purple  head-dress  —  these,  at  least,  are  the  most  prominent  articles  of 
his  costume. 

Rut  the  coffee  house  is  a  much  more  common  place  of  resort  to  the 
town  and  city  Arab  than  either  the  inian's  or  the  mufti's  court.  It  is 
often  an  elegant  building,  covered  with  vines  and  shaded  with  trees,  cut 
up  into  secluded  alcoves,  and  is  the  resort  of  young  and  old.  Friends 
go  there  to  gossip,  merchants  to  quietly  drive  their  bargains,  boys  to 
drink  their  cool  sherbet,  others  to  play  games  of  chess,  to  listen  to 
singers  or  the  meddahs  (professional  storytellers),  who  often  appear 
in  the  character  of  bards  as  well  as  reciters. 


ARABIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 

Not  only  do  laws  and  governments  hang  upon  the  Koran,  but  it 
has  given  birth  to  a  style  of  architectural  ornamentation.  By  the 
Mohammedan's  creed  he  was  forbidden  to  represent  either  human 
figures  or  those  of  animals,  lest  he  should  be  tainted  with  the  sin  of 
idolatry.  But  his  love  of  the  beautiful  was  strong  and  his  great  mosques, 
which  at  first  were  built  by  Christian  architects  from  Constantinople, 
must  have  some  innocent  form  of  decoration.  He  had  obtained  hints 
from  Greece,  Rome  and  I'lg\'i)t,  and  finally  there  was  developed  that 
style  of  ornamentation  known  as  the  Arabesque,  which  employs  leaves, 
fruits,  flowers  and  tendrils,  artistically  blended  with  geometrical  figures, 
and  in  the  case  of  the  ]\Iohammedan,  with  inscriptions  from  the  Koran. 
To  the  Arab,  or  Moorish  Mohammedan,  is  the  architectural  world  also 
indebted  for  the  beautiful  horse-shoe  arch,  which  is  still  a  distinctive 
feature  of  his  mosques  and  gateways.  Otherwise  Mohammedan,  or 
Arabian  architecture,  is  a  combination  of  Grecian  and  Roman  styles  — 
that  which  was  generally  prevalent  in  the  Byzantine  empire. 


PERSIANS    AND    AFGHANS.       . 

THEIR  INTIMATE  CONNECTION. 

'HE  Persians  and  Afo-hans  form  the  connecting;  link  between 
the  Indians  and  Europeans.  They  are  the  Iranians  of  the 
Aryan  family.  The  Belooches,  or  tribe  which  inhabits 
Beloochistan,  are  a  less  important  division  of  the  family,  who 
may  be  called  the  connecting  link  between  the  Indians  and 
Iranians,  or  the  Hindus  and  the  Persians.  At  an  early  age  the 
'1  Iranians  and  Indians  probably  formed  onefamily,  and  the  Iran- 
ians afterward  emigrated  and  extended  their  dominion  to  the 
Caucasus  mountains.  The  Medes  separated  from  the  Per. 
sians,  as  a  tribe  or  people,  and  after  being  subject  to  Assyria 
for  many  centuries,  established  an  empire.  The  Persians  afterward 
became  dominant,  and  Media  was  incorporated  into  the  empire  as  a 
province.  Persia  was  overrun  by  Arabian,  Mongolian  and  European 
powers,  but  continued  to  maintain  a  secure  foothold  upon  her  lands. 
These  convulsions,  however,  probably  separated  her  from  the  fair  Cir- 
cassians in  the  north.  The  Kurds,  the  Armenians  and  the  Tajiks  are 
also  her  children  by  right  of  blood  and  speech  ;  and  wandering  over  her 
desert  places  and  through  her  few  fertile  valleys  are  numerous  tribes  of 
nomads,  who  are  Persians  of  the  old  days. 

RUINS    AND    HISTORIC    SPOTS. 

In  an  extensive  and  beautiful  plain  surrounded  by  lofty  mountains, 
stood  Persepolis,  with  the  great  palace  of  Xerxes  and  the  residences  of 
Cyrus,  Darius,  Xerxes  and  Artaxerxes  near  by.  I'^ew  traces  of  the 
ancient  capital,  which,  in  wealth  and  magnificence,  stood  next  to  the  far- 
famed  Susa,  now  remain  to  protest  against  the  desolation  caused  by 
Alexander  the  Great.  The  ruins  usually  spoken  of  as  those  of  Persep- 
olis are  those  of  the  royal  palaces  which  lie  in  the  plain  at  the  foot  of 
the  mountains.  They  all  stand  upon  an  immense  platform,  or  super- 
structure, 1,500  feet  long  and  nearly  1,000  wide,  supported  on  three  sides 

515 


5i6 


PANORAMA    UF    NATIONS. 


by  walls,  the  fourth  side  abutting  on  the  hUls.  Of  the  three  terraces 
which  compose  this  platform,  the  central  is  the  longest  and  highest,  being 
over  40  feet  high  and  measuring  770  feet  in  front.  Colossal  stone  bulls, 
fluted  columns,  and  sculptures  of  chariots,  warriors,  priests  and  kings 
ornament  the  staircases  or  lie  upon  the  platform.  Back  of  the  ruins, 
among  which  may  clearly  be  traced  the  walls  of  the  palaces,  are  seven 
tombs  cut  from  the  rock,  that  of  Darius  only  having  an  inscription.  Of 
the  city  itself,  two  miles  north  of  the  rojal  palaces,  there  only  remain 
several  enormous  blocks  of  stone,  supposed  to  be  portions  of  one  of  the 
city's  fortified  gates. 

Near  the  western  boundary  between    Persia   and  Turkey  are   the 

ruins  of  Susa, 
anotherevidence 
of  the  severity  of 
Alexander's 
hand.  It  was  the 
treasure  city  of 
the  Persian 
empire,  but  its 
ruins  are  chieffy 
u  ni  nteresting 
mounds  of  bricks 
and  colored  tiles. 
At  the  foot  of 
one  of  these 
mounds  stands 
the  tomb  of  the 
prophet  Daniel, 
guarded  by  a 
number  of  der- 
vishes   who    are 

the  only  inhabitants  of  the  city  which  was  once  one  of  the  grandest  of 
the  earth. 

The  town  of  Ilamadan,  in  Western  Persia,  has  many  times  been  the 
capital  of  the  empire.  It  is  jjicturesquely  situated,  its  approach  from 
the  west  being  over  a  great  mountain,  which  holds  numerous  glaciers  in 
its  hollows  ;  from  them,  descend  several  clear  streams,  which  are  warmed 
to  the  proper  temperature  as  they  de.scend  to  the  great  plantations 
and  choice  gardens  which  surround  the  town.  Villages  have  sprung  up  in 
the  fertile  plain,  and  within  the  town  the  caravansaries,  bazaars,  mosques 
and  public  baths  testify  to  its  present  importance.      Its  manufactures  of 


RRONZE  WORKERS. 


THE    COUXTKV.  517 

copper  and  bronze  are  hekl  in  fcuor,  and  from  the  mountain  streams  the 
inhabitants,  particular!)-  the  Jews,  collect  quite  a  little  gold  in  skins,  the 
contents  of  which  they  wash. 

These  few  particulars  are  stated  merely  to  give  the  reader  an  idea 
of  the  country  in  which  are  the  tombs  of  Esther  and  Mordecai.  They 
are  near  the  center  of  the  town,  are  made  of  hanl,  black  wood,  and  are 
so  low, that  the  huge  stone-like  structure  in  the  interior,  occupies  nearly 
the  entire  space  to  the  ceiling.  The  monument  was  erected  twelve  cen- 
turies ago  by  "the  two  benevolent  brothers  Elias  and  Samuel,  sons  of 
the  late  Ismael  of  Kachan";so  says  an  inscription  on  the  dome  over  the 
tombs;  and  not  an  inch  of  space  is  left  on  the  whitewashed  walls  on 
which  Jewish  pilgrims  have  not  inscribed  their  names. 

THE  COUNTRY. 

A-matter-of-fact  Scotch  traveler  who  visited  the  country  describes 
it  as  being  divided  into  two  portions —  "  one  being  desert  with  salt  and 
the  other  desert  without  salt."  Three-quarters  of  the  surface  of  Persia 
is  desert  land  and  salt  marshes,  destitute  of  rivers  and  streams.  The 
greatest  of  the  salt  deserts  is  in  tlie  province  of  Khorassan,  in  Central 
Persia,  being  400  miles  in  length  b)' 250  in  breadth.  The  level  country 
is  principally  along  the  shores  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  consists  of  grav- 
elly plains  or  downright  desert  tracts.  The  regions  which  may  be  hon- 
ored with  the  name  of  fertile  lie  between  the  motmtain  ranges,  in  the 
west  and  north,  and  the  provinces  along  the  Caspian  Sea.  In  the  latter 
districts,  mountain  rivers  and  streams  are  plentiful,  and  the  climate  being 
hot,  so  great  a  moisture  prevails  that  trees  and  plants  take  on  almost  a 
tropical  luxuriance  of  growth.  The  coasts  are  low,  and  it  therefore 
unfortunately  happens  that  the  most  fertile  tracts  of  Persia  are  breeders 
of  fevers  and  general  sickness. 

Here  the  mulberry  tree  is  cultivated,  the  basis  of  silk  manufacture, 
which  is  also  the  basis  of  what  commercial  prosperity  Persia  possesses. 
Thousands  of  laborers,  both  peasants  and  manufacturers,  repair  to  the 
Caspian  provinces,  but  return  to  their  houses  when  the  cleadl)-  heats  and 
fogs  of  summer  set  in.  .Satins,  brocades,  velvets,  plain  and  striped  silks 
in  every  conceivable  combination  of  colors,  are  produced.  A  pure 
silken  o-arment  is  consideretl  unlawful  by  the  Musselman,  and  there- 
fore  large  quantities  of  goods  are  manufactured  in  which  cotton  is  inter- 
woven with  the  silk. 

In  almost  every  habitable  part  of  Persia  silk  is  produced,  and  the 
wealthiest  merchants  of  the  country  are  engaged  in  the  trade.      Most  of 


5i8 


PANORAMA    OK    NATIONS. 


the  silk  is  sent  to  Russia  and  'liirkcy,  since  the  careless  way  in  whicL 
the  thread  is  made,  being  uneaven  and  knotty,  and  the  manner  in 
which  the  skein   is  wound,  the    material   is   considered   inferior  in  Euro- 


5    A^/»?  s^ 


pean  markets.  The  rich  and  durable  Persian  carpets  are  made  in  man- 
ufactories, as  well  as  by  the  villagers  and  nomads.  Tea,  sugar,  jewelry, 
cutlery  and  glassware  come  from  Europe,  and  from  the  I£ast,  muslin, 


AGRICULTURE.  519 

leather,  nankeen,  china,  precious  stones,  saffron,  indigo,  etc.  The  interior 
trade  of  the  country  is  carried  on  by  means  of  caravans,  and,  like  the 
Arabs,  the  Persians  travel  into  all  countries  in  the  furtherance  of  their 
enterprises.  They  are  a  numerous  class,  and  form  as  a  whole  the  most 
wealthy  and  cultivated  element  in  the  empire. 

AGRICULTURE. 

The  climate  of  Persia  is  a  constant  succession  of  fierce  heats,  with 
unhealthy  vapors  or  blasting  winds,  and  dreary,  penetrating  cold.  The 
fertile  districts  are  the  most  unhealthy,  except  a  tract  now  and  then  in 
the  mountains  of  the  west;  the  unproductive  parts  are  where  the  people 
must  live,  thoroughly  enjoying  their  gardens  a  few  months  of  the  year 
and  the  balance  of  the  time  seeking  protection  within  doors.  With 
such  an  unfavorable  climate  to  contend  with,  and  with  so  small  a  portion 
of  the  country  capable  of  cultivation,  it  would  logically  follow  that  agri- 
culture would  not  reach  a  high  state  of  perfection. 

Yet  in  those  sections  which  are  fertile,  the  profits  of  the  husbandman 
are  high,  food  is  cheap,  and  the  wages  of  the  field  hands  are  good.  Rice, 
wheat,  barley  and  maize  are  the  principal  cereals  grown.  The  plow 
usually  consists  of  two  pieces  of  board,  on  which  is  fastened  a  stool,  and 
is  drawn  by  an  ass,  horse  or  camel.  After  the  grain  has  been  threshed, 
it  is  taken  b\'  the  laborers,  put  into  sieves  and  cleaned.  Most  of  the  fields 
are  irrigated  by  streams  which  are  led  down  from  the  mountains,  and  a 
water  privilege  commands  exorbitant  prices.  Where  the  irrigation  is 
plentiful  two  crops  a  year  may  be  raised. 

PERSIAN  NOMADS. 

These  are  known  as  "ilij-ats,"  or  the  "  clans,"  and  consist  of  Turko- 
mans, Kurds,  Leks  and  Arabs.  Each  tribe  is  governed  by  its  hereditary 
chief  and  when  one  knows  the  Turkoman  of  Turkestan,  the  Kurd  of 
Asiatic  Turkey  and  the  Bedouin  of  Arabia,  he  has  no  need  of  a  second 
prolix  introduction  to  the  same  people  of  Persia.  The  Leks,  however, 
are  of  nearly  pure  Persian  blood. 

In  their  annual  migrations  some  of  the  tribes  travel  hundreds  of 
miles  to  reach  their  favorite  pasturage  grounds.  The  Kashkai  is  the 
most  powerful  tribe,  numbering  over  30,000  tents.  These  nomads 
pitch  their  tents  on  the  shores  of  the  Persian  Gulf  in  winter,  and  in  the 
spring,  pasture  their  great  flocks  and  herds  near  Ispahan.  They  do  not 
move  in  a  body,  but  in  divisions  whose  size  depends  upon  the  luxuriance 
of  the  pasturage  which  is  reported  by  the   ad\ance  scouts.     When  a 


520  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

company  finally  decide  to  remain,  they  pitch  their  encampment  in  the 
form  of  a  square,  with  the  tent  of  the  chief  in  the  center,  and  their 
camp  often  presents  the  appearance  of  a  city  of  tents.  Many  of  the 
clans  which  form  this  great  tribe  of  Turkomans  winter  on  the  low  land 
of  the  coast.  During  this  season  of  the  year  many  of  the  famous  Per- 
sian carpets  and  rugs,  the  only  manufacture  for  whicli  tlie  country'  is 
noted,  are  made  in  the  tents  of  these  nomads  by  the  women  and  chil- 
dren. Four  stakes  fixed  in  the  ground,  which  serve  to  twist  the  woolen 
thread,  comprise  the  machinery  for  their  manufacture. 

Some  of  the  Turkomans  go  to  Laristan,  or  Looristan,  the  country 
of  the  Loors,  who  are  a  clan  of  the  Leks  and  also  live  on  the  gulf  in 
winter.  Others  dwell  among  the  Bakhtiarees,  another  clan  of  the  Leks, 
who  live  in  the  mountains,  especially  on  Mount  Padina,  which  is  always 
covered  with  snow.  In  summer,  as  has  been  seen,  these  nomadic  tribes, 
representatives  of  the  primitive  races  of  Turkestan  and  Persia,  separate 
and  move  northward.  Although  thus  temporarily  combined,  the  two 
races  have  little  in  common,  either  in  appearance  or  disposition.  The 
Turkoman  is  grave,  rugged  and  manly  in  looks  ;  the  Lek  has  been  com 
pared  to  the  wild  cat  being  wild,  restless  and  ferocious  in  appearance" 
They  both  call  themselves  Old  Persians,  and  it  is  possible  that  the 
Turkomans  did  emigrate  eastward  to  the  present  territory  of  Turkestan. 

Of  all  the  Leks,  the  Loors,-  whose  winter  homes  are  among  the 
mountains  of  Laristan,  in  Southern  Persia,  are  the  most  ferocious. 
Many  years  ago  an  Englishman  took  a  notion  to  find  out  something 
about  these  savage  robbers,  who  have  killed  several  European  curiosity 
seekers.  So  he  courted  a  Loor  woman,  married  her,  became  a  Mussul- 
man dervish,  and  not  only  lived  among  them,  but  wandered  all  over  the 
East  in  his  disguise.  He  says:  "In  Looristan  proj)er  there  are  no 
houses.  Half  the  year  the  people  live  in  the  higher  mountains  in 
arbors  formed  of  twigs  and  bushes,  the  other  half  is  spent  in  tents 
below  the  mountains  in  the  germseer,  or  hot  region,  during  winter;  six 
months  of  the  year  th.cy  lixe  on  acorn  bread,  steeped  in  mud  to  remove 
the  acid  taste."  Their  condition  has  improved  somewhat  since  then, 
though  they  are  still  the  wildcats  of  Persia. 

When  on  the  march  nothing  is  at  first  observed  Init  a  mob  c)f  loaded 
camels,  men  on  horse-back,  or  camel-back,  woiuen  on  foot,  dogs,  sheep, 
cattle,  cats  and  children.  Closer  observation  indicates  that  the  camels, 
from  a  few  hundred  to  thousands,  are  carrying  tents  and  cooking  utensils  ; 
that  the  dogs  are  large  and  shaggy  and  cling  to  the  women  ;  that  the 
girls  are  masculine  and  wiry,  and  the  matrons  ugly,  with  their  faces 
unveiled  and  showing  an  unfeigned  intlifference  to  obserxalion  ;  and 
that,  in  fact,  the  wild, free  nomadic  life  is  not  a  paradise. 


BRAVE    AND    HARDV    WOMEN.  52  1 

BRAVE  AND  HARDY  WOMEN. 

It  is  not  the  invariable  rule,  however,  that  the  women  thus  humbly 
tramp  along  on  foot,  followed  by  the  dogs.  They  often  exhibit  a  bold 
and  skillful  horsemanship,  and  when  danger  threatens  the  tribe  use  the 
gun  and  the  spear  with  masculine  effect.  Many  of  the  Iliyat  women> 
among  the  Kurds  especially,  do  not  wait  for  war  in  order  to  show  their 
independence,  bravery  and  intelligence,  but  take  a  leading  part  in  the 
affairs  of  tlie  tribe.  In  Mazanderan,  one  of  the  provinces  bordering  on 
the  Caspian  Sea,  was  a  powerful  tribe  v/hich  was  governed  by  the  wife 
of  its  former  chief.  They  dwelt  in  their  summer  residence,  or  yeilak, 
which  was  a  town  built  into  the  side  of  a  great  mountain,  except  from 
October  until  late  in  the  spring,  when  they  emigrated  to  the  warm  shores 
of  the  Caspian  Sea,  to  live  in  their  winter  abode  —  a  village  lying  in  a 
plain,  at  the  foot  of  other  mountains,  and  surrounded  by  dense  woods 
and  groves  of  oranges  and  lemons. 

It  was  in  this  strip  of  countr\-,  even  nearer  the  sea,  covered  with 
morasses,  jungles,  rice  plantations,  mulberry  trees,  and  dense  torests  of 
timber,  and  lying  beyond  the  province  of  Mazanderan,  that  the  Kurd- 
ish tribe  of  Kadjars,  or  Kajjars,  had  their  origin.  But  few  remain  in 
that  locality,  although  one  of  their  powerful  leaders  became  the  first 
Shah  of  the  reigning  dynasty  of  Persia,  under  whose  sway  Persian 
women  have  played  no  minor  part.  But  the  rugged  outdoor  life  of  the 
Kurds  has  left  its  impress  upon  the  ctescendants  e\en  of  the  Kadjars 
and  the  Persians  arc  only  civilized  and  modified  Ilijats. 

The  walls  of  the  Shah's  harem  are  frescoed.  One  of  the  pictures 
represents  an  encampment  in  a  green  plain ;  with  goats  and  sheep  graz- 
ing, women  carrying  water,  milking  and  cooking.  The  Shah's  mother, 
who  had  charge  of  his  establishment,  once  conducted  the  wife  of  an 
English  official  around  the  palace,  and  stopping  before  this  picture,  of 
all  others,  said  to  her  visitor:  "  .\h,  there  is  a  happy  life  —  there  is  a 
charming  picture."  "Yes,"  added  in  effect  all  the  wives  of  the  Shah's 
harem,  "  life  under  a  tent,  with  fine  air  and  good  water,  and  fresh  lamb, 
is  the  best  of  all  things." 

The  capitals  of  Persia  have  been  founded  with  special  reference  to 
their  location  as  a  central  point  from  which  to  summon  the  hardy  soldiers 
which  the  Shah  was  in  the  habit  of  drafting  from  the  nomadic  tribes  of 
his  empire.  With  the  formation  of  a  regular  army,  the  location  of  the 
capital  with  reference  to  this  consideration  became  of  secondary  import- 
ance, although  at  the  present  time  about  the  onlv  tax  paid  by  the  Iliyats 
consists  in  the  quota  of  troops  which  they  furnish  the  Shah.  To  secure 
some  sort  of  internal  tranquility  the  tribal  system  had  to  be  suppressed, 


522  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

and  with  its  suppression  the  Persian  cavalry  lost  its  reputation.  The  gn  it 
kahns  of  the  Iliyats  have  disappeared,  and  with  them  the  immense 
studs  and  bodies  of  superb  horsemen  which  they  maintained.  The 
scattered  tribes  remain,  governed  by  hundreds  of  minor  chiefs  —  that  is 
all. 

Gipsies  form  quite  an  element  in  the  floating  population  of  Persia 
Gipsies  are  gipsies  everywhere.  They  pay  a  heavy  tax  to  the  Shah, 
heavier  than  he  levies  upon  Christians  or  Jews.  They  are  therefore 
called  "slaves"  in  Persia;  also  "fortune-tellers"  and  "sieve-makers." 
The  latter  name  gives  a  clew  to  their  principal  occupation,  tlie  womer. 
selling  the  sieves  from  door  to  door.  The  men  often  indulge  in  sleight, 
of-hand  tricks  and  gymnastic  feats  when  they  meet  a  caravan  or  band  of 
pilgrims  who  look  prosperous  in  worldly  goods. 

TOWN   LIFE  IN  PER.SIA. 

Nearly  everybody  sleeps  on  the  ground,  whether  in  house  or  tent, 
and  this  notwithstanding  the  prevalence  of  scorpions  and  tarantulas. 
Nervous  foreigners  guard  against  these  dangers  in  various  ways,  one 
young  lady  being  mentioned  who  hired  a  Cossack,  with  sword  in  hand, 
to  watch  her  room  all  night.  During  the  daytime  the  bedding  is  tied 
into  a  bundle  and  piled  up  in  the  corner  of  the  room,  covered  with  a 
gaudy  silk  sheet.  When  the  weather  is  cold  the  Persian  famjly  in 
moderate  circumstances  resort  to' a  very  simple  but  effective  means  of 
keeping  warm.  A  quantity  of  charcoal  is  burned  so  as  to  exclude  the 
gas  and  placed  in  a  flat  copper  dish,  which  is  covered  with  a  large  wooden 
frame, .open  at  the  sides.  A  large  wadded  quilt  is  thrown  over  the 
whole  arrangement ;  also  over  the  legs  and  arms  of  the  family,  who  sit 
around  their  "  Koorsee"  during  the  day  and  lie  around  it  at  night.  The 
better  class  of  houses  have  fireplaces  over  which  are  hung  texts  from  the 
Koran  or  the  Persian  poets. 

The  living-room  of  the  family  is  covered  with  felts,  one  corner 
being  given  up  to  the  bedding;  another  to  chests,  and  jars  of  grain,  peas 
and  beans.  Grapes,  a[)ricots  and  onions  hang  in  festoons  from  the  ceil- 
ing; and  the  shelves  which  are  cut  into  the  earthen  walls  hold  stores  of 
apples,  pears,  quinces  and  melons,  besides  the  family  crockery. 

THE  WATER  SUPPLY. 

Most  of  the  villages  are  furnished  with  water  from  a  series  of  artifi- 
cial wells  and  shafts,  the  source  of  the  supply  being  usually  in  the  hills  or 
mountains,  which  are  often   thirty  or  forty  miles  distant.     The  whole 


VILLAGE    OCCUPATIONS.  '  523 

system  is  called  a  "kanat,"  and  takes  the  place  of  the  fountain  in  Turkey 
As  "water  is  the  greatest  gift  of  Allah,"  rich  Persians  who  desire  a  place 
in  Paradise,  construct  these  kanats  and  place  them  under  the  protection 
of  priests.  They  are  offerings  to  God,  which  fact,  however,  does  not 
prevent  them  from  being  prolific  sources  of  contention  between  the 
villagers  who  desire  to  purchase  them,  or  to  divert  the  stream  to  their 
own  crardens  and  fields.  A  fight  usuall)'  follows  which  often  leads  to 
bruised  bodies  or  mortal  wounds. 

Some  of  the  cities  and  larger  towns  have  wells,  but  the  kanats 
form  the  main  dependence.  A  lord  of  the  water  is  appointed  to  over- 
see the  distribution  of  the  precious  fluid  to  the  householders,  and  special 
days  are  often  appointed  for  supplying  extensive  gardens  or  public  in- 
.stitutions.  The  stream  enters  one  side  of  the  town  and  passes  quite 
throu'-'-h,  with  manifold  taps  and  conduits  to  private  and  public  cisterns. 
Not  only  is  there  the  lord  of  the  water,  but  numerous  guards  are 
stationed  along  the  line  to  see  that  no  man  gets  more  than  his  share,  or, 
upon  these  special  days,  that  the  whole  supply  reaches  its  destination 
But  these  precautions  are  useless.  The  watchman  may  be  absent  or 
bribed,  and,  for  a  few  minutes,  nearly  the  whole  supply  will  be  turned 
into  some  rich  man's  cistern  or  garden;  or  some  cunning  scoundrel  will 
dig  an  underground  passage  from  his  house  to  the  main  pipe,  and,  when 
the  stream  is  turned  on,  will  rapturously  hear  his  "blessing  from  the 
mountain"  as  it  pours  into  his  secret  reservoirs  and  wells,  and  trickles 
weakly  on  toward  its  intended  destination. 

VILLAGE  OCCUPATIONS. 

Gardening  is  one  of  the  great  occupations  of  townsmen.  They 
either  are  in  the  service  of  a  noble  Persian,  or  have  gardens  of  their 
own.  Roses  are  grown  in  profusion,  from  which  is  made  rose  water. 
In  winter  the  villagers  are  also  fond  of  cultivating  tulips.  But  there  are 
many  difficulties  in  the  way  of  gardening.  In  the  spring  and  summer 
the  Persian  sun  is  intense,  so  that  the  season  of  roses  is  only  about  a 
month ;  the  rapidity  with  which  they  blow  and  wither  soon  draws  away 
the  vitality  of  the  bush.  And  then,  the  earth  is  first  baked  and  next 
flooded  from  the  kanats.  For  two  months  of  the  year  the  ground  is 
covered  with  snow,  which  really  leaves  only  a  few  months  of  the  early 
spring  and  winter  when  cultivation  can  be  carried  on  to  any  advantage. 
In  a  word,  neither  the  climate  nor  the  country  is  what  fiction  makes  it 
out  *o  be. 

In  nearly  all  the  large  towns  of  Persia  much  wine  is  also  made, 
despite  the  prohibition  of  the  Koran.      But  the  common  report  is  that 


524 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


it  is  made  for  Armenians  ami  other  Christians.  Those  who  can  afford 
it,  however,  import  European  wines,  remembering,  no  doubt,  how  the 
native  article  is  crushed  from  masses  of  sound  and  decaying  grapes  and 
stems,  with  dirty  naked   feet. 

There  is  one  district,  however,  in  Southern  Persia,  situated  in  a 
fertile  valley  near  ancient  Persepolis,  which  has  been  celebrated  even  in 
poetry  for  the  excellence  of  its  wines.  Shiraz  is  the  center  of  the  dis- 
trict, and  the  products  of  its  wines  are  powerful  and  astringent,  but  con- 
sidered by  many  Persians  rich  in  ilavor.  Its  grapes  are  extensively  cul- 
tivated for  raisins,  and  its  dates  are  celebrated  for  their  flavor.  Tobacco, 
opium  and  roses  also  add  to  the  fame  of  Farsistan,  in  which  Shiraz  is 
located,  as  the  most  fertile  of  the  mountain  districts. 


UNATTRACTIVE  ARCHITECTURE. 

Farsistan  is  preeminently  the  vineyard  of  Persia.  Unlike  the  dis- 
tricts of  the  Caspian  Sea  it  is  a  healthful,  delightful  region  in  which  to 
reside,  and  being  the  center  of  the  wine  trade  it  is  the  home  of  many 
wealthy  and  cultivated  merchants.      But  even  here,  the  flat,  unattractive 

style  of  Persian  architecture  prevails. 
The  following  will  give  an  idea  of  the 
airangement  of  an  average  house: 

"The  interior  court  is  entered 
through  a  narrow  corridor  from  the 
'  street,  and  usually  contains  a  small 
i  flower-bordered  water  tank.  Simple 
blank  walls  enclose  two  sides  of  the 
court  ;  the  other  two  sides,  opposite  one 
another,  are  occupied  by  the  two  dis- 
tmct  buildings  which  make  up  the 
house,  one  being  devoted  to  the  use  of 
the  master  and  the  men  in  his  household, 
and  the  other  being  the  harem.  Each 
consists  of  a  large  saloon,  separated 
from  the  courtyard  by  glass  windows, 
with  two  smaller  apartments  on  the 
ground  floor,  and  a  balconj-  chamber 
above.  The  flat  roofs  arereached  by  an  uncovered  flight  of  steps,  and  are 
places  of  frequent  and  favorite  resort  in  the  warm  season  after  nightfall." 
The  bazaars  of  Persian  cities  and  towns  contain  the  only  thorough- 
fares that  deserve  the  name  of  streets.  ''  Some  of  them  are  spacious, 
lofty,  solidly  built,  and,  comparatively  speaking,  magnificent.      A  paved 


WEALTHY  MERCHANTS. 


CLEVER    WOMEN    AND    MANAGERS.  525 

pathway,  from  ten  to  sixteen  feet  in  width,  runs  between  two  rows  of 
small  shops  or  cells,  where  the  venders  of  commodities  sit  on  a  platform 
with  their  goods  beside  them.  The  vaults  contain  the  rest  of  their  stock. 
The  whole  is  arched  over  with  masonry  or  clay,  or,  in  very  inferior 
establishments,  with  branches  of  trees  and  thatches,  to  keep  out  the  sun. 
Smiths,  braziers,  shoemakers,  saddlers,  potters,  tailors,  cloth-s(;llers,  etc., 
arc  generall}-  found  together.  Attached  to  the  bazaars,  in  th(_-  larger 
towns,  arc  usually  several  caravansaries  for  the  accommodation  ot  travel- 
ing merchants." 

The  exterior  of  Persian  houses  is  in  fact  as  unattractive  as  the  huts 
of  thi'  poorest  peasants.  They  are  seldom  of  more  than  one  story,  and 
have  the  same  appearance  of  muddiness.  Inside,  however,  many  of 
them  are  the  perfection  of  elegance.  One  court  leads  into  another,  the 
floor  of  the  reception  room  being  covered  with  fine  cashmere  shawls,  with 
o-old-embroidercd  cushions  islaced  around  the  wall.  All  the  rooms  are 
on  the  ground  lloor,  ami  underneath  are  the  "  zeerzemeens  "  —  immense, 
dark,  cool  apartments,  where  the  family  live  in  warm  weather.  High 
mud  walls  usually  surround  the  most  elegant  of  mansions,  and  around 
them,  even  to  the  very  entrances,  are   clustered  the  hovels  of   the  poor. 

Outwardly  l\;rsian  towns  are  generally  alike,  the  difference  lying 
principally  in  the  faithfulness  or  carelessness  with  which  the  gardens  are 
kept.  It  may  be,  also,  that  one  village  will  boast  of  a  more  imposing 
mosque  than  another. 

CLEVER  WOMEN  AND   MANAGERS. 

Persian  women  are  often  more  restless,  energetic  and  ambitious 
than  the  men,  and  not  only  manage  their  own  private  affairs,  but  are 
deep  in  political  wiles.  They  are  extremely  self-possessed  and  courte- 
ous, and  in  the  higher  circles  of  society  are  known  through  life  by  some 
grandiloquent  or  descriptive  title,  such  as  "  the  Lady  of  the  Era,"  "the 
Lady  of  Sweetness,"  or  "the  Lady  of  Courtesy."  Unlike  the  women 
of  Turkey,  although  the  amusements  of  the  harem  are  much  the  same, 
Persian  ladies  have  frequently  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  lite- 
rature of  their  country,  and  are  experts  in  the  culinary  department.  A 
very  dainty  dish  which  they  prepare  for  their  lords  when  especially  solic- 
itous to  gain  a  [loint,  if  they  can  not  do  it  with  their  eloquent  tongues, 
consists  of  a  young  lamb,  roasted  whole,  decked  with  flowers,  with  a  rich 
stuffing  of  chestnuts. 

This  contrast  has  been  well  drawn  between  the  Ottoman  and 
the  Persian  courtier  :  "  Both  are  perfectly  like  gentlemen,  but  in  a  dif- 
ercnt  way.  The  Osmanli  is  calm,  sedate,  polished,  perhaps  a  little  eftem- 
inatc  ;  the  Persian  is  lively,  cordial,  witty  and  amiable  ;    perhaps  a  little 


526 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


boisterous,  for  he  isstil!  an  Iliyat.  The  Turkish  courtierspends  his  time 
in  roaming  up  and  down  the  Bosporus,  leading  a  Hfe  of  kixury  and  ease, 
never  quitting  the  capital.  The  Persian  courtier  is  constantly  on  horse- 
back, hunting  with  his  sovereign  in  weather  of  all  kinds,  or  accompany- 
ing him  in  journeys  from  one  end  of  Persia  to  the  other.  The  Osmanli 
may  be  more  refined,   the  Iranee  is  more  original." 

SOCIAL  AND  DOMESTIC  CUSTOMS. 

Persian  women  of  quality  are  dressed  with  much  magnificence, 
although  the  costume  has  little  grace  about  it.  Their  trousers  are 
many,    sometimes    a  dozen  pair ;  as   they    have   no   crinoline  they  are 

obliged  to  fall  back  upon  this  substitute. 
They  are  very  wide,  the  outer  ones  made  of 
stiff  gold  brocade  so  that  they  serve  every 
purpose  of  the  petticoat.  They  are  fastened 
at  the  waist  with  a  running  string  and  edged 
with  pearls  or  other  gems. 

Persian  women  who  are  thrown  in  con- 
tact with  Europeans,  for  the  first  time, 
evince  much  curiosity  to  see  these  strange 
sisters  who  wear  "trousers  with  one  leg," 
which  is  the  way  they  describe  their  proper 
skirts. 

To  continue  a  description  of  the  ladies' 
costumes:  A  small  velvet  jacket  reaching 
to  the  waist ;  shawl  pinned  under  the  chin  ; 
hair  plaited  in  small  bands  ;  handsome  neck- 
laces and  bracelets  ;  gloves  with  spreading 
wristbands,  or  hands  exposed,  with  the 
palms  and  the  tips  of  the  fingers  dyed  red ;  the  inner  part  of  the  eyelids 
colored  with  antimony  to  increase  the  size  of  their  naturally  large  eye- 
brows; cheeks  painted  a  bright  red;  and  their  small  feet  encased  in 
cashmere  stockings  and  daintily  resting  upon  a  rich  Persian  rug — this 
is  an  average  picture  of  ladies  of  high  degree  who  are  waiting  to  receive 
company. 

The  pipe  is  an  invariable  accompaniment  of  social  and  domestic 
life  in  Persia,  as  well  as  Turkey.  Its  importance  may  be  appreciated 
when  it  is  stated  that  in  the  courts  of  royalty  there  is  an  officer  of  the 
hookah,  who  keeps  this  complicated  pipe  in  repair,  and,  at  the  proper 
time,  presents  the  amber  mouth-piece  to  his  master.      The  bowls  of  the 


SMOKING    A  WATER    PIPE. 


CALLING    AND    GOSSIPING.  52/ 

Persian  pipes,  or  hookahs,  are  of  large  size  and  rest  upon  water 
vessels  which  stand  upon  the  sitting-rug,  or  carpet,  the  long  stems  being 
made  of  wire  covered  with  a  thin  coating  of  leather  or  other  flexible 
substance.  The  bowl  of  the  pipe  is  set  upon  the  air-tight  water  vessel, 
into  the  side  of  which  the  smoking  tube  is  inserted,  a  small  tube  connect- 
ing the  bowl  with  the  water  vessel.  By  this  arrangement,  when  the  air 
is  exhausted  the  smoke  is  forced  down  under  the  water  and  entering  the 
space  above  it  passes  into  the  stem,  freed  by  its  contact  with  the  water 
from  the  nicotine  and.  other  deleterious  properties  of  the  tobacco.  The 
hookah  is  often  richly  ornamented  with  silver  chains,  or  strings  of 
precious  stones,  especially  if  it  is  the  pet  of  a  favorite  Persian  wife. 

CALLING  AND  GOSSIPING. 

It  is  the  custom  of  Persian  women  to  sleep  in  all  their  clothes.  The 
bedding  is  untied  and  drawn  out  from  the  wall,  and  into  the  wadded  quilt, 
which  serves  them  for  a  blanket,  they  roll  themselves,  veil  and  all.  The 
only  time  they  undress  themselves  is  when  they  bathe,  or  after  they  have 
gone  out  calling,  attired  in  their  best  clothes. 

The  unaccountable  energy  of  Persian  women  would  make  it  impos- 
sible for  them  to  endure  the  stricter  seclusion  of  their  Turkish  sisters. 
They  go  abroad  closely  veiled,  but  it  takes  very  little  encouragement,  if 
none  of  their  own  people  are  near,  to  induce  them  to  reveal  their  rouged 
faces  and  stupendous  eyebrows.  They  have  many  pretexts  by  which 
they  escape  the  monotony  of  their  home  life,  such  as  visits  to  friends,  to 
the  doctor,  or  to  the  shrine  of  some  saint  outside  of  town. 

The  lady  of  rank  often  mounts  a  tall  Turkoman  horse,  and,  with 
her  female  attendants  around  her,  and  her  servants  before  and  behind, 
likewise  on  horseback,  she  canters  away  with  much  bustle.  A  remark 
was  made  concerning  the  doctor.  The  lady  is  not  apt  to  visit  a  native 
physician,  if  she  can  avoid  it,  for  he  gives  the  most  sickening  draughts 
and  in  tremendous  quantities.  In  the  capital  and  the  larger  cities  there 
are  European  physicians,  and  to  them  and  their  mild  remedies  hundreds 
of  fair  dames  and  damsels  resort,  suffering  under  no  malady  under  the 
sun,  except  with  an  inextinguishable  fever  to  meet  each  other  outside 
the  doctor's  door,  squat  upon  a  soft  rug  and  gossip  and  chatter. 

WIVES  AND  CHILDREN. 

Persian  marriages  are  of  two  kinds.  That  sanctioned  by  the 
Koran,  which  allows  the  taking  of  four  wives,  is  called  "  akd."  In  the 
other  the  marriage  is  for  a  certain  period,  which  can  be  renewed,  but  is 


5-28  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

never  to  exceed  "  ninety  years."  The  so-called  "  seegha ''  wives  are  the 
servants  and  slaves  of  the  harem.  The  sons,  however,  of  the  second- 
ary wives  are  equal  in  rank  to  those  of  the  akdee  wives. 

The  ceremony  consists  in  the  bridegroom  elect,  with  his  family  and 
a  mollah,  going  to  the  house  of  the  bride  and  having  the  priest  ask  the 
woman  if  she  is  willing  to  marry  him.  Behind  a  curtain  are  the  lady  and 
her  female  relatives.  Etiquette  recjuires  that  the  "yes,"  which  is 
given  by  somebody,  shall  be  preceded  by  a  long  delay.  The  marriage 
contract  is  signed,  the  bride  receives  a  lot  of  sweetmeats,  and  in  the 
evening  she  is  conducted  in  procession,  with  pipes  and  drums  and  all  her 
earthly  goods,  to  her  husband's  house.  If  .she  is  one  of  several  wives, 
her  coming  is  the  cause  of  many  uncomfortable  thoughts  in  the  minds 
of  her  sisters  ;  for,  if  the  husband,  has  not  great  wealth,  he  will,  on 
New  Year's  day,  cut  down  the  allowances  of  his  other  wives,  both  of 
money  and  of  clothing.  And  then  the  new  one  is  generally  the  young- 
est one  and  is  always  viewed  in  the  light  of  a  rival  and  an  interloper. 

But  the  most  shocking  phase  of  Persian  family  life  is  the  way  in 
which  children  are  treated.  When  they  are  of  tender  years  their  mothers 
turn  them  over  to  the  care  of  nurses,  who  ha\e  a  habit,  when  their 
charges  are  troublesome,  of  feeding  them  with  bits  of  opium.  A  poor 
woman  will  also  resort  to  this  dangerous  practice  with  her  own  children. 
None  but  the  strong  survive,  and  a  French  physician,  who  was  for  years 
in  attendance  upon  the  .Shah,  expresses  his  conviction  that  not  above 
three  children  in  ten  outlive  their  third  year. 

A  PERSIAN  HAREM. 

The  Turkish  harem  and  the  Persian  harem  are  as  dissimilar  as  the 
people.  The  Persian,  as  he  goes,  is  a  family  man,  and  enjoys  the  society 
of  his  wives  and  children.  They  are  not  even  guarded  abroad  with  the 
same  police-like  severity  which  stamps  the  conduct  of  the  Turk  towards 
his  wife.  A  Persian  lady,  closely  veiled,  it  is  true,  will  often  be  seen  on 
the  streets  alone  on  her  way  to  the  public  bath,  bazaar  or  mosque.  Except 
for  enjoying  her  husband's  company  to  a  more  becoming  extent,  life 
withintheharem  is  much  like  that  already  described  as  being  led  b)-  the 
Turkish  lady.  With  her  hookah,  her  tea,  coffee,  fruit,  ices  and  cakes, 
she  has  also  her  books,  and  is  able  to  correspond  with  her  friends  with- 
out the  assistance  of  a  secretary.  She  is  not  hemmed  around  by  forbid- 
ding black  eunuchs,  but  is  surrounded  by  comely  maids  and  slaves,  dressed 
often  in  home-like  flowered  calico,  and  having  their  hair  '  I)anged  "  like 
brisk  American  servants.      The  harem  usually  fronts  on  a  spacious  court 


MODERN    FIRE-WORSHIPERS.  529 

(supposing  the  Persian  to  be  wealthy),  in  the  center  of  which  is  a  tank 
of  water  bordered  witli  flowers.  The  apartments  of  the  women  open 
upon  the  court.  There  is  a-  general  reception  room,  furnished  with 
chairs  and  sofas,  for  it  must  not  be  imagined  for  a  moment  that  Turkey 
and  Persia  have  nothing  but  rugs  and  divans  within  their  dominions. 

MODERN  FIRE-WORSHIPERS. 

There  are,  perhaps,  no  people  in  the  world  who  have  retained  their 
national  unity  through  so  many  ages  and  vicissitudes  as  the  Persians. 
Egyptians,  Babylonians,  Grecians,  Romans,  Arabs,  Turks,  Mongols  and 
Afghans  have  come  in  contact  with  the  Persians,  and  nowithstanding 
that  some  are  dead  as  nationalities,  and  others  have  been  merged  and 
almost  lost  in  various  peoples  of  the  world,  the  Persians  still  go  sailing 
along  over  the  ocean  of  time,  a  distinct  people,  upholding  the  same  old 
despotism  which  existed  more  than  two  thousand  years  ago.  Even  the 
fiery  zeal  of  the  Mohammedans  was  unable  to  destroy  the  ancient  relig- 
ion of  Persia,  and  Zoroaster  still  lives  in  several  thousands  of  Guebre 
priests  who  are  found  all  over  the  empire  and  have  a  famous  temple  at 
Baku,  on  the  Caspian  Sea,  They  are  generally  known  as  Parsees,  both 
here  and  in  India. 

Baku  is  now  a  Russian  province.  It  is  traversed  by  the  eastern- 
most ranges  of  the  Caucasus  mountains  and  abounds  in  mud  volcanos 
and  naphtha  springs,  many  square  miles  of  the  country  around  Baku 
being  impregnated  with  inflammable  matter.  Below  is  a  graphic  de- 
scription of  the  region  and  the  temple  of  the  fire-worshipers  :  "  About 
fifteen  miles  northeast  of  the  town  is  a  fire  temple  of  the  Guebres  a  mile 
in  circumference,  from  the  center  of  which  rises  a  bluish  flame.  Here 
are  some  small  houses  and  the  inhabitants,  when  they  wish  to  smother 
the  flame,  cover  the  place  inclosed  with  walls  by  a  thick  loam.  When 
an  incision  is  made  in  the  floor  and  a  torch  applied,  the  gas  ignites,  and 
when  the  fire  is  no  longer  needed  it  is  again  suppressed  by  closing  the 
aperture." 

"Not  far  from  the  town  there  is  a  boiling  lake  which  is  in  constant 
motion  and  gives  out  a  flame  altogether  devoid  of  heat.  After  the 
warm  showers  of  autumn  the  whole  country  appears  to  be  on  fire,  and  the 
flames  frequently  roll  along  the  mountains  in  enormous  masses  and  with 
incredible  velocity.  The  fire  does  not  burn,  nor  is  it  possible  to  detect 
the  least  heat  in  it,  nor  are  the  reeds  and  grass  affected  by  it.  These 
appearances  never  occur  when  the  wind  blows  from  the  east.  In  former 
times  the  burning  field  was  one  of  the  most  celebrated  'ateshgahs' 
(shrines  of  grace)  among  the  Guebres." 


530  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

"  Previous  to  its  occupation  by  the  Russians,  a  voluntary  human  sac- 
ritice  was  annually  oftered  here — a  youth  who  leaped  with  his  horse  into 
one  of  the  fissures.  A  few  adherents  of  this  sect  still  make  pilgrimages 
to  the  great  ateshgah  to  worship  the  fire  and  perform  penitential  exer- 
cises, chiefly  by  night.  The  place  is  a  walled  quadrangle  with  an  altar 
raised  on  a  flight  of  steps  in  the  center.  At  each  of  the  four  corners 
stands  a  chimney  twenty-five  feet  high,  from  which  issues  a  flame  three 
feet  long.  Round  the  walls  of  this  sanctum  are  a  number  of  cells  in 
which  the  priests  and  Guebres  reside." 

The  Guebres  of  Persia  maintain  a  connection  with  their  brethren  of 
India.  They  are  represented  as  an  industrious  people,  but  crafty  from 
oppression  and  somewhat  given  to  the  theft  of  fat  turkeys  and  fresh 
vegetables.  Their  mode  of  burial  is  to  expose  the  body,  at  the  summit 
of  a  hill,  and  after  birds  of  prey  have  stripped  the  flesh  from  the  bones 
to  throw  them  into  a  common  pit. 

PERSIAN  MOHAMMEDANISM. 

The  Sunnis  are  the  Orthodox  Mohammedans,  who  believe  not  only 
in  the  Koran  but  accept  as  second  only  to  it  the  oral  sayings  and  tradi- 
tions of  Mohammed,  his  wives,  companions,  and  the  successors  to  the 
caliphate.  The  Turks,  and  the  African  and  Arabian  Mohammedans,  are 
Sunnis.  But  the  Persians  believe  that  Ali,  Mohammed's  son-in-law, 
should  have  succeeded  him  ;  whereas  he  was  the  fourth  in  succession. 
They  therefore  ignore  the  sayings  and  teachings  of  the  first  three  caliphs 
and  to  the  Mohammedan  formula  of  faith  that  "There  is  no  God  but 
Allah,  and  Mohammed  is  his  prophet,"  they  add  "  AH  is  the  vicar  of 
God." 

Hussein  was  the  son  of  Ali  and  was  murdered  by  the  Caliph  Yezid  — 
he,  and  his  wives  and  children  were  attacked  by  the  Caliph's  soldiers  as 
they  were  marching  through  the  desert  and  all  perished,  some  by  the 
sword  and  some,  who  escaped  into  the  sandy  wastes,  from  hunger  and 
thirst.  The  event  is  commemorated,  as  part  of  the  religion  of  the  Shiahs, 
or  the  party  of  Ali,  as  the  Persian  Mohammedans  have  become  known. 

The  performance  is  in  ten  acts  and  takes  place  in  a  large  tent,  or  a 
temporary  building  erected  by  the  Prime  Minister  in  the  public  square 
Te  heran.  It  is  in  the  month  of  Moharrem,  or  December,  that  ten 
days  are  devoted  to  the  dramatic  representation  of  the  tragedy,  which 
ends  with  the  death  and  beheading  of  Mohammed's  grandson,  his  true 
successor. 

Every  day  the  great  building  is  crowded,  part  of  the  pit  being  given 
up  to  women  of  humble  circumstances,  decorously  veiled,  but  who  often 


THE    NESTORIANS. 


Di' 


Strike  each  other  upon  the  headwith  the  iron  heel  of  their  shppers  to 
obtain  a  favorable  seat  upon  the  ground.  The  Shah  and  his  family  are 
in  their  private  boxes,  and  as  the  realistic  scenes  are  enacted  by  which 
Hussein  and  his  party  are  cut  off  from  the  Euphrates  river  and  from 
hope,  and  after  several  days  of  brave  fighting  perish  so  miserably,  both 
royalty  and  the  immense  concourse  of  people  give  vent  to  their  grief  in 
loud  lamentations.  The  spectators  are  sometimes  worked  up  to  such  a 
frenzy  of  grief  and  rage  that  the  Persian  representing  the  foul  fiend  who 
cuts  off  Hussein's  head  barely  escapes  from  the  stage  without  bodily 
injuries. 

THE  NESTORIANS. 

In  the  northwestern  districts  of  Persia,  among  the  mountains  of 
Kurdistan,  are  all  that  remain  of  this  religious  sect  which,  before  the 
establishment  of  Mohammedanism,  was  the  dominant  one  of  the 
empire.  Once  they  not  only  were  in  the  majority  in  Persia,  but  were 
spread  over  Mesopotamia  in  Turkey.  The  Jews  and  Kurds,  of  both 
countries,  have  traditions,  in  common  with  the  Nestorians,  that  they 
■form  a  relic  of  the  ten  tribes  of  Israel,  carried  into  captivity  by  the 
King  of  Assyria ;  they  are  said  to  have  spread  from  Chaldea,  and  were 
long  known  as  Chaldeans. 

The  Turkish  Nestorians  early  united  with  the  Church  of  Rome, 
while  those  of  Persia  cling  to  their  ancient  faith,  which  they  claim  to 
have  received  from  Saint  Thomas  and  which  was  re-confirmed  in  Nes* 
torius.  Bishop  of  Constantinople,  from  whom,  in  the  fifth  century,  they 
received  their  present  name.  Kurds  and  Mohammedans  have  attempted 
to  crush  them,  the  former  as  late  as  1843  killing  or  selling  10,000  of 
them  into  slavery.  But  over  100,000  of  them  still  live,  and  though  so 
ignorant  and  suspicious  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  obtain  a  clear 
idea  of  their  religion,  they  still  worship  in  their  dark,  little  churches, 
with  their  dwarf-like  doors.  They  swing  the  incense,  applying  the  vessel 
to  the  Syriac  bible,  which  few  understand,  to  a  figure  of  the  cross,  the 
Bishop's  beard  or  the  priest's  face,  and  to  the  faces  of  members  of  the 
congregation  as  they  arrive.  A  Nestorian  bishop  is  described  as  wear- 
ing "  an  enormous  red-and  yellow  pair  of  trousers,  an  immense  red-and- 
black  turban  and  a  tattered  camel's  hair  cloak." 

MUSIC  AND  RELIGION. 

The  Persians  play  upon  musical  instruments,  but  they  are  not 
musicians.  They  aim  to  keep  correct  time,  but  have  little  idea  of 
melody,  allowing  voices,  fiddles,  guitars,  harps  and  dulcimers  to  enter 


532  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

the  concert  lists  together  and  force  them  to  keep  together.  Their  fav- 
orite musical  sound  is  the  imitation  of  a  nightingale  by  the  human 
voice,  and  if  they  can  find  an  accommodating  youth  who  is  an  expert, 
they  make  him  warble  for  hours,  listening  with  the  keenest  enjoyment. 
Another  musical  note  which  is  listened  to  with  much  pleasure  by 
townsmen  is  that  which  heralds  the  chant  of  the  Persian  master-mason, 
as  the  bricks  are  cast  to  him  along  the  line  of  workmen  who  serve 
under  him.  Religion  even  takes  a  part  in  his  song ;  and  there  is  noth- 
ing in  Persia  or  Turkey  which  is  not  touched  in  some  way  by  Moham- 
medanism. A  great  portion  of  the  song  is  devoted  to  showering  curses 
upon  Omar,  one  of  the  caliphs  who  seized  upon  All's  birthright. 

PERSIAN  SUPERSTITIONS. 

The  Persians  are  superstitious,  from  His  Excellency,  the  Prime 
Minister,  who  consults  the  astrologers,  to  the  poor  neglected  wife  who 
endeavors  by  charms  and  talismans  to  regain  the  heart  of  her  husband. 
If  "  the  hour  is  good "  the  high  functionary  undertakes  his  business. 
The  wife  attempts  to  deck  her  cool  mate  with  charms,  unbeknown  to 
him,  or  to  administer  a  love  potion,  one  ingredient  of  which  must  be  a 
frog.  If  all  these  fail  she  offers  a  sheep  to  God,  by  dividing  it  among 
the  poor;  she  supplicates  Hussein,  the  martyr. 

A  superstition  which  is  the  first  to  come  to  the  attention  of  travelers 
in  Persia — at  least  to  those  of  distinction — consists  in  the  public  sacri- 
fice of  cattle  and  sheep,  that  all  possible  misfortunes  may  fall  upon  their 
heads.  As  the  party  approaches  a  town,  the  cow  or  sheep,  which  is  held 
close  to  the  roadside,  is  decapitated  by  a  man  with  a  huge  knife  who 
crosses  the  path  of  the  distinguished  person  with  the  dripping  head  of 
the  brute  in  his  hand.  This  blood  is  supposed  to  work  the  potent 
charm. 

THE  SHAH. 

The  Shah  of  Persia  comes  last  under  our  pen,  because  he  is  the 
antipodal  to  everything  American,  Anglo-Saxon,  European  even,  and 
humane.  He  possesses  the  divine  right  of  levying  upon  the  land  and 
products  of  the  poor  man,  upon  his  camel  and  his  horse,  upon  the  water 
(Allah's  greatest  blessing)  in  his  well,  or  of  cutting  off  the  head  of  his 
Grand  Vizier.  In  conversing  one  day  with  a  British  envoy,  he  wished 
to  illustrate  the  difference  between  a  European  and  an  Asiatic  monarch. 
Near  by  were  his  ofificers.  "There,"  said  he,  "stand  Solyman,  Khan 
Kajar  and  several  more  of  the  chiefs  of  the  Empire  ;  I  can  cut  off  their 
heads,  if  I  please — can  I  not  ?  "  suddenly  addressing  them.    "  Assuredly, 


THE    SHAH.  533 

Point  of  the  World's  Adoration,  if  it  is  your  pleasure,"  was  the  reply. 
"Now  that  is  real  power,"  continued  the  Shah  ;  "but  it  has  no  perma- 
nence. My  sons,  when  I  am  gone,  will  fight  for  the  crown,  and  it  will 
fall  into  the  hands  of  the  best  soldier." 

Persia  is  governed  by  the  Shah  and  the  Koran,  or  the  priests  ; 
there  are  no  regular  civil  laws  except  those  which  have  become  a  part 
of  Mohammedanism.  Fines,  floggings,  decapitations,  stranglings,  stab- 
bings,  and  tortures  which  would  make  the  North  American  Indian  jeal- 
ous, are  the  different  forms  of  punishment  which  are  in  vogue.  Upon  the 
perpetration  of  some  such  extraordinary  offense  as  an  attempt  upon  the 
Shah's  life,  the  autocrat  of  Persia  has  been  found  ready  to  originate  other 
forms  which  are  not  even  authorized  by  custom. 

A  party  of  religious  fanatics,  in  the  early  part  of  the  Shah's  reign, 
attacked  him  in  his  capital  and  slightly  wounded  him,  their  intention 
having  been  to  kill  him,  seize  the  reins  of  government  and  inaugurate 
the  reign  of  the  saints  on  earth.  About  thirty  of  the  conspirators  were 
put  to  death  in  various  ways  by  the  priests,  members  of  the  Shah's 
cabinet  and  household,  and  by  the  high  officers  of  his  army.  The  Shah's 
French  physician  was  invited  to  show  his  loyalty  by  becoming  an  execu- 
tioner, but  offended  his  majesty  by  declining  to  assume  the  office.  The 
chief  of  the  conspirators  was  bored  full  of  holes,  into  which  were  placed 
lighted  candles,  and  when  they  had  burned  down  to  the  flesh,  was  cut  to 
pieces  with  hatchets  ;  others  were  cut  in  parts  and  blown  from  the  mouths 
®f  mortars.  One  of  them  who  thus  suffered  death  was  a  mollah,  who 
had  abandoned  Mohammedanism  for  the  strange  faith,  and  he  was  turned 
ever  to  the  mollahs  and  priests  of  Mohammedanism.  The  princes. 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  secretaries  of  the  department,  brothers  and 
sons  of  the  Prime  Minister,  nobles  of  the  Court  and  the  Shah's  personal 
attendants  all  took  part  in  the  bloody  work,  which  was  designed  to  dis- 
tribute the  vengeance  among  them  which  would  fall  upon  the  Shah 
alone  had  his  regular  executioners  performed  the  task. 

The  Shah  has  a  way  also  of  putting  out  the  eyes  of  his  rivals  or 
otherwise  mutilating  them,  which  indicates  what  "real  power"  is.  He 
is  truly  a  law  unto  himself,  and  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  he  is 
obliged  to  give  his  personal  attention  to  so  many  affairs  his  power  for 
mischief  would  be  incalculable.  His  religion  obliges  him  to  rise  early, 
and  his  affairs  of  state,  as  well  as  judicial  duties,  occupy  nearly  every 
hour  of  the  day.  One  of  his  principal  duties  is  to  hold  a  morning  levee, 
or  session,  receiving  petitions  and  deciding  cases  in  his  hall  of  audience. 
The  bastinado  is  the  most  common  form  of  punishment,  and  for- 
merly none  were  exempt  from  it ;  officers  who  were  defeated  in  battle, 


534 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


the  Shah's  own  cousin,  and  delinquent  governors  were  bastinadoed 
either  in  the  royal  presence  or*the  public  square  of  the  capital.  Now  it 
is  chiefly  reserved  for  more  common  offenders.  The  punishment  is  often 
continued  for  hours,  and  although  the  culprit  often  faints  there  is  no 
case  on  record  of  a  death  caused  by  it.  The  bastinado  is  simply  a  long 
pole,  which  is  held  by  two  officers,  the  prisoner's  ankles  being  attached 
to  two  loops  in  the  middle;  he  is  thus  thrown  on  his  back  with  his  feet 
turned  up.  Two  other  ferashes,  or  officers,  then  flog  him  on  the  feet 
with  thin  wands,  which  are  replaced  by  fresh  ones  as  needed. 

The  Shah  draws  his  principal  revenue  from  the  land,  and,  if  he  had 
set  deliberately  to  work,  he  could  not  have  perfected  a  more  complicated 
and    oppressive 

system.  The  &^&±J^  l^:^^'^^'-'^^^iM^?^:, 
rate  of  assess- 
ment is  not  uni- 
form, nor  the  na- 
ture of  the  arti- 
c  1  e  s  assessed, 
but,  all  in  all, 
they  include 
taxes  on  gar- 
dens, vineyards, 
shops.melon, cot- 
ton, rice  and  to- 
bacco  lands, 
sheep,  asses,  buf- 
faloes, bullocks, 
cam  els ,    wells, 

kanats  and  mills.     ^^«^^^-*s!ivt.^j^«<-. 
In  one  province  '"^te^-K'  - 

a     poll-tax      is  THE  BASTINADO. 

levied  for  males  over  fourteen  years  of  age  ;  in  another  there  is  a  house 
tax ;  in  another  military  service  is  required.  The  nomads  pay  no  land 
tax.     Land  dedicated  to  religious  purposes  is  exempt. 

The  system  of  "teeool"  is  similar  to  that  existing  in  Abyssinia.  By 
it  the  Shah  has  exclusive  right  over  eggs,  fowls,  firewood,  fodder,  fruit, 
and  other  property  and  products  which  maybe  found  with  the  peasantry. 
Everything  is  his  by  royal  might,  and  he  may  sell  the  privilege  of  levying 
upon  a  district  or  a  village  upon  any  of  his  nobles  or  great  men.  Sol- 
diers and  tax  collectors  are  quartered  upon  the  sections  which  have  thus 
been  farmed  out,  so  that  the  peasantry,  as  in  so  many  other  lands,  bear 
much  of  the  burden  of  the  nobility,  besides  the  regular  taxes. 


THE    SHAH  S    TIME. 


535 


I 


When  a  governor,  or  other  public  official,  is  traveling  through  the 
country,  with  his  enormous  retinues,  he  has  the  same  right  to  extort 
food  and  other  favors  from  the  long-suffering  peasantry.  An  officer  and 
his  troops  may  also  quarter  themselves  upon  them.  To  add  insult  to 
injury,  by  custom  it  has  become  almost  law  that  these  oppressed  "  ryots" 
shall  present  these  parasites  with  valuable  gifts. 

THE  SHAirS   TIME. 

The  government  of  Persia  has  a  very  singular  fashion  of  reckoning 
time;  which  is  said  to  have  been  introduced  from  Tartary,  but  is  obsolete 
in  both  Turkistan  and  Turkey.  Illustrations  of  this  method  will  be 
found  in  firmans  and  ijrants  which  issue  from  the  Shah.  Time  is  divided 
into  cycles  of  twelve  years.  The  cycles  are  not  named,  but  the  years 
are,  viz.  : — the  years  of  the  Mouse,  Bull, 
Leopard,  Hare,  Crocodile,  Snake,  Horse,  .-" 
Ram,  Monkey,  Cock,  Dog  and  Hog.  The 
name  of  each  year  represents  a  cycle.  So 
that  if  the  object  were  to  designate  an 
event  which  occurred  156  years  ago,  "the 
Hog"  would  be  named,  which  would  be 
equivalent  to  twelve  cycles  and  twelve  years. 

THE  INDEPENDENT  AFGHANS. 

The  Afghans  are  the  Arabs  of  tli'' 
Iranian  stock.  They  are  bold  and  straight- 
forward, even  brutal  in  their  manners.  In 
character  and  religion  they  are  directly  op- 
posed to  the  Persians,  with  whom  they  have 
been  at  constant  war.  Persian  history  is 
prone  to  accord  them  a  Jewish  origin,  claim- 
ing that  they  owe  their  name  to  Afghan, 
son  of  Eremia,  son  of  Saul,  King  of  Israel,  whose  posterity  were  car- 
ried away  at  the  time  of  the  captivity  and  settled  in  the  mountains  of 
Afghanistan.  The  Afghans  call  themselves  "  Bani  Israil."  Four 
distinct  ranges  of  the  Hindu-Koosh  svstem  fortifv  the  countrv  on 
every  side  but  the  Persian.  In  their  mountain  strongholds  the  Afghan 
tribes  bid  defiance  to  absolute  monarchy,  and  except  they  have  united 
to  cast  off  the  Persian  yoke,  conquer  that  empire,  or  resist  an  European 
army,  have  always  acknowledged  a  general  ruler,  in  a  very  unsatisfac- 
ory  manner. 


AN  AFGHAN. 


53^  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

In  person  the  Afghans  are  usually  of  a  robust  frame,  lean  and  mus- 
cular, with  high  cheek  bones,  long  faces,  and  a  brown  velvet)-  skin. 
Their  hair  is  generally  black,  and  they  wear  long,  thick  beards.  The 
common  masculine  attire  consists  of  loose  trousers  of  dark  cotton  stuff, 
a  large  shirt  like  a  wagoner's  frock,  and  a  low  cap  or  a  loose  turban. 
Over  the  shoulders  is  thrown  a  cloak  of  soft  gray  felt,  or  tanned  sheep- 
skin, with  the  wool  inside.     Boots  are  almost  universally  worn. 

The  woman's  costume  consists  of  jacket  and  pantaloons  of  velvet, 
shawl  cloth  or  silk,  and,  as  to  ornaments,  gold  and  silver  chains  and 
earrings. 

GEOGRAPHICAL  POSITION. 

To  the  great  outside  world,  the  Afghans  are  only  known  as  a  col- 
lection of  rude  tribes,  holding  a  mountainous  country  and  rather  barrincr 
the  way  to  India.  Their  four  chief  cities,  Cabool  (the  capital),  and 
Jelalabad,  in  the  north,  and  Candahar  and  Herat,  in  the  south  and  west 
command  the  only  feasible  internal  routes  of  travel.  These  are  the  keys 
to  India,  and  if  the  character  of  the  people  were  not  so  independent  and 
turbulent,  so  that  they  could  unite  into  a  compact  nation,  they  mio-ht 
hold  them  quite  securely.  The  kingdom  is  divided  into  provinces,  over 
which  is  placed  a  tax  collector,  but  his  duties  are  not  onerous,  and  the 
tenure  of  his  office  is  most  unstable. 

THE   CLANS. 

Of  the  fourteen  clans  into  which  the  Afghans  are  divided,  the  Dur- 
ranis,  the  Ghilzais  and  the  Yusafzai  are  the  most  important,  numbering 
together  over  2,000,000  souls.  The  former,  a  distinctively  military  tribe, 
holds  Southwestern  Afghanistan,  and  is  forever  fiofhtino-  with  its  rivals, 
the  Ghilzais  who  are  intrenched  in  the  east.  The  death  of  Dost  Moham. 
med,  in  1863,  a  skillful,  politic  ruler,  and  who  left  seven  sons  and  many 
nephews,  resulted  in  almost  continuous  civil  warfare,  in  which  these  two 
tribes  have  taken  the  leading  parts.  The  last  decisive  struggle,  seven 
years  ago,  between  a  claimant  to  the  Ameership,  who  was  supported  by 
the  Durranis,  and  the  Ameer  who  was  of  the  Ghilzais  party,  resulted  in 
upholding  the  ruling  chief. 

The  Durranis  are  the  tribe  of  Afghans  who  irive  a  name  to  the 
entire  people  of  Afghanistan.  The  Ghilzais,  who  belong  to  the  so-called 
Pukhtun  tribes,  which  have  eiven  the  language  of  Afghanistan  its  name 
are  also  known  as  "  Povindia,"  or  packmen  ;  for  they  are  the  people 
who  drive  the  caravans  and  monopolize  the  whole  carrying  trade  of  the 
country,  as  well  as  being  a  martial  race.     A  large  portion  of  this  tribe  is 


THE    CLANS.  537 

still  nomadic,  their  winter  quarters  being  on  the  borders  of  the  Sistan 
desert  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  country.  Thither  they  emigrate 
with  their  large  flocks. 

In  Western  Afghanistan  are  a  number  of  Monefol  tribes  who  are 
independent  and  are  called  collectively  Hazarahs.  They  are  worthy 
descendants  of  a  warlike  Kahn,  who  subjugated  Afghanistan  and  planted 
them  there  as  military  colonists.  Although  this  people  ha^•e  occupied 
their  present  territory  for  six  hundred  years,  so  isolated  is  their  position 
that  they  retain  the  strongest  features  of  their  race.  They  are  naturally 
undersized,  but  their  proportions  indicate  great  strength  and  they  are 
brave  to  the  verge  of  rashness.  The  women,  too,  are  proud  of  being 
able  to  mount  a  horse  and  use  firearms  or  a  sword  with  an  intrepidity 
equal  to  that  of  the  men.  In  times  of  peace  they  do  the  housework, 
cultivate  the  fields,  and  weave  a  cloth  called  "  barek  "  from  an  exceed- 
ingly fine  silky  wool  which  grows  on  the  stomach  of  the  camel.  It  is 
not  dyed,  but  is  so  soft  and  warm  that  it  is  made  into  robes  and  worn  in 
winter,  by  both  Afghan  and  Persian  nobles.  This  manufacture,  with  the 
profits  arising  from  their  blooded  horses,  and  fine  flocks  and  herds  of 
sheep,  goats,  buffaloes  and  camels ;  occasional  attacks  upon  rich  cara- 
vans from  and  to  Persia,  the  capture  of  Persian  women  from  the  villages, 
for  the  purpose  of  selling  them  to  various  Tartar  tribes  —  from  these 
sources  the  Mongols  of  Afghanistan  have  become  quite  prosperous. 

The  Tajiks  of  Afghanistan  are  the  inhabitants  of  Persian  origin, 
who  are  everywhere  devoted  to  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  and  in  the 
towns  and  cities  carry  on  most  of  the  mercantile  business  of  the  country, 
as  well  as  providing  the  handicraftsmen  and  scribes  for  all  the  usual 
pursuits  and  trades  of  domestic  industry  —  neither  the  Afghan  or  other 
Pukhtun  engaging  in  any  occupation  but  that  of  the  farmer,  the  soldier 
and  the  merchant.  In  fact,  throughout  the  country  to  the  west  of  the 
Suleman  range — where  he  is  principally  found  — the  Tajik  is  the  ser- 
vant of  the  Pukhtun  ;  and  his  place  on  the  east  of  the  range  is  filled  by 
the  Hindki,  the  descendant  of  Arab  settlers,  of  early  Mussulman  con- 
verts. He  is  confined  almost  entirely  to  the  Indus  provinces  of  Afghan- 
istan. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  how  widely  diversified  are  the  different  tribes 
and  races  which  dwell  in  Afghanistan.  But  the  prevailing  character  of 
the  natives  is  military,  and  the  soldiers  are  robbers  from  instinct. 

The  result  of  this  condition  of  the  country  is  that  every  hamlet  has 
in  its  neighborhood  the  castle  of  a  Khan,  in  which  are  the  apartments 
for  his  family  and  dependants,  storehouses  for  his  property  and  stables 
for  his  horses.    At  one  of  the  gates  is  a  lodge  where  travelers  are  enter- 


538  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

tained  and  where  the  villagers  assemble  to  gossip  and  hear  the  iiews. 
Neither  is  the  Khan  absolute  ruler  of  his  tribe  ;  he  must  bow  to  the  will 
of  the  "  jeerga,"  or  representative  assembly.  Beneath  the  Khan  is  the 
"  speen  zerah,"  or  "  white  beard,"  who  is  at  the  head  of  a  tribal  branch. 

RELIGIOUS  TOLERANXE. 

The  Afghans  are  Sunnis,  or  Orthodox  Mohammedans,  as  opposed 
to  the  Persians  who  do  not  admit  the  authority  of  the  three  caliphs  who 
succeeded  the  Prophet ;  but,  unlike  the  Persians  and  the  Turks,  they 
have  not  persecuted  those  who  profess  other  faiths.  They  are,  in  fact, 
more  bitter  aeainst  the  Shiahs,  or  Persian  Mohammedans,  than  against 
other  religious  sects.  Hindus  dwell  in  their  towns  unmolested,  upon 
the  payment  of  a  slight  tax,  and  Christians  are  also  allowed  perfect 
freedom.  The  priesthood — the  Ulema — are  supported  by  individual 
donations.  In  this  turbulent  land  they  are  often  fierce  leaders  of  the 
tribes,  raising  troops,  taking  sides  with  contending  factions,  and  arous- 
ing their  forces  by  playing  upon  their  superstitions  as  well  as  their  mili- 
tary pride. 

In  the  mountainous  country  formed  by  the  prolongation  of  the 
Hindu Koosh,  in  Western  Afghanistan,  are  a  number  of  Mongol  tribes 
who  are  Shiahs  of  the  strictest  kind.  They  are  entirely  independent  of 
Afghanistan,  except  that  they  have  been  known,  under  pressure,  to  pay 
a  slight  tribute  to  Cabool,  Candahar  and  Herat.  Whether  these  Mon- 
gols are  tolerated  because  they  can  not  be  dislodged  is  a  point  open  to 
discussion.  Directly  to  the  north  of  Cabool,  on  the  southern  slopes  of 
the  mountains,  is  "  Kafir  country,"  the  country  of  the  pagans.  It 
s  entirely  independent  and  has  always  remained  unmolested.  It  is 
inhabited  by  descendants  of  the  ancient  Indians,  who  are  divided  into 
small  communities,  speaking  different  dialects  of  the  Sanskrit. 

THE  BELOOCHES. 

Their  appearance  and  language  stamp  them  as  a  mixture  of  the 
Tartars  and  Persians,  although  they  themselves  claim  to  be  the  descend- 
ants of  the  earliest  Mohammedan  conquerors  of  Central  Asia.  Their 
tribes  have  not  even  the  unity  of  the  Afghans,  and  they  can  not  be 
truthfully  divided  into  the  settled  and  the  nomadic.  They  are  ever 
shifting  from  place  to  place  and  are  never  so  happy  as  when  they  can 
be  striding  over  the  country  under  a  burning  sun,  at  a  pace  which  would 
tire  the  best  horse.  Their  complexion  is  olive  ;  they  are  impulsive, 
well-formed,  nervous  ;  have  no  law  but  the  vendetta,  and  will  pursue 


THIEVES    ON    PRINCIPLE.  539 

« 

an  enemy  with  the  swiftness  of  a  falcon  and  the  patience  and  ferocity  of 
a  blood-hound,  through  a  thousand  miles  of  desert  and  mountains,  and 
for  generations  of  time  ;  and  if  unarmed  enemies  accidentally  meet  they 
will  tear  each  other  like  tigers,  with  nails  and  teeth,  or  strangle  each 
other  without  a  cry. 

THIEVES  ON  PRINCIPLE. 

They  claim  to  be  robbers  from  principle  rather  than  instinct,  and 
reason  that  as  God  divided  the  good  things  of  the  earth,  some  thousand 
years  ago,  in  an  unequal  manner,  sending  them  into  the  world  with  vir- 
tually nothing,  they  have  the  right  to  equalize  matters  by  taking  what 
they  can  now  get  of  their  just  share.  Neither  is  this  all  tradition,  they 
say,  their  very  name,  whose  origin  they  can  not  trace,  proving  their  state- 
ment. For  does  not  "be"  in  Persian  signify  "  without "  and  "  leuct," 
"naked"  or  "stripped  "  ?  These  words  have  drifted  mysteriously  into 
their  vocabulary,  been  corrupted,  and  they  have  become  doubly  branded 
as  "  Belooches  " —  people  who  came  into  the  world  without  anything 
"naked,"  "  stripped."  The  Belooches  are  firmly  persuaded  that  Europ- 
eans have  been  taught  by  the  Devil  how  to  make  gold  and  how  to  find  it 
in  the  ruins  of  old  cities.  They  are  therefore  particularly  eager  to  strip 
any  European  whom  they  find  on  the  southern  roads  of  Afghanistan  or 
in  their  own  arid  country.  And  among  them  that  trite  saying  that  there 
is  honor  among  thieves,  does  not  hold  good ;  for  in  traveling  together 
friends  and  relatives,  even,  when  the  time  for  sleep  arrives,  will  be  care- 
ful not  to  cast  themselves  upon  the  ground  within  a  hundred  feet  of  one 
another.  When  traveling  on  dromedaries,  especially  if  they  are  on  a 
foraging  expedition,  they  sit  back  to  back  that  they  may  sweep  the  coun- 
try in  all  directions,  and  as  they  are  so  keen  of  sight  few  good  sub- 
jects will  escape  them. 

BRAVE  SOLDIERS. 

The  weapons  of  the  Belooches  are  the  lance,  sabre  and,  occasionally, 
firearms.  They  are  braggarts  of  great  power,  but  unlike  most  of  that 
class  back  their  words  with  their  deeds  ;  for  there  are  no  better  soldiers 
in  Asia  than  they.  They  are  not  only  brave  in  the  assault,  but  are  firm 
in  withstanding  it.  When  fighting  under  native  leaders  they  attack  in  . 
small  parties  of  about  a  dozen  soldiers,  who  tie  their  cotton  tunics 
together,  and  in  case  one  of  their  number  is  wounded,  those  behind  untie 
his  tunic,  fasten  the  front  file  together  again  and  remove  the  injured  to 
the  rear.    In  their  conflicts  with  the  Afghans,  British  soldiers  have  had 


54° 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


occasion  to  test  the  metal  of  the  Belooches  ;  snice  their  country  is  on 
the  direct  route  from  India,  and  Bolan  pass  in  Northwestern  Belo- 
chistan  is  the  only  open  gate,  of  convenience,  to  Afghanistan.  This 
and  the  pass  of  Gundwana  are  the  only  doors  to  both  Beloochistan  and 
Afghan istan  from  the  lower  Indus. 

Upon  one  occasion  the  British  spent  six  days  in  forcing  Bolan 
pass,  which  is  a  series  of  ravines  rising  gradually  for  fifty-five  miles, 
the  last  one  being  nearly  six  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 
Both  passes  guard  the  approach  to  Kelat,  the  capital — notwithstanding 
which,  the  British  have  several  times  occupied  it. 

The  capital  is  a  city  of  12,000  or  15,000  people,  built  on  a  hill  and 
surrounded  by  high  mud  walls.  Spears,  swords  and  muskets  are  the 
chief  manufactures,  its  trade  and  that  of  the  country  in  general  being 
monopolized  by  Afghan  merchants.  The  Khan  of  Kelat  rules  the  city 
and  the  province,  and  is  usually  acknowledged  as  the  leader  of  the 
Belooches  in  time  of  war.  He  is  a  mere  feudal  chief  when  lance,  sabre 
and  gun  are  put  away,  his  authority  beyond  Kelat  extending  only  to  his 
personal  retainers.  Neither  Belooche  nor  Afghan,  with  all  their  intre- 
pidity, will  be  a  serious  obstacle  to  either  England  or  Russia,  until 
some  Khan  arises  who  is  an  organizer,  a  tyrant,  a  general  and  a 
diplomat. 


LA5T  INDIA  ISLANDS 


THE  HINDUS. 


HE  claim  is  made,  based  principally  upon  physical  character- 
istics, that  the  Hindu,  or  native  of  Hither  India,  is  an  amalgam- 
ation of  the  Mongol  and  the  Aryan.  On  the  other  hand 
%^:yj-''f^  those  who  place  paradise  and  a  submerged  birth-place  of  races 
in  the  Indian  Ocean  start  a  great  emigration  from  the  south- 
west, rolling  through  Ceylon  and  Southern  Hindustan  and 
leaving  in  its  track  the  Dravidas,  or  aborigines  ;  the  Aryan 
stock  spreading  northwest  from  the  Himalaya  Mountains. 
But  whether  the  Aryans  came  down  from  the  north,  mixing 
with  such  of  the  natives  as  they  could  and  driving  the  balance 
into  the  jungles,  or  whether  they  came  up  from  the  south,  to  found  a 
civilization  on  the  shores  of  the  Indian  Ocean  and  the  Mediterranean 
Sea,  certain  it  is  that  in  the  regular  features,  the  brunette  skin,  the  black 
hair,  the  long  head  and  oval  face  of  the  Hindu  stands  confessed  the 
Indo-European. 

The  aboriginal  tribes  number  about  twenty  million  people  and  exist 
in  the  mountainous  districts,  in  jungles  or  the  outskirts  of  towns. 
Although  they  differ  from  the  refined  people  of  the  higher  castes,  in 
physiognomy  and  cranial  development  they  are  quite  distinct  from  the 
Indo-Chinese  Mongolian.  In  their  dispositions  they  are  his  antipode. 
British  influence  has  somewhat  subdued  their  ferocity — put  it,  perhaps, 
in  irons — but  although  they  have  been  drafted  into  the  English  army 
they  are  still  the  tigers  of  the  jungles,  with  their  claws  cut  off ;  and 
although,  they  have  had  Brahmanism,  Mohammedanism  and  Christian- 
ity near  them  for  centuries,  many  of  them  persistently  hide  in  the  wilds 
of  Hindustan  and  worship  the  Devil,  as  they  did  of  old.  Their  human 
sacrifices,  mostly  of  captive  children,  are  offered  to  the  malignant  deities 
who  alone  are  supposed  to  rule  the  world. 

But  the  Hindu  proper,  the  Aryan-Indian,  has  not  been  in  hiding,  all 
these  generations.  He  has  developed  a  religious  system  which  once  was 
noble  and  has  spread  over  the  greater  portion  of  Asia,  modified  by  race 

and  geographical  peculiarities.      He  has  been  a  gigantic  manufacturer  of 

541 


542 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


rich  and  delicate  fabrics,  silver  and  gold  ware,  furniture,  swords — every- 
thinor,  in  fact,  wherein  could  be  exercised  his  artistic  taste,  his  manual 
skill  and  his  indomitable  patience.  The  hand  of  the  Hindu  was  as  cun- 
ning when  Imperial  Rome  purchased  the  products  of  its  skill  as  it  is  to- 
day. He  works  with  the  same  rude  tools  as  his  father  did;  they  are 
members  of  the  same  caste,  and  methods  and  tools  are  alike  handed 
down  from  father  to  son.  The  Hindu  farmer  is  supposed  to  be  the  first 
to  rotate  his  crops,  but  the  mechanism  by  which  the  rotation  is  accom- 
plished is  crude  in  the  extreme.  The  manure  of  cattle  he  will  not  use 
upon  his  land,  as  it  is  considered  holy,  and  devoted  to  religious  purposes. 

As  architects  the  Hin- 
dus have  showed  great 
genius  ;  but  their  temples, 
distinoruished  for  size  and 
splendor,  were  built  before 
the  Christian  era,  and  the 
structures  erected  by  the 
Mohammedan  emperors  are 
of  the  Saracenic  stj-le  of 
architecture,  and  therefore 
devoid  of  originality,  though 
fmely  executed.  The  na- 
tives have  constructed  im- 
mense numbers  of  reser- 
voirs, massively  built  of 
stone,  and  the  princes  of 
former  days  undertook  to 
put  in  operation  a  system 
of  canals.  They  built  a 
number  which  fell  into  dis- 
use and  the  work  has  been 
energetically  taken  up  by 
BURGHERS  OF  CEYLON.  tJ^g     British    Government, 

both  to  the  end  of  furnishing  the  country  with  irrigating  facilities  and 
improving  its  navigable  rivers,  the  Jumna  and  the  Ganges. 


THE  SYSTEM  OF  CASTE. 

The  entire  population  of  India  was  originally  divided  into  four 
great  castes.  First  there  was  a  division  which  the  Aryans  made,  by 
which  they  separated  themselves  from  the  Sudras,  or  aboriginal  tribes 


SYSTEM    OF   CASTE. 


543 


which  they  found  occupying  the  country  when  they  invaded  it.  Caste, 
in  the  Sanskrit,  signifies  "  color,"  the  aborigines  being  of  a  darker  com- 
plexion than  the  Aryans.  The  Sudras  remained  a  distinct  caste  (ser- 
vants), and  there  were  also  the  divisions  of  Brahmans,  who  were 
expounders  of  the  Veda,  and  conducted  the  sacrifices  ;  the  Kshatriyas, 
warriors  and  subordinate  priests,  and  the  Vaisyas,  comprising  the  peas- 
antry and  merchants.  These  great  divisions  were  subject  to  further 
separations  into  specific  trades  and  professions,  and  into  the  unclean 
castes  of  the  aboriginal  population. 

Although    there    is  still  a  s)stem   of  caste  which  is  all-embracing, 
through  the  influence  of  Western  thought  the  sharp  lines  of  division  are 
being  gradually  obscured.     A  man  of  high  caste  was  formerly  justified 
in  slaying  one  of  a  lower  one,  who  even         ,-. — -^-   -  .--.^^  »-^-  _^ 
touched  him  accidentally,  and  the  lower      t"  ^ 

castes  were  so  unclean  that  it  was  consid-  ^ 
ered  both  sinful  and  criminal  for  a  Brah- 
man to  instruct  them.  Far  beneath  the 
uncleanliness  of  the  aboriginal  castes 
were  those  who  had  lost  color  in  so- 
ciety. Eighty  years  ago,  even,  the  system 
was  at  the  height  of  its  glorj'. 

ersons  who  abandoned  the  Hindu 
religion,  traveled  into  foreign  countries 
and  ate  forbidden  food,  or  food  cooked  by 
an  inferior  caste,  a  union  with  women  of 
a  lower  caste  or  a  foreigner,  the  non-per- 
formance of  the  minutest  religious  rites, 
made  the  offenders  and  the  offenses 
things  to  be  spurned  and  spit  upon.  To 
eive  a  few  instances :  A  Brahman  of 
Calcutta  was  forced  by  a  European  to  eat  flesh  and  drink  spirits,  and 
another  ate  with  a  Brahman  of  a  prescribed  caste ;  to  get  back  into  good 
standing  they  were  obliged  to  pay  thousands  of  dollars  to  their  brethren. 
A  number  of  Brahmans,  who  secretly  performed  the  funeral  rites  over 
the  body  of  a  lady  who  had  lost  caste  by  associating  with  Mohammedans, 
were  themselves  excommunicated  when  their  offense  was  discovered. 
In  vain  they  applied  for  re-instatement,  and  at  last,  in  despair,  one  of 
their  number  tied  himself  to  a  jar  of  water  and  drowned  himself  in  the 
Ganees.  Three  brothers  lost  caste  through  the  indiscretion  of  their 
mother;  one  poisoned  himself  and  the  other  two  fled  the  country.  A 
Brahman,  in  a  moment  of  rashness,  married  a  washerwoman's  daughter. 


WATER  CARRIER. 


544 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


His  act  was  discovered,  he  sold  liis  property,  fled  to  another  city  and  his 
wife  became  a  maniac.     A  Mussulman  nobleman  seized  the  daughters 

O 

of  some  Brahmans.     They  complained  to  the  judge,  but  were  irreclaim- 
ably  disgraced,  and  poisoned  themselves. 

The  outcasts  of  f^indu  society  are  therefore  forced  to  form  a  c.ass 
of  their  own.     Those  who  are  cast  out  of  the  lower  ranks  are  put  to  the 

most  menial  tasks.  All  over 
Hindustan  are  found  a  people 
who  are  sprung  from  a  mixture 
of  castes,  from  the  marriage  of 
a  sudra,  or  servant,  with  a  Brah- 
man woman.  Their  occupations 
are  those  of  the  lowest  day- 
laborers.  They  carry  the  dead 
to  their  graves,  and  deceased 
dogs  to  their  last  resting-places. 
They  act  as  public  executioners 
and  perform  other  offices  which 
usually  devolve  upon  slaves  or 
criminals.  These  outcasts  are 
called  Chandalahs,  and  are  de- 
scribed by  the  sacred  books: 
"The  abode  of  the  Chandalahs 
must  be  out  of  town.  They  must 
not  have  the  use  of  entire  vessels. 
Their  sole  wealth  must  be  does 
and  asses.  They  must  wear 
only  old  clothes.  Their  dishes 
for  food  must  be  broken  pots, 
and  their  ornaments  rusty  iron. 
They  must  continually  roam  from 
place  to  place.  Let  food  be  given  to  them  in  potsherds,  and  not  by  the 
hands  of  the  giver,  and  let  them  not  walk  by  night  in  cities  and  towns." 
In  Southern  India  is  a  body  of  outcasts,  inhabiting  the  Tamul 
country,  or  the  land  of  the  Dravidas.  The  people  are  called  Pariahs, 
and  the  name  has  been  applied,  collectively,  to  the  thousands  of  outcasts 
who  still  adhere  to  the  country  which  treats  them  so  cruelly.  Formerly 
the  Pariah  was  obliged  to  wear  a  bell,  in  order  that  the  Brahman  might 
be  warned  of  his  approach,  and  escape  from  the  very  contamination  of 
his  shadow.  So  utterly  are  they  detested  by  Hindu  society,  that  the 
most  disreputable  mongrel  dogs,  roaming  about  the  streets  and  suburbs, 
or  hunting  in  packs  upon  the  plains,  are  called  Pariah  dogs. 


INDIAN  TREE  HUTS. 


THE    SYSTEM    OF    CASTE.  545 

It  has  been  urged  that  caste  was  established  for  the  practical  good 
of  separating  society  permanently  into  trades  and  professions,  that  per- 
fection might  ultimately  be  attained.  But  we  have  seen  hpw  the  system 
has  worked  in  this  particular,  and  it  may  be  added,  on  the  authority  of  a 
Hindu  author,  that  "native  carpenters,  shoemakers,  tailors,  engravers, 
lithographers,  printers,  gold  and  silversmiths  now-a-days  turn  out 
articles  which  in  point  of  workmanship  are  not  very  much  inferior  to 
those  imported  from  Europe.  Of  course  they  are  materially  indebted 
to  Europeans  for  this  improvement." 

Looking  at  the  evil  effects  of  the  system  from  a  higher  point  of 
view,  it  is  a  drag  upon  charity,  mutual  love  and  the  true  ideas  of  a 
religious  life  ;  for  the  strange  anomaly  exists  of  being  able  to  wash  away 
the  sins  of  a  lifetime  by  simply  washing  in  the  sacred  Ganges,  and  of 
being  savagely  cast  out  of  the  pale  of  fellowship,  sometimes  beyond  re- 
call, because  of  the  violation  of  certain  arbitrary  rules  whose  origin  is 
yet  in  dispute. 

Where  European  influence  is  paramount,  however,  especially  in 
Bengal,  the  system  of  caste  is  dying.  Superior  castes  engage  in  the 
occupation  of  the  lower ;  Brahmans  hold  government  offices,  act  as 
soldiers,  enter  the  service  of  Europeans,  Mohammedans,  and  even  Su- 
dras ;  and  under  the  British  government,  an  actual  loss  of  caste  can  not 
be  punished  by  disinheritance  or  a  forfeiture  of  property. 

Aside  from  European  influence,  two  native  forces  are  breaking  down 
this  hoary  and  evil  institution.  Over  fifty  years  ago  a  religious  sect  was 
formed,  composed  of  Christians  of  educational  institutions,  Mohammed- 
ans and  Brahmans,  whose  tenets  are  the  fatherly  and  brotherly  love  of 
one  God,  with  Christ  as  His  most  holy  and  spiritual  representative,  the 
rejection  of  miracles,  and  the  abolition  of  all  distinctions  of  caste  and 
religion  as  contrary  to  the  broad,  human  character  of  their  faith.  The 
sect  has  been  established  in  all  the  large  cities  of  India. 

A  nabob,  named  Peeralee,  succeeded  in  destroying  the  caste  of 
many  noble  and  rich  families  of  Calcutta,  and  from  them  have  descended 
the  Peeralees,  a  people  who  are  scattered  over  the  country.  They  have 
risen  to  power  as  philanthropists,  reformers  and  patrons  of  literature, 
and  although  still  Hindus  in  religion,  they  are  outcasts  from  society. 
Brahman  priests  administer  the  religious  rites  for  them,  and  they  have 
tried  to  buy  their  way  back  to  their  former  caste,  but  without  avail.  One 
of  their  number  started  an  English  paper  called  the  "  Reformer,"  which 
has  done  much  to  hasten  the  downfall  of  caste,  and  the  general  elevation 
and  refinement  of  the  Hindu  community  of  Calcutta  are  principally  due 
to  them. 

35 


546 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


A    BRAHMAN. 


For  ages  the  Brahman  upheld  his  title  as  "  the  twice-born,"  by  his 
religious  purity  and  moral  excellence  ;  but  from  the  worship  of  one  God 
he  has  degraded  himself  to  the  adoration  of  330,000,000  of  gods  and 
goddesses,  and  instead  of  studying  how  he  can  develop  his  spiritual 
nature  that  he  may  impart  it  to  the  world,  he  has  become  a  mercenary, 
deceitful,  scheming  worldling  and  beggar.  In  short,  some  irreverent 
hard-headed  statistician  has  taken  the  trouble  to  analyze  the  criminal 
records  of  Bengal,  where  the  Brahmans  greatly  flourish,  and  he  has 
found  that  representatives  of  this  caste  in  the  jails  of  the  province  far 
outnumber  those  of  any  other  class. 

As  a  relic,  however,  of  something  pure  and  noble,  it  is  of  interest  to 

learn  how  the  Brahman  is  born  into 
the  privileges  of  his  order,  which 
consist  of  being  feed,  fed  and 
feasted  upon  every  possible  occasion 
and  of  being  accorded  all  outward 
honor. 

The  sacred  office  of  priest  may 
be  bestowed  upon  the  boy,  at  from 
nine  to  fifteen  years  of  age.  Upon 
the  day  fixed,  if  the  weather  is  fair, 
the  candidate  for  sacerdotal  honors, 
having  abstained  from  the  use  of 
fish  and  oil,  shaved  his  head,  bathed 
his  body  and  donned  clothes  o_f  red, 
is  furnished  with  a  tall  tinsel  bat, 
and  appears  before  the  priest.  His 
spiritual  superior  reads  certain  incan- 
tations, and  after  worshiping  Vishnu, 
one  of  the  Brahman  Trinity  —  who 
is  represented  by  the  household  god 
(a  small,  round  stone) — the  boy  is  covered  with  a  cloth  to  keep  him  from 
the  contaminating  gaze  of  a  non-Brahman;  under  the  protection  of  the 
cloth  he  is  invested  with  the  mendicant's  staff,  the  branch  of  a  certain 
tree,  at  the  top  of  which  is  tied  a  piece  of  dyed  cloth.  He  afterwards 
receives  the  sacred  thread  of  his  caste,  other  incantations  follow,  the 
father  even  taking  part,  whispering  the  mysterious  words  to  his  son,  lest 
some  one  of  an  inferior  caste  should  hear  them.  Dressed  as  a  beggar, 
with  a  staff  upon  his  shoulder  and  a  wallet  by  his  side,  the  youth  solicits 


A  BRAHMAN  AT  PRAVER. 


CASTES    AND    TRIBES. 


547 


alms  of  his  relatives,  who  give  him  a  small  quantity  of  rice  and  some 
money.  Burnt  sacrifice  is  then  offered  by  the  father,  and  other  forms 
are  exhausted,  after  which  the  youthful  aspirant,  who  has  been  squatting 
upon  the  floor,  rises  in  ecstacy  and  declares  his  intention  of  leading  the 
life  of  a  religious  mendicant.  But  the  boyish  actor  is  persuaded  to 
abandon  a  pretended  determination,  and  which  all  parties  to  the  comedy 
know  is  not  sincere,  by  being  reminded  that  the  holy  Shastra  inculcates 
the  cultivation  of  a  clean  heart  and  a  religious  spirit  rather  than  outward 
humiliation.     Casting  down  his  beggar's  staff,  the  boy  assumes  a  thin 

bamboo  staff,  which  he  throws 
over  his  shoulder  as  an  evi- 
dence that  he  has  decided  to 
remain  vath  the  world.  He  is 
taught  to  commit  certain  ser- 
vices,  fasts,  and  for  three  days 
is  prohibited  from  seeing  the 
sun  or  the  face  of  an  inferior 
beine.  On  the  morning  of  the 
fourth  day  he  goes  to  the  sa- 
cred stream  of  the  Ganges, 
throws  the  two  staves  into  the 
water,  bathes,  repeats  his  pray- 
ers, returns  home,  and  resumes 
his  ordinary  occupations. 

This  is  the  ceremony  which 
transforms  a  Hindu  into  a 
Brahman;  but  as  the  system  of 
caste  bars  out  the  majority  of 
natives  from  being  thus  "twice 
born,"  it  is  evident  that 
many  natives  of  Hindustan 
are  strict  adherents  to  what 
has  come  to  be  known  as  Brah- 
without    having    ever   become    Brahmans.     They  are    simply 

CASTES  AND  TRIBES. 


CHIEF  OF  A  VILLAGE. 


manism 
Hindus. 


In  the  separation  of  the  Hindus  into  castes,  tribal  lines  have  gener- 
ally been  observed.  Brahmans,  artisans  and  servants,  however,  must  be 
distributed  throughout  society.  In  some  cases  whole  tribes  seem  grad- 
ually to  have  changed  their  occupations,  so  that  the  agricultural  caste  of 


548 


PANORAMA    OF     NATIONS. 


to-day  may  have  been  originally  a  military  caste,  and  the  greatest  pride  is 
taken  in  tracing  the  tribal  genealogy  back  to  one  of  the  original  four  great 

castes.  The  tribes 
which  have  been 
I  fixed  upon  as  the 
aborigines  are  the 
smallest  in  the  pop- 
ulation,and  usually 
1  i  V  e  among  the 
hills  of  Central  and 
Southern  India. 
One  of  the  most 
noteworthy  are  the 
Goods  of  Central 
India.  They  num- 
ber over  800,000, 
it  is  true,  but  that 
is  small  for  an  In- 
dian tribe.  The 
Gonds  are  almost 
diminutive  in  stat- 
ure, but  are  hardy 
and  brave.  Near 
the  Hindu  bound- 
aries they  are  agri- 
culturists; in  the 
interior  they  are 
wild  and  savage  in 
their  social  and  re- 
li  o-i  ous  customs. 
Universally,  the 
men  are  great  hunt- 
ers, their  peculiar 
weapon  being  a 
small  axe,  which 
they  throw  with 
such  skill  and  force 
as  to  kill  biHh  birds 
and  animals.  This  they  also  use  to  fell  trees,  which  they  burn,  plant- 
ing grain  in  the  ashes.  The  chief  hunters  of  the  village  also  use 
matchlocks  in  the  place  of  bow  and  arrow.    The  women  are  drudges,  and 


A    NATIVE    HUNT 


549 


wives  are  bought  and  paid  for  in  money  or  in  services  to  their  parents. 
The  Gonds  have  intermarried  with  the  Hindu  tribes  near  them,  espe- 
cially with  the  noble  Rajpoots,  in  which  case  their  physical  characteristics 
are  greatly  modified.  In  Southern  India  are  a  variety  of  tribes  whose 
occupancy  of  the  hills  antedates  history.  Some  of  them  have  dwindled 
to  a  few  hundred.  They  live  generally  in  communities,  but  one  of  the 
more  populous  tribes  dwells  in  villages,  with  regular  streets.  The  houses 
are  of  stone  and  mud,  thatched,  divided  into  separate  apartments,  and 
otherwise  above  the  average  hut,  but  strange  to  say  the  doorways  are 
not  more  than  40  x  25  inches. 

A  NATIVE  HUNT. 

In  the  vast  jungles  lining  the    sacred  Ganges,    especially    in  the 
province  of  Bengal,  lie  in  wait  the  most  destructive  to  human  life  of  any 

of  the  wild  be'asts — the  royal 
Bengal  tiger.  In  thickly  set- 
tled districts  the  ritle  has  sup- 
pressed His  Royal  Highness, 
but  in  many  parts  of  Bengal 
he  still  is  the  terror  of  the 
villages,  attacking  cattle  and 
human  beings  with  equal 
ardor.  At  night  the  villagers 
protect  themselves  with  noisy 
drums  and  with  torches ;  by 
day  they  sometimes  insti- 
tute a  great  hunt,  in  which  the 
natives  for  miles  around  par- 
,  ticipate,  some  on  foot  and  oth- 
ers on  the  backs  of  elephants. 

THE  TAMULS. 


The  chief  of  the  Dravidian 
races,  or  aborigines  of  India, 
are  the  Tamils,  or  Tamuls, 
inhabiting  a  country  in  the  southeastern  part  of  Hindustan  and  por- 
tions of  Ceylon.  They  are  restless,  lithe  and  dark  brown,  being 
the  sailors  of  India,  wandering  along  the  coasts  seeking  employ- 
ment in  English  ships.  Their  language  (the  "  Kuli ")  has  given  a 
name   to  Indian  laborers  as    a  body.     A    coolie    is  known  the    world 


WOMEN  OF    OEYLON. 


550 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


over.  The  Tamuls  are  social  and  energetic,  and  have  not  that  exclu- 
siveness  Vv^hich  is  a  trait  of  several  minor  Dravidian  tribes,  who  will  have 
nothing  to  do  with  foreigners  but  live  in  walled  villages  and  only  inter- 
marry with  their  own  people.  The  whole  group  of  Dravidas  is  some- 
times called  the  Tamulian  family.  The  Tamuls  number  over  lo.oooooo 
souls. 

Near  them  are  the  Telugus,  a  populous  tribe  who  are  agriculturists, 
but  were    formerly  of  a   'commercial    turn,  holding,  at  one  time,  several 


111  USE     IN     CE^'l-dX. 

slands  in  the  Indian  Archipelago.      They  are  tall,  fair  and  commanding 
in  appearance. 

In  contrast  to  them  are  a  hill  tribe,  in  Central  India,  who,  instead  of 
numbering  14,000,000,  as  do  the  Telugus,  muster  not  more  than  1,400. 
They  are  the  Kotar,  but  are  models  of  industry ;  for  not  only  are  they 
agriculturists,  but  carpenters,  smiths,  basket-makers  and  menders  of 
plows.  They,  are  in  fact,  a  little  inclined  to  be  parsimonious,  and 
dead  cattle  and  carrion  of  every  kind  are  promptly  eaten  by  them. 

THE   RAJPOOTS. 

This  tribe  claim  to  be  descended  from  the  original  Kshatriya  caste 
mentioned  by  Menu,  who  were  to  protect  the  peoi)le  and  serve  as  war- 


THE    RAJPOOTS.  55  I 

riors,  as  well  as  offer  sacrifice.  The  conflict  seems  to  have  been  severe 
which  established  the  supremacy  of  the  Brahmans  over  them  ;  but  while 
the  latter  have  fallen  from  their  high  estate,  this  remnant  of  the  primi- 
tive military  caste  maintain  the  ancient  dignity.  The  territory  of  the 
Rajpoots  is  in  Northwestern  India,  and  includes  fifteen  states  allied  to 
the  British  government.  Their  history  is  made  up  of  Mohammedan  and 
native  invasions  which,  for  centuries,  they  resisted,  but  finally  to  be  safe 
from  the  encroachments  of  neighboring  states  they  placed  themselves 
under  the  protection  of  Great  Britain. 

The  Rajpoots  are  not  supposed  to  be  pure  Hindu,  but  show  such 
force  of  character  that  their  people  have  given  chiefs  to  most  of  the  tribes 
of  Rajpoota.  One  of  their  tribes  also  dwells  in  Cashmere,  and  its  chief 
is  lord  of  that  important  state. 

The  appearance  of  the  Rajpoot  does  not  belie  his  commanding  char- 
acter, he  being  tall,  vigorous  and  athletic.  Woman  is  treated  b)-  him 
with  a  romantic  gallantry  which,  with  his  other  qualities,  stamps  him  as 
the  Norman  of  India.  The  Rajpoot  lady  is  well  informed  and  an  illus- 
tration of  the  leaven  which  is  to  raise  the  female  condition  throughout 
India. 

THE  GYPSIES'  LAND. 

There  are  no  other  people  in  the  world  who  have  done  so  little  for 
it,  about  whom  so  many  theories  have  been  advanced,  as  the  g)psies. 
They  received  their  name  from  the  fact  that  the  majority  of  early  inves- 
tigators settled  upon  the  theory  that  they  were  Egyptians  ;  but  the\-  have, 
by  turns,  been  called  Egyptians,  Hindus,  Nubians,  Tartars,  Assyrians, 
Ethiopians,  Armenians,  Moors  and  German  Jews.  The  most  learned 
linguists  of  late  years  have,  however,  found  in  the  words  and  structure 
of  their  language  evidence  which  proves,  beyond  reasonable  doubt,  that 
it  is  a  branch  of  the  Sanskrit,  corrupted  by  additions  from  the  vocabula- 
ries of  the  many  countries  to  which  they  have  wandered,  and  that  they 
are  the  descendants  of  some  of  the  lower  tribes  of  Northern  Hindustan. 
The  language  is  necessarily  split  into  a  multitude  of  dialects,  but  there 
are  certain  forms  common  to  all,  and  it  contains  such  evident  mixtures 
from  the  Persian  and  Greek  that  the  course  of  their  first  emigration  has 
been  traced.  Persian  and  Arabian  authorities  identify  them  with  a  tribe 
of  Northern  Hindustan,  10,000  of  whom  were  invited  into  Persia  to 
satisfy  the  passion  for  music  which  is  so  marked  in  that  country  ;  this  was 
about  400  A.  D.  Wave  after  wave  followed  the  first  and  the  wanderers 
soon  passed  from  Asia  Minor  into  Europe,  besides  spreading  into  other 
parts    of  the  continent  and  Africa.     They  refrain  from  eating  certain 


55: 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


animals  and  are  believers  in  transmigration  of  the  soul ;  but,  if  necessary 
to  their  well-being,  the)-  conform  to  the  religion  of  the  country  in  whicla 
they  live. 

Notwithstanding  the  ease  with  which  they  adapted  themselves  to 
the  views  of  others,  on  account  of  their  modes  of  life  and  the  irmysteri- 
ous  callings  they  were  from  the  first  a  proscribed  race.  Both  Saracens 
and  Tartars  drove  them  out  of  Asia,  and  they 
were  shrewd  enough  to  pose  as  persecuted  Christ- 
ians, when  from  the  twelfth  to  the  fifteenth  centu- 
ries they  made  their  appearance  in  hordes  of  thou- 
sands each,  and 
begged,  thieved 
andhumbueored 
their  w^ay  into 
Greece,  Russia, 
Austria,Switzer- 
land,  Italy,  Ger- 
many, Scandi- 
navia, England, 
France  and 
Spain.  It  seems 
to  have  been 
during  this 
period  that  they 
s  o  effectually 
aroused  the  curi- 
osity of  the  civ- 
lized  world  as  to  their  identity  and  real 
character.  The  whole  race  which  had 
wormed  itself  into  the  most  obscure 
cranny  of  Europe  succeeded  in  adver- 
tisino-  itself   and   its  ma^ric  arts    in    a 

o  o 

way  which  might   make  an  enterpris- 
HiNDu  GYPSIES.  jj^g  merchant  blush   for  shame.      They 

had  been  conquered  in  Egypt  and  forced  to  renounce  Christianity.  They 
had  been  reconquered  by  the  Christians,  and  were  now  doing  penance 
by  their  wanderings  for  having  abandoned  the  true  faith.  Earlier  still 
their  forefathers  had  ill-treated  Joseph  and  Mary,  and  they  were  all 
penitent,  sorrowing,  wandering  Jews. 

Finally  the  ignorance  and  superstition  of  the  middle  ages  conspired 
against   these  dealers   in  the  black  arts,  who  had  so  thoroughly  adver- 


OTHER   GREAT    TRIBES. 


553 


tised  themselves,  and  further  interest  in  them  for  several  centuries 
was  swallowed  up  in  an  all-absorbing  passion  to  crush  them  out  of  exis- 
tence. An  illustration  of  the  severity  of  the  laws  enacted  against  them 
is  that  which  remained  in  force  in  Germany  down  to  the  i8th  century, 
providing  that  every  gypsy  more  than  eighteen  years  of  age  found  in 
the  kingdom  should  be  hanged.  Later  they  were  more  humanley  treated, 
Maria  Theresa,  of  Austria,  being  specially  active  in  efforts  to  improve 
their  condition.  Steps  were  taken  to  educate  their  children  and  induce- 
ments were  offered  for  them  to  cultivate  the  soil.  They  settled  in  large 
numbers  in  the  villages  of  Hungary  and  Transylvania,  special  streets 
being  laid  out  for  them  and  buildings  erected.     But  these  attempts  to 


-^  ■:;'.'..'' y^^-' '>?>■- - 


A  BAGGAGE  ANIMAL. 

plant  them  in  the  soil,  or  bind  them  to  any  settled  ways  of  life,  proved 
generally  abortive,  as  they  always  have  done.  In  a  more  literal  sense 
than  of  any  other  people  it  may  be  said  that  they  are  wanderers  upon 
the  face  of  the  earth. 

In  Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  America  and  in  the  islands  of  every  sea, 
they  show  their  dark  soft  skin,  large  brilliant  eyes,  exquisitely  shaped 
mouths,  cherry  lips,  snow-white  teeth,  and  elegant  forms  so  picturesquely 
draped,  being  pronounced  by  critics  to  be  among  the  fairest  physical 
specimens  of  humanity  which  were  ever  created.  If  their  morals  were 
as  perfect  as  their  bodies,  it  were  well  that  they  thus  displayed  them- 
selves to  the  world. 

OTHER  GREAT  TRIBES. 


The  Cashmere,  of  Northwestern  India,  are  claimed  by  many  to  be 


534 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


A  i:anva\'  forest. 


THE    CEYLONESE. 


0D3 


the  purest  specimens  of  the  ancient  Hindus.  They  are  tall,  vigorous 
and  industrious,  the  women  being  famed  for  their  fine  complexions  and 
beauty.  Their  kingdom  of  Cashmere  is  enclosed  by  mountains,  the 
valleys  of  which  are  wonderfully  fertile.  Rice  is  the  common  food  of 
the  inhabitants,  and  the  lakes  yield  thousands  of  tons  of  a  water-nut 
which  may  be  ground  into  a  Hour,  cooked  or  eaten  raw. 

The  valley  of  Cashmere  is  a  picture  for  an  artist,  with  its  little  vil- 
lages, all  containing  groves  of  poplars  planted  centuries  ago  by  Mogul 
Conquerors,  and  its  thousands  of  cattle,  sheep  and  goats  grazing  on  the 
hill-sides  and  fertile  plains  ;  and  near  its  center  the  city  of  Cashmere, 
lying  for  four  miles  on  both  sides  of  a  tributary  of  the  Indus,  bound 
together  with  numerous  canals  and  called  the  Venice  of  Asia.  The 
city  contains  a  gigantic  Mohammedan  mosque  in  which  60,000  people 
can  worship  and  near  it  is  a  charming  lake,  with  floating  islands,  sur- 
rounded by  beautiful  scenery  and  the  gorgeous  palaces  of  former  Mogul 
emperors.  This  is  the  locality  which  Moore  selected  for  the  closing 
scene  of  Lalla  Rookh.  Cashmere  is  the  center  of  the  shawl  industry 
and  quite  a  commercial  point.  The  kingdom,  is  a  portion  of  the  terri- 
tory which  the  Sikhs  transferred  to  Great  Britain,  but  was  sold  by  the 
latter  to  a  rajah,  and  is  independent. 

The  Mahrattas  for  a  century  were  the  most  powerful  of  the  Hindu 
tribes,  being  for  many  years  in  possession  of  Delhi,  the  center  of  the 
Mohamniedan  power  and  capital  of  the  Mogul  empire.  Their  states 
which  were  finally  united  stretched  quite  across  Hindustan,  but  after 
their  defeat  by  the  Afghans  in  1761,  they  commenced  to  decline  in 
power.  A  long  war  with  England  completed  their  subjugation  as  a 
military  power,  although  they  are  still  turbulent  and  predatory,  and 
remarkable  horsemen.  They  are  scattered  over  portions  of  Central  and 
Western  India. 

THE  CEYLONESE. 

Their  island  Is  chiefly  noted  for  its  natural  scenery  and  for  the 
stupendous  ruins  of  a  Buddhist  civilization,  which  are  buried  in  the 
depths  of  its  dense  forests.  The  primitive  inhabitants  are  the  Vaddahs, 
a  tribe  of  outcasts  who  live  in  the  caves  and  jungles  of  Eastern  Ceylon 
or  in  mud  huts  near  European  settlements.  A  few  words  constitute 
their  language ,  they  have  not  even  a  mythology,  eat  lizards  and  monkeys, 
and  seem  irreclaimable. 

The  Singhalese  are  supposed  to  have  emigrated  from  the  valleys  of 
the  Ganges  about  the  middle  of  the  sixth  century,  and  either  brought 
Buddhism  with  them  or  were  converted  through  the  personal  teachings 


556 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


of  its  great  master.  They  founded  a  monarchy,  and  were  in  continual 
warfare  with  the  Tamuls,  or  Dravidas  of  Southern  Hindustan,  Avhose 
kings  often  ruled  the  island  and  introduced  the  worship  of  Hindu  deities 
into  Buddhist  temples.  The  Buddhism  of  Ceylon  has,  therefore,  been 
greatly  corrupted,  notwithstanding  the  existence  of  its  many  sacred 
shrines  to  which  thousands  of  pilgrims  repair.  Upon  the  summit  of 
Adam's  Peak  will  be  shown  the  imprint  of   Buddha's  sacred  foot.       His 

tooth  is  presented  in  an  elegant  shrine. 
In  the  north  of  the  island  was  the 
ancient  capital  of  Ceylon,  and  its 
mighty  ruins  indicate  what  must  have 
been  the  power  of  the  Singhalese,  after 
they  had  obtained  supremacy  over  the 
Tamuls  and  established  Buddhism  as 
the  national  faith.  The  most  remarkable 
of  these  remains  is  a  \ast  rockhewn- 
temple,  at  the  right  of  its  entrance 
being  a  reclining  figure  of  Gautama 
(Buddha),  forty-five  feet  in  length.  The 
mere  ruins  of  a  bell-shaped  temple,  or 
dagoba,  tower  to  a  height  of  250  feet, 
with  a  diameter  of  360,  and,  from  base 
to  pinnacle,  the  monument  is  covered 
with  gigantic  trees.  At  another  point  is 
the  sacred  Bo  tree  (whose  pedigree  has 
been  traced  to  288  B.  C),  and  scattered 
over  the  island  are  colossal  reservoirs  and 
tanks  which  were  parts  of  a  general  sys- 
tem of  irrigation.  The  Singhalese  are 
yet  the  most  numerous  of  the  natives, 
being  devoted  to  that  corrupted  Buddhism  which  the  Burmese  are 
seeking  to  bring  back  to  the  original  purity. 

RELIGIONS  OF  INDIA. 

The  trinity  of  Brahmanism  consists  of  Brahma  as  Creator,  Vishnu 
as  Preserver,  and  Siva  as  Destroyer.  They  are  priestly  developments, 
having  no  existence  in  the  Vedas,  the  collection  of  hymns  wliich  formed 
the  basis  of  the  early  Hindu  religion. 

Brahma  was  originally  the  Eternal  Essence  of  things;  something 
to  be  contemplated,  immaterial  and  invisible.  After  the  Vedas  came 
the   Brahmanas,   an  expansion  of  some  portions  of  the  first  religious 


BAS  RELIEF   FROM  AN  INDIAN  TEMPLE. 


RELIGIONS    OK    INDIA.  557 

books,  by  which  the  priests  were  set  aside  from  the  world  as  holy  and 
divine,  and  Hindu  society  divided  into  castes. 

Prayer  had  ever  been  the  all-important  power,  and  without  it  the 
gods  who  are  created  in  the  Vedas  could  not  rule  the  world.  Brahman- 
aspati  was  the  god  of  prayer,  and  therefore  became  the  great  god,  his 
priests,  the  Brahmans,  being  little  below  him.  There  is  a  Vishnu  in  the 
Vedas,  but  he  is  rarely  mentioned,  and  is  named  as  a  minor  sun  god. 
But  he  has  been  developed  into  the  creator  of  the  earth  and  the 
preserver  of  its  unbroken  order.  Siva  is  god  of  the  destructive  forces, 
and  has  his  minor  gods.  His  forerunner  in  the  Vedas  is  supposed  to  be 
Indro,  the  god  of  storms.  Siva,  however,  was  actually  adopted  from  the 
mythology  of  the  Dravidas,  who  were  thus  bound  closer  to  Brahmanism. 

The  very  creation  of  the  trinity  of  Brahmanism  is  ascribed  to  the 
opponents  of  Buddhism,  who  wished  thereby  to  unite  all  the  elements  of 
the  Aryan  and  the  aboriginal  population  which  were  opposed  to  the  new- 
doctrine.  A  symbol,  so  to  speak,  was  then  formed,  represented  by  the 
image  of  a  body  with  three  heads  cut  out  of  a  single  block  of  stone. 

The  separate  images  of  the  gods  which  form  the  trinity  seem  to 
vary,  Brahma  is  represented  with  several  heads,  each  one  of  which  is 
crowned. 

Siva  is  usually  four-handed,  and  has  three  eyes,  one  in  the  middle 
of  his  forehead.  In  one  hand  is  a  trident,  in  another  a  sling,  while  his 
other  hands  are  either  empty  or  contain  an  antelope  and  a  flame  of  fire. 
Around  his  neck  is  a  necklace  of  skulls,  and  on  his  head  is  a  cap  of 
elephant  or  tiger  skin.  In  different  images,  Siva's  hands  vary  from  four 
to  thirty-two. 

Vishnu  is  generally  represented  as  attended  by  an  eagle,  and  having 
four  hands  and  a  number  of  heads,  emblematic  of  his  omniscience  and 
omnipresence. 

One  of  the  Vedic  hymns  makes  the  creation  of  the  world  to  consist 
of  three  acts — first,  love  which  was  born  of  religious  meditation  ;  second, 
the  impulse  which  love  gave  to  the  creative  element,  fire  ;  and  third,  the 
act  of  creation.  Manu,  the  first  ancestor  of  mankind,  was  the  father  of 
the  Aryans ;  and  this  fact  gave  rise,  later,  to  their  separation  from  the 
darker  tribes,  and  the  establishment  of  the  first  system  of  caste.  Vishnu 
assigned  Manu  to  the  earth,  and  the  latter  was  the  author  of  the  most 
famous  of  the  social  and  public  laws  of  the  Hindus. 

The  only  trinity  which  is  authorized  by  the  Vedas  is  that  of  "om" 
— a  mysterious  syllable  which  in  the  Sanskrit  is  formed  with  three 
letters;  three  letters  and  one  sound — this  is  the  real  trinity  of  the 
ancient  Hindu  religion.       One  of  its  religious  text   books    is  entirely 


55« 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


n 


o 
z 


INFLUENCE    OF    BUDDHISM.  559 

devoted  to  showing  how  "  oin "  is  immortal.  Among  its  most  lucid 
passages  are  these  :  "Om  is  immortal.  Its  unfolding  is  this  universe,  is 
all  that  was,  is,  and  shall  be.  Indeed,  all  is  the  word  om ;  and  if  there 
is  anything  outside  of  these  three  manifestations,  it  is  also  om.  For  this 
all  is  Brahma;  this  soul  is  Brahma." 

Fire,  as  has  been  seen,  is  pronounced  a  divine  and  creative  element ; 
hence  it  is  Agni,  the  god  of  fire,  who  burns  the  body  that  he  may  recreate 
a  celestial  form  which  he  allows  another  god  to  endow  with  immortality. 

The  goddess  Doorga,  wife  of  Siva,  is  the  Minerva  of  the  Hindus, 
and  even  of  greater  power  than  she,  for  Brahma,  Vishnu  and  Siva  are 
all  said  to  have  propitiated  her,  and  she  was  the  terror  of  the  other  gods. 
Her  image  represents  her  with  three  eyes  and  ten  arms,  in  the  act  of 
piercing  a  giant  with  a  spear  and  with  the  fangs  of  a  huge  serpent  which 
she  grasps  by  the  tail.  Her  other  hands  are  filled  with  weapons  of  war. 
In  honor  of  this  monster  is  held  the  greatest  of  the  Hindu  festivals,  com- 
memorative of  the  day  on  which  a  great  king  of  India,  now  deified, 
marched  against  a  prince  of  Ceylon  who  had  stolen  his  perfect  wife. 
Other  festivals  are  celebrated  in  honor  of  the  goddess,  but  this  is  the 
greatest  of  all,  because  superstition  and  national  pride  join  hands  to  give 
it  Mat. 

Sudra,  the  king  of  heaven  holds  the  first  place  among  the  infe- 
rior deities,  his  position  being  maintained  only  by  constantly  warring 
against  the  giants  of  India.  He  may  be  ejected  by  a  Brahman.  Tama, 
the  holy  king,  judges  the  dead,  he  being  a  hideous  green  man  in  red 
garments  who  holds  court  in  the  mountains.  The  rivers  of  India  are 
divinities,  particularly  the  Ganges,  which  descends  from  heaven,  and 
whose  waters  purify  sin. 

Krishna  was  one  of  Vishnu's  incarnations.  Another  of  Krishna's 
titles  is  Jagannatha,  or  lord  of  the  world.  To  him  is  dedicated  a 
great  temple,  that  of  Jagannatha,  or  Juggernaut.  The  town  situated  in 
Bengal  is  called  by  the  same  name.  But  the  great  car  of  Juggernaut, 
forty-three  feet  high,  with  its  sixteen  ponderous  wheels,  no  longer  crushes 
any  human  victims.  The  temple,  however,  is  still  the  most  holy  of  the 
shrines  of  Hindustan,  and  is  visited  annually  by  1,000,000  pilgrims. 

So,  through  the  centuries,  the  gods  went  on  multiplying.  Every 
physical  principle  and  force  of  the  earth  had  one,  and  to  cover  the  in- 
finity of  the  heavens  hundreds  of  thousands,  —  yea,  millions  — of  gods, 
were  created,  althousjh  not  called  bv  name. 

INFLUENCE  OF  BUDDHISM. 

Although  Buddhism  has  been  all  but  confined  to  Ceylon,  "The 
Divine  Island,"  which  tradition  assigns  as  the  scene  of  man}-  of  Buddha's 


560  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

priestly  labors,  it  threatened,  at  one  time,  to  supplant  Brahmanism,  and 
has  in  spite  of  its  persecutions,  had  much  influence  upon  Brahmanism, 
and  has  spread  over  the  vast  empires  to  the  east.  Buddhism  abolished 
caste  as  a  religious  institution  and  carried  its  religion  to  all  people.  Purity 
of  conduct  was  inculcated  —  "to  eschew  everything  bad,  to  perform 
everything  good,  to  tame  one's  thoughts."  All  sacrifices  were  rejected. 
Nature  was  an  illusion.  The  final  object  is  Nirvana,  the  deliverance  of 
the  soul  from  all  pain  and  the  body  from  all  passions  by  right  view,  right 
sense,  right  speech,  right  action,  right  position,  right  energy,  right  mem- 
ory and  right  meditation.  Buddhism  left  to  Brahmanism  the  doctrine 
of  the  incarnation  of  the  gods,  which  has  been,  for  ages,  an  important 
feature  of  the  Hindu  religion.  This  incarnation  is  called  by  the  Brah- 
mans  an  Avatar,  Vishnu  having  been  especially  favored  in  this  respect. 
He  is  said  to  have  passed  through  seven  different  incarnations,  in  all  of 
which  he  destroyed  the  enemies  of  the  human  race. 

A  MOHAMMEDAN. 

An  Indian  Mohammedan  does  not  essentially  differ  from  that  of 
Turkey,  being  principally  distinguished  from  a  Hindu  for  his  restlessness 
under  restraint  of  British  rule.  He  is  proud  and  arrogant,  remembering 
when  he  Avas  the  conqueror  of  India  and  occupied  the  magnificent  city 
of  Delhi,  as  the  capital  of  his  great  empire.  This  he  still  calls  the  city 
of  the  King  of  the  World,  in  remembrance  of  one  of  the  most  powerful 
Mogul  emperors  of  India.  He  looks  upon  the  great  mosque,  built  by 
another  emperor,  who  quelled  both  Persians  and  Afghans  and  further 
solidified  the  cause  of  Mohammedanism,  and  then  he  scowls  upon  the 
Englishman. 

In  Mohammedan  eyes  this  mosque  is  one  of  the  wonders  of 
the  world.  It  stands  on  a  rocky  height  near  the  center  of  the  city, 
being  built  on  a  paved  platform.  The  mosque  is  approached  by 
broad  stone  steps,  is  lined  and  faced  with  white  marble,  surmounted 
by  three  domes  of  the  same  material,  striped  with  black,  and  having  at 
each  end  of  the  front  a  high  minaret.  Scattered  through  and  around 
the  city  are  more  than  forty  other  mosques  and  tombs  of  the  emperors 
and  Mussulman  saints. 

In  the  center  of  the  Northwestern  Provinces  of  British  India  is  the 
province  and  city  of  Agra,  once  the  capital  of  the  Mogul  Empire.  Its 
ancient  ^valls  embraced  an  area  of  nearly  twice  that  of  the  modern  city. 
Within  the  English  fort,  which  limits  the  latter,  is  the  palace  of  a  former 
Great  Mogul,  and  a  pearl  mosque,  while  near  the  Jumna  River,  a  short 


THE    FAKIR. 


^6l 


distance  east,  is  the  mausoleum  erected  for  himself  and  wife  upon  whicli 
20,000  men  were  employed  for  t\vent)-two  years.  It  is  built  in  the  form 
of  an  irret;ular  octagon,  is  of  white  marble,  and  so  lavishly  decorated  that 
the  whole  ui  the  Koran  is  said  to  be  written  in  precious  stones  on  the 
interior  walls.  The  tomb  of  another  iMoyul  emperor  is  six  miles  from 
the  city  ;  so  that  Agra  is  almost  as  much  a  lasting  humiliation  to  thc! 
Mohammedan  as  Delhi  itself.  The  Hindus  greatly  predominate,  and 
venerate  the  city  as  the  scene  of  one  of  \'ishnu's  incarnations. 

THE      lAKlR. 

The  Fakir  of  India  is  a  re-appearance  of  the  Dervish  of  Turkey, 
Persia  and  Arabia.  It  is  an  Arabian  word,  and  this  mendicant  monk  is 
much  more  of  a  Mohammedan  than  a  Hindu.  Mendicancy,  with  the 
accompaniment  of  personal  degradation,  is  no  part  of  Brahmanism 
There  seems,  how- 
ever, to  be  a  cer- 
tain class  of  Fakirs, 
who  are  partial 
subscribers  to 
Brahmanism,  and 
who  believe  that, 
l)y  great  austerity, 
complete  isolation 
and  intense  medi- 
tation, they  may 
even  obtain  power 
over  the  invisible 
world ;  stories  are 
related  of  mortals 
who  ha\e  thus  ex- 
p  el  led  divinities  ^^ 
from  the  very  heav- 
ens. Some  hide 
themselves  in  the 
woods,    allowino-  roval  palace  at  agra. 

their  han-  and  nails  to  grow,  and  their  bodies  to  become  co\-ered 
with  filth  until  they  are  more  repulsive  than  wild  beasts.  Others 
remain  with  their  arms  raised  above  their  heads,  or  their  bodies  bent 
double,  until  they  assume  these  positions  permanently  ;  or  they  go 
naked,  sleeping  upon  the  ground  without  shelter  of  any  kincL  never 
kindling  a  fire,  but  using  the  excretions  of  cattle   for  fuel,  considering 

3<>   ■" 


562  PANORAMA    (il-     .\ATIUNS. 

this  a  holy  act,  since  the  cow  is  one  of  India's  sacred  animals.  Another 
form  of  penance  is  to  lay' fire  upon  the  scalp  and  allow  it  to  burn  to  the 
bone  ;  to  tie  the  wrists  to  the  ankles,  cover  the  bod\'  with  tilth,  ami  then 
roll  alonsj',  from  village  to  village,  beoftrins''  and  ''"ivin"-  advice  to  the  awe- 
stricken.  Those  who  believe  in  a  more  passive  kind  of  self-torture  have 
been  known  to  bury  themselves  in  the  ground  and  take  their  food  and 
water  through  narrow  tubes,  for  unnientionaljle  periods. 

The  primar\-  requisite  in  a  bakir  is,  of  course,  abject  poverty,  and 
some  of  those  who  travel  over  the  country  wear  robes  rent  into  tatters, 
such  as  the  Mussulmans  fondly  believe  were  worn  by  the  prophets  of 
old.  They  often  carry  a  cudgel,  a  battle  a.xe  or  a  spear,  on  which  are 
hung  rags  of  various  colors  ;  but  it  is  said  that  these  weapons  are  put  to 
more  wicked  uses  when  the  bearers  meet  travelers  upon  a  lonely  high- 
way. In  the  towns,  they  appear  as  religious  teachers.  The  Fakir,  who 
lias  a  lung  chain  attached  to  one  leg,  which  he  clanks  as  he  prays, 
becomes  a  superior  Ijcing  before  whom  the  superstitious  Indians  grovel 
and  tremble,  and  to  whom  they  come  to  be  cured  of  their  diseases. 

A    PAR.SEE. 

In  Hindustan  his  home  is  Bomljay,  the  western  capital  of  British 
India.  In  Persia,  the  native  land  of  Zoroaster,  whose  follower  he  is,  he 
IS  op|)ressed  and  degraded  by  the  Mohammedans  as  a  "  guebre,"  or  infi- 
del. There,  also,  he  is  wedded  to  the  worship  of  fire,  and  has  lost  sight 
of  its  symbolic  character.  This  is  so  to  a  great  extent  in  Hindustan, 
temples  being  built  o\  er  sul)terranean  fires  and  sacred  fiames,  which 
Zoroaster  is  said  to  ha\e  brought  from  heaven.  Priests  tend  the  fire  on 
altars,  chanting  hymns  and  burning  incense.  But  the  Parsee  of  India 
is  not  content  to  rest  here,  and  a  ereat  effort  is  being  made  to  restore 
the  religion  to  its  original  purity  ;  to  follow  the  simple  faith  of  the  Persian 
])roi)het  to  this  end  : — that  the  two  principles  of  good  and  evil  animate 
the  universe.and  are  found  in  every  created  thing  ;  that  the  good  is  eternal 
and  will  prevail  over  the  evil,  and  that  God  has  existed  from  all  eternity. 

From  Bomba)' as  a  center  the  sect  is  increasing  quite  rapidly.  Next 
to  the  Furopeans,  also,  the  Parsees  have  built  not  only  some  of  the 
largest  vessels  in  the  service  of  the  I^ast  India  Company,  but  have  even 
constructed  frigates  and  men-of-war.  But,  although  commercialh',  politi- 
cally, intellectualh'  and  socially  thev  take  rank  with  the  Europeans,  and 
are  adopting  man\-  Western  customs,  the}'  have  not  yet  abandoned  their 
peculiar  wa)-  of  treating  the  dead.  On  the  summit  of  Malabar  Hill,  the 
most  fashionable  suburb  of  the  cit\-,  is  the  Parsee  cemetery,  walled  and 
guarded.  It  contains  five  roiuul  towers,  each  about  sixty  feet  in  dia- 
meter and  fifty  feet  in  height  and  surmounted  b\  a  large  grate.      The 


A    SIKH.  563 

A  SIKH. 

bodies  of  tlie  newly  dead  are  placed  u[K)n  these  towers,  and  when  the 
vultures  have  removetl  the  tlesh  from  the  skeletons  the  bones  fall  throu;4h 
the  erate  into  the  inclosure  beneath. 

Between  the  Indus  and  the  Ganges,  in  Northwestern  India,  ar(-  a 
race  of  people  called  the  Jats,  who  are  supposed  to  be  of  a  northern 
oriein,  either  descendants  of  the  .Sc\thians  or  Huns.  They  are  of  the 
agricultural  caste,  are  tall  and  robust,  with  clear-cut  features,  and  the 
finest  specimens  of  physical  manhood  in  India.  Besides  leading  in 
husbandry,  their  history  has  shown  that  the)-  are  second  to  no  tribe  as 
brave  warriors. 

A  Sikh  is  a  Jat  who  has  adopted  the  best  portions  of  Mohammedan- 
ism and  Brahmanism.  The  founder  of  the  sect  was  of  the  warrior  caste, 
who  in  his  youth  had  been  educated  as  a  Hindu  and  afterwards  was 
adopted  by  a  Mohammedan  dervish.  He  therefore  imbibed  the  prin- 
ciples of  both  religions,  and  when  he  came  to  [jromulgate  his  own 
doctrines,  toleration  and  the  brotherhood  of  man  were  naturally  its  lead- 
ing tenets.  Those  whom  he  drew  to  his  religious  standard  were  called 
simply  "Sikhs,"  or  "disciples."  His  successors  as  heads  of  the  sect  were 
able  and  bold,  and  were  looked  upon  as  the  arch  enemies  of  both 
Mohammedanism  and  Iirahmanism.  One  of  them  was  tortured  and  put 
to  death  by  the  Mussulman  government. 

Then  commenced  a  fierce  war  arainst  the  Mohammedans.     The 

o 

Sikhs  were  driven  into  the  mountains  of  the  Northern  Punjaub  where 
they  formed  a  state  of  a  decidedly  democratic  turn.  All  caste  was 
abolished.  The  Sikhs,  irrespective  of  social  standing,  wore  a  blue  dress. 
Every  man  was  a  soldier  and  constantly  carried  his  steel  blade.  The 
contest  against  the  Mohammedans  was  renewed,  periodically,  and  the 
Sikhs  became  so  powerful  that  the  Shah  took  the  field  against  them 
personally,  and  almost  annihilated  them.  This  was  after  they  had  fought 
the  fight  for  conscience'  sake,  for  two  centuries.  But  fifty  years  there- 
after (1764)  they  had  so  recovered  as  to  be  able  to  drive  the  Afghans 
from  the  Punjaub,  and  for  seventy-five  years  more  existed  as  petty  states 
and  as  one  powerful  kingdom,  known  as  Lahore.  The  English  subdued 
them,  and  they  remained  faithful  to  their  conquerors  during  the  Sepoy 
rebellion.  A  few  states  continue  to  be  independent,  situated  in  .South- 
eastern Punjaub. 

THE  HINDU   FAMILY. 

As  to  tlie  duties  of  the  male  and  female  heads  of  a  Hindu  household 
they  do  not  essentially  difler  from  those  of  the  American  husband  and 
wife.  From  all  accounts  the  women  are  usually  models  of  economical 
management  and  the  men  are  careful  to  lay  in  a    month's  supply    of 


5^4 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIOXS. 


provisions  at  a  time.      In  the  upper  and  central  provinces  it  is  customary, 
at  harvest,  to  buy  a  year's  supply. 

Little  Hindu  children  with  their  light  brown  skins,  dark  eyes  and 
hair,  acquiline  noses,  high  foreheads  and  intelligent  faces  are  sheltered, 
loved  and  educated  with  true  devotion;  to  be  without  children  is  counted 
not  only  a  misfortune,  but  a  sin  for  which  religious  atonements  are 
required.  It  is  in  the  painful  seclusion  which  the  Hindu  women  suffer 
and  in  their  separation  from  their  older  sons  and  their  husbands  that 
the  difference  between  Eastern  and  Western  households  is  mostly 
observed. 

The  houses  are  so  constructed  that  the  court-yard  is  always  reached 

through  a  tortuous  passage  way 
which  is  closed  by  a  low  door. 
There  is  an  outer  and  an  inner 
apartment,  below.  The  rooms 
above  are  reached  by  small 
contracted  staircases. 

Not  satisfied  with  shut- 
ting them  out  from  fresh  air 
and  sunshine,  when  meal  time 
comes  custom  requires  that 
the  women  shall  eat  separately 
from  the  men.  In  the  morn- 
inof  the  children  are  served 
first,  that  they  may  go  to  school. 
Then  the  adult  male  members 
are  favored,  the  mother  and 
wife  squatting  with  them  on  a 
bit  of  carpet.  She  sees  that 
everybody  is  properly  waited 
upon  by  the  servants,  and 
although  she  participates  in 
the  conversation  she  can  not 
eat.  The  cooking  is  generally 
left  to  Brahman  servants,  but 
it  is  not  uncommon  for  wealthy  Hindu  ladies  to  take  a  pride  in  preparing- 
the  evening  meal  of  their  sons  and  husbands. 

The  Hindu  woman  is  separated  from  her  husband's  elder  brothers 
as  by  walls  of  adamant.  She  can  not  speak  to  her  husband,  or  lift  her 
veil,  in  the  presence  of  her  mother-in-law.  In  a  word  she  is  neither  to  be 
seen  nor  heard  when  ekU-r  members  of  the  family  are  around. 

After  the  family  have  separatt-d  she  changes  her  clothes  and  retires 


CLOTH  VENDERS. 


A    SOX  S    lURTH.  565 

of  Stone  and  metal,  placed  on  a  gold  or  sil\  er  throne,  upon  which  are  a 
silver  umbrella  and  household  utensils  dedicated  to  it.  She  prostrates 
herself,  invokes  its  blessing  and  takes  her  breakfast,  which  like  all  other 
meals  is  simple,  consisting  principally  of  vegetables,  fish  and  milk;  then 
she  enjoys  a  nap,  chewing  afterwards  a  mouthful  of  betel  to  color  and 
strengthen  her  teeth.  After  she  has  changed  her  garments  for  secular 
robes  she  bathes,  as  a  religious  duty.  If  she  is  poor  and  lives  near  the 
Ganges,  she  goes  to  the  sacred  stream,  and,  as  the  sun  rises  and  sets, 
washes  her  body  and  clothes  at  its  banks.  In  the  upper  provinces,  at  all 
seasons  of  the)ear,  hundreds  of  women  can  be  seen  daily  walking  toward 
its  waters,  with  baskets  of  flowers  upon  their  heads,  chanting  in  chorus 
the  praises  of  the  sacred  river  of  India.  In  the  Hindu  household, 
also,  ladies  are  not  permitted  to  participate  in  domestic  occupations  unless 
they  bathe  their  bodies  and  change  their  garments,  morning  and  after- 
noon. 

Morning  and  evening,  also,  the  priest  visits  the  house  to  worship 
its  god,  bless  the  members  of  the  family  and  carry  away  the  offerings  of 
rice,  fruits,  sweetmeats  and  milk.  For  the  support  of  the  household 
god  the  Hindu  sometimes  sets  apart  an  endowment  fund  of  landed  pro- 
perty. 

A  SON'S  BIRTH. 

The  birth  of  a  male  child  is  announced  by  the  sounding  of  a  conch 
or  large  shell,  and  when  the  mother  hears  the  welcome  note  she  is  con- 
vinced that  she  has  been  under  the  kind  charge  of  the  goddess  Shashthi, 
Avho  has  charge  of  children.  Her  heart  sings  for  joy  ;  for  she  knows 
that  a  male  child  will  be  welcomed  by  her  husband ;  while,  if  the  shell  is 
mute,  she  raves  in  a  double  agon)-,  for  a  little  daughter  is  at  first  an 
interloper  of  the  Hindu  world.  "The  family  barber  bears  the  happy 
tidings  of  a  son's  birth  to  all  the  nearest  relatives,  and  he  is  rewarded 
Avith  presents  of  money  and  clothes.  Oil,  sweetmeats,  fishes  and  curdled 
milk  are  presented  to  the  relatives  and  neighbors,  who,  in  return  offer 
their  congratulations.  A  rich  Hindu,  though  he  study  practical  domes- 
tic economy  ver\-  carefully  is,  however,  apt  to  loosen  his  purse  string  at 
the  birth  of  a  son  and  heir.  The  mother  foro-etting-  her  trouble  and 
agony,  implores  Bidhata  (the  god  of  fate)  for  the  longevity  of  the  child.'' 

The  goddess  Shashthi  is,  on  the  sixth  day  after  the  great  event, 
worshiped  in  front  of  the  room  where  the  child  was  born,  the  officiating 
priest  making  offerings  of  food  and  clothes.  There  are  deposited  in  the 
mother's  room  a  palm  leaf,  a  pen  and  ink  and  a  serpent's  skin  ;  the  arti- 
cles beinof  lo  aid  the  god  of  fate  in  writinor  on  the  forehead  of  the  child 
to  a  room  in  which  is  the  tutelar  god,  usually  an  image  of  Krishna  made 


566  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

its  future  destiny.  On  the  eighth  day,  the  children  of  the  house  and 
neighborhood,  after  being  feasted,  repair  to  the  door  of  the  room,  beat- 
ing upon  a  fan  with  small  sticks,  asking,  "  How  is  the  child  doing  ?"  and 
shouting,  upon  a  favorable  reply  being  given,  "  Let  it  rest  in  peace  on 
the  lap  of  its  mother." 

The  boy  has  in  the  meantime  been  blessed  by  his  father  and  rela- 
tives, gold  coins  (for  good  fortune)  have  been  forced  into  his  baby  hands, 
and  he  has  been  visited  by  the  family  astrologer,  who  has  noted  the  day, 
the  hour  and  the  minute  of  his  birth  and  cast  his  horoscope.  He  maybe 
named  after  a  god,  which  is  common.  If  the  child  is  a  daughter,  on  the 
other  hand,  she  may  go  through  life,  eventually  loved  and  petted,  but 
burdened  with  such  a  name  as  Ghyrna  (despised).  The  ceremony  of 
christening  occurs  when  the  child  is  six  months  old,  upon  which  occa- 
sion it  is  fed  with  a  little  boiled  rice  which  has  been  sanctified  ;  the  baby 
being  shaved,  clad  in  a  silk  garment  and  adorned   with  gold  ornaments. 

HE  GOES  TO  SCHOOL. 

The  boy  grows  like  other  babies,  and  besides  the  care  he  receives 
from  his  parents  may  likewise  be  protected  by  a  metal  charm,  which  is 
strung  upon  a  string  tied  around  his  loins.  At  the  age  of  five,  if  the  as- 
trologer pronounces  the  day  propitious,  the  youngster  is  bathed,  put  in 
a  new  garment,  and  taken  to  the  imaffe  of  the  i^oddess  of  learning-,  where 
the  priest  is  again  found  waiting  to  intercede  for  him  and  bear  away  the 
offerings,  as  well  as  his  own  gift.  He  is  then  introduced  to  the  master 
of  the  infant  school,  where  he  writes  his  letters  upon  the  ground  (five  at 
a  time)  with  a  soft  stone.  As  he  advances,  he  writes  upon  palm  leaves, 
slate  and  paper,  with  a  wooden  pen  and  ink,  and  each  step  is  marked  by 
a  gift  of  food,  clothes  and  money  made  by  his  parents  to  the  master,  the 
regular  fee  being  from  one  penny  to  three  pence  a  month.  Reading 
and  a  little  arithmetic  are  also  taught. 

To  ensure  an  early  attendance  a  master  resorts  to  the  practice  of 
giving  the  first  comer  one  rap  with  a  cane,  the  second  two,  the  third 
three,  and  the  last  boy,  or  a  truant,  is  made  to  stand  on  one  leg  and 
hold  out  a  brick  in  his  right  hand  until  he  is  completely  exhausted. 
Another  native  mode  of  punishment  is  to  apply  the  leaves  of  a  stinging 
plant  to  the  back  of  the  naughty  boy. 

When  the  boy  is  six  years  old,  if  his  parents  have  become  imbued 
with  Western  ideas  and  they  can  afford  it,  he  is  sent  to  one  of  the  public 
schools  of  Calcutta,  where  he  receives  an  education  in  both  his  own  and 
the  English  language,  and  may  eventually  undergo  a  university  training. 
But  social  antl  family  duties  ma)  call  him  into  other  fields. 


THE  girl's  Einc  atiox.  567 

THE    GIRL'S    EDUCATION. 

The  education  of  the  i;irl  as  a  wife  commences  when  she  is  Httle 
more  than  a  baby.  When  she  is  five  )ears  old  she  is  not  brought  before 
the  goddess  of  learning,  but  before  the  goddess  Doorga.  This  divinity, 
under  the  instruction  of  some  elderly  woman,  the  little  girl  represents 
by  two  tiny  images  of  clay,  which  she  makes  and  sprinkles  with  water 
from  the  Ganges,  repeating  as  the  drops  fall,  "  All  homage  to  Siva"; 
this  being  the  name  of  Doorga's  model  husband,  whom  she  worshiped 
before  and  after  marriage.  The  innocent  child  is  then  required  to  offer 
flowers  and  leaves  to  the  goddess,  and  flowers  and  sandal  paste  to  Siva, 
to  the  god  and  husband.  To  a  supposed  question  from  the  god  as  to 
her  wishes,  the  baby  replies  that  she  desires  the  prince  of  the  king- 
dom for  her  husband  ;  that  she  may  be  beautiful  and  virtuous  and  the 
mother  of  "  seven  wise  and  virtuous  sons  and  two  handsome  daughters  ", 
that  she  may  have  good  daughters-in-law  and  sons-in-law  and  a  well-filled 
granary  and  farm-yard  ;  that  her  dear  ones  may  enjo}-  long  life  and  pros- 
pcrity  and  that  she  may  eventually  die  on  the  banks  of  the  sacred 
Ganges. 

Within  the  next  few  months  the  Hindu  maiden  makes  various  \ows 
or  "  bratas,"  all  accompanied  by  painting  upon  the  floor  with  rice  paste 
the  images  of  gods,  men,  ornaments  of  gold  and  precious  stones,  houses 
and  granaries,  her  prajer  being  for  an  affectionate  husband,  and  only 
one.  Her  last  performance  (still  a  child  of  five  years),  after  invoking  a 
blessing  from  above,  is  to  curse  her  possible  rival  of  bed  and  board. 
The  rival  wife  is  called  a  "sateen,"  and  she  is  to  become  "a  slave,"  be 
exposed  to  infamy,  have  "  her  head  devoured,"  and  die — if  she  ever  live  ; 
but  her  prayer  is  to  "  never  be  cursed  with  a  '  sateen'"  —  this  is  the  life- 
long prayer  of  a  Hindu  female  from  babyhood  to  old  age. 

MARRIAGE    CEREMONIES. 

The  girls  are  married  at  from  eight  to  thirteen  years  of  age  —  in  the 
opinion  of  the  Hindus,  the  earlier  the  better.  At  the  age  of  seventeen 
or  eighteen  the  boy  is  a  subject  for  matrimony.  Sometimes  the  children 
are  pledged  to  each  other  in  infancy,  or  the  marriage  may  be  arranged 
by  professionals,  called  "ghatucks." 

The  strongest  point  in  favor  of  the  youth,  now-a-days,  supposing  that 
his  social  standing  is  good,  is  that  he  has  passed  successfully  all  the  ex- 
aminations of  the  university  and  has  been  honored  with  a  degree.  The 
parents  of  such  a  boy  demand  of  the  parents  of  tlie  girl  that  they  shall 
be   guaranteed    a    long    list    of    gold  ornaments,  which    constitute    the 


568  I'.WORAMA    OK    NATIONS. 

wealth  of  the  bride.  The  expense  to  the  maitlen's  parents,  who  are  de- 
termined to  marry  their  daughter,  is  increased  to  ahnost  a  ruinous ■ 
extent  by  many  feasts  both  before  and  after  marric;o;e  ;  it  is  estimated  that 
a  tolerably  respectable  marrias^re  will  cost  at  least  $1,000.  The  prelimi- 
naries having  been  arranged,  the  ) outh  is  examined  in  the  presence  of 
his  future  father-in-law  and  a  universit)'  graduate  as  to  his  literary 
acquirements,  and  the  girl  is  put  through  a  course  of  questioning  by 
relatives  of  the  boy's  family,  after  which,  if  all  is  well,  a  written  agree- 
ment is  drawn  up,  written  by  a  Brahman  on  Bengallee  paper  with  Ben- 
gallee  pen  and  ink.  This  makes  the  document  sacred  and  binding  ;  it 
must  also  consist  of  an  odd  numljer  of  lines. 

When  the  contract  is  signed  and  ratified,  the  females  of  the  party 
sound  two  conch  shells — one  for  the  bridegroom  and  another  for  the 
bride.  Subsequently  the  boy  puts  on  a  red  bordered  cloth,  stands  on  a 
"grindstone  surrounded  by  four  plantain  trees,  while  five  women  (one 
must  be  of  the  Brahman  caste)  whose;  husbands  are  alive,  go  around  him 
five  or  .seven  times  (an  odd  number  is  lucky),  anoint  his  body  with  tur- 
meric, and  touch  his  forehead  at  one  and  the  same  time  with  holy  water, 
betel  nuts,  rice  paste,  and  twent\-  other  little  articles."  A  bit  of  the  tur- 
meric paste  with  which  he  has  been  anointed  is  sent  by  the  family  barber 
to  the  bride  in  a  silver  cup,  and  her  body  is  also  anointed  with  it.  A 
long  and  ridiculous  series  of  feasts  and  formalities  precede  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  nuptials  in  the  chamber  of  worship  of  the  bride's  house. 

The  priest  first  ties  around  the  bridegroom's  fingers  fourteen  blades 
of  grass,  seven  for  each  hand,  pouring  a  little  holy  Ganges  water  into 
his  right;  this  hand  he  holds  while  the  father-in-law  repeats  an  incanta- 
tion. Rice,  flowers,  grass,  water  and  sour  milk,  with  prayers  intermixed, 
are  showered  upon  the  young  man  (figuratively  speaking),  and  he  is 
finally  directed  to  put  his  hand  into  the  copper  pan  of  holy  water  which 
stands  before  the  priest.  Having  done  so,  the  priest  places  the  hand  of 
the  bride  on  that  of  the  bridegroom,  and  ties  them  together  with  a  gar- 
land of  flowers.  The  father-in-law  gives  his  daughter  away,  naming,  as 
he  does  so,  the  fine  clothes  and  jewels  which  she  wears.  The  bridegroom 
says  :  "  I  have  received  her";  after  which  the  father-in-law  unties  the 
hanils  of  the  couple,  pours  holy  water  upon  their  heads  and  blesses 
them. 

The  briiK'  is  all  tliis  time  closeh'  veiled,  and  has,  in  fact,  never  been 
seen  b)-  the  ijridegroom  ;  but  now  a  silken  cloth  is  thrown  o\-er  their 
heads  and,  underneath  it,  the)'  are  asked  to  look  at  each  other.  I'arched 
rice  and  grass  are  then  offeretl  to  Brahma,  and  a  small  piece  of  cloth 
decorated  with  lietel  nuts,  is  tied  to  the  scarf  of  the  bridegroom  and  the 


KEMALK    KDUCATION.  569 

silken  garment  of  the  bride  —  symbolic  of  a  perpetual  union.  It  would 
be  tiresome  to  enumerate  the  successive  steps  which  th(;  joung  couple 
take  before  they  are  formally  wedded,  consisting  of  religious  rites,  feasts, 
practical  jokes  played  upon  them,  little  ceremonials  calculated  to  bring 
them  joy  and  allay  their  bashfulness,  as  well  as  actions  on  the  part  of  the 
females  which  should  not  be  described. 

FEMALE    EDUCATION. 

The  great  obstacle  in  the  wa>'  of  elevating  Hindu  women,  and 
thereby  society,  is  the  custom  of  withdrawing  them  not  only  from  the 
world  when  they  are  married,  but  from  all  educational  influences.  In 
those  parts  of  the  country  which  have  never  been  under  the  dominion  of 
Mohammedan  conquerors,  this  fact  is  not  so  evitlent.  But  they  estab- 
lished themselves,  and  their  peculiar  ideas  of  preserving  the  virtue  of 
woman,  throughout  the  plains  of  the  holy  Ganges,  from  which  they 
spread,  more  or  less,  over  the  whole  country.  Before  their  advent, 
education  was  prevalent  to  a  considerable  extent  among  women. 

Even  in  our  days  among  the  great  tribes  of  the  Pnnjaub  and  Rajpoo- 
tana,  in  the  northwest,  as  well  as  among  the  Mahrattas,  of  the  south- 
west, who  are  noted  for  their  strength,  intellectually  and  bodily,  there 
are  not  a  few  accomplished  and  scholarly  women.  Formerl\-  every 
respectable  female  of  Rajpootana  was  instructed  to  read  and  write.  One 
of  the  latter  people,  an  excellent  .Sanskrit  scholar,  lately  visited  Calcutta, 
the  center  of  modern  education,  and  astonished  all  by  her  wonderful 
acquirements.  And  even  in  the  Bengal  districts,  which  are  particular!)- 
Mohammedan,  since  the  establishment  of  British  power.  Hindu  women 
are  makinsr  (jreat  advances.  Manvof  them  after  thev  withtlraw  into  thc^ 
"zenana"  (which  corresponds  to  the  Mohammedan  harem)  engage 
teachers  to  instruct  them,  not  only  in  needle  work,  but  in  those  branches 
which  lay  the  foundation  of  an  intellectual  mind.  Some  of  them  have 
passed  commendable  examinations  even  in  the  Universit)'  and  Normal 
School  of  Calcutta. 

"THE  ORDER  OF  MERIT." 

The  hatred  of  pol)'gam\',  which  is  inculcated  into  the  female's  mind, 
almost  from  infancy,  does  not  prevent  its  existence  in  Hindu  society. 
Manu  authorized  it,  as  did  (jod  through  Mohammed.  Not  only  was 
it  said  that  women  had  "  no  business  with  the  text  of  the  Veda"  and  "  no 
e^•idence  of  law,"  but  they  must  be  held  by  their  "  protectors  in  a  state 
of  dependence";    and  that  the  sateen  may  be  brought  into  the  house 


0/ 


O  TAXOKA-MA    OK    NATIONS. 


if  a  prior  wife  is  childless  for  seven  years,  if  she  has  lost  all  her  children 
by  the  tenth  year,  if  for  ten  years  she  has  borne  only  daughters,  or,  if 
she  speak  unkindly,  "  without  delay."  Great  teachers  of  Brahmanism 
have  even  added  to  the  various  pretexts  by  which  the  Hindu  has  carried 
polyg:aniy  into  his  household,  despite  the  life-long  protests  of  the  woman. 

Polygamous  Brahmans  are  known  as  "  koolins,"  and  native  investi- 
gators, who  have  had  the  best  opportunities  to  look  into  their  family 
affairs,  assert  that  their  numerous  marriages  are  made  generally  for  pur- 
poses of  worldly  gain,  or  for  bare  support.  When  money  is  required  for 
themselves  or  wives  they  pounceupon  their  father-in-laws  for  it.  "Among 
the  Turks,"  says  a  Hindu  author,  "seraglios  are  confined  to  men  of 
wealth,  but  here  a  Hindu  Brahman,  possessing  only  a  shred  of  cloth  and 
a  piece  of  thread,  keeps  more  than  a  hundred  mistresses."  The  custom 
is  furthermore  said  to  be  productive  of  crimes  on  the  part  of  the  women 
too  horrible  and  unfit  to  relate,  and  from  the  abandoned  wives  and 
daughters  of  the  koolins  come  most  of  the  Hindu  females  of  ill-repute. 
The  parents  of  daughters  who  thus  place  their  children  in  such  jeopardy 
usually  seek  to  have  them  married  to  Brahman  koolins  on  account  of 
the  caste  of  the  bridegroom  and  in  order  to  keep  up  the  honor  of 
their  families.  The  children  of  these  marriages  invariably  remain  with 
their  mothers  and  are  maintained  by  the  relatives  of  these  females. 
The  pictures  which  have  been  drawn  of  the  inner  life  of  these  harems 
are  composed  of  constant  quarreling  between  the  wives  on  personal 
o^rounds  and  on  account  of  their  children,  screaming  and  cursing,  and 
forcibly  expressed  wishes  by  each  that  she  may  "eat  the  head"  of  the 
other, — viz.,  cause  her  death.  Even  separate  cook  rooms,  separate 
apartments,  and  giving  the  same  set  of  ornaments  to  each  do  not  bring 
peace,  especially  if  one  of  the  wives  has  received  the  usual  education  of 
being  taught  to  hate  a  rival. 

An  attempt  is  being  made  by  native  reformers,  with  which  Hindu- 
stan is  swarming,  to  abolish  the  Order  of  Merit,  as  the  koolin  system 
was  first  known.  The  British  Govern  ment  was  even  memorialized  to 
take  a  legislative  hand  in  its  destruction,  but  refused  to  interfere  with  th(^ 
social  customs  of  the  nation.  The  practice  of  burning  widows  with  the 
"dead  bodies  of  their  husbands,  which  has  been  a  most  ancient  custom, 
has  been  abolished  within  the  limits  of  British  India  (which  comprises 
two-thirds  of  the  area  and  five-sixths  of  the  population  of  Hindustan), 
not  by  legislative  enactment,  but  by  gradually  throwing  many  obstacles 
in  the  way  of  the  horrible  practice. 

It  would  never,  in  all  likelihood,  have  had  so  long  an  existence,  were 
it  not  for  the   pious  austerity   which  Mann  enjoins   u])on   the  widow,  as 


A  patriarch's  death.  571 

a  passport  to  paradise.  She  is  to  t-maciate  her  body  by  living;  volun- 
tarily on  pure  flowers,  roots  and  fruits,  not  pronounce  the  name  of 
another  man,  and  to  abstain  from  the  common  pursuits  of  life.  .She  may 
not  even  take  part  in  any  good  work  wliicli  will  briny  her  into  contact 
with  society,  but  is  e.xpected  to  remain  with  her  mother,  or  grandmother, 
perhaps  in  the  holy  city  of  Henares  li\  ing  upon  one  coarse  meal  a  da)-, 
fasting  regularly  twice  a  month  and  upon  every  religious  celebration; 
to  strip  herself  of  even  iron  and  gold  bangles,  earrings  and  bordered 
clothes;  is  not  permitted  to  daub  her  forehead  with  vermilion,  and  is 
denied  every  feminine  pleasure.  If  she  has  not  children  to  solace  her, 
in  despair  she  shaves  her  head  and  pines  away  neglected,  or,  recklessly 
severs  every  tie,  throws  behind  her  all  feminine  honor  and  leads  the 
worst  life  of  which  a  Hindu  woman  is  capable. 

A    PATRIARCH'S   DEATH. 

A  Hindu  family  is  patriarchal  in  its  composition,  husband  and  wife, 
sons,  daughters  and  daughters-in-law  dwelling  under  the  same  roof. 
Their  own  daughters  may  be  married,  also,  as  on  account  of  the  tender 
age  of  Hindu  husbands  their  wives  usually  live  at  home  for  several  years, 
and  during  this  period  the  father-in-law  is  expected  to  support  them  all. 
When  the  head  of  the  household  therefore  takes  to  his  bed,  laying  aside 
all  considerations  as  to  natural  affection,  it  is  a  season  of  great  anxiety, 
and  when  the  native  physician  announces  that  he  is  no  more  destined  to 
have  rice  and  water,  torrents  of  grief  are  released  from  the  men,  women 
and  children. 

If  possible,  the  sick  man  is  borne  on  a  cot  to  the  banks  of  the  Gan. 
ges  and  is  told  to  look  upon  the  sacred  stream,  and  as  he  opens  his  eyes 
he  sees  scores  of  bodies,  in  all  stages  of  life  and  death,  brought  thither 
to  be  stamped  with  the  sacred  seal.  The  person  who  is  thus  hurried  to 
the  Ganges  is  often  entrusted  to  the  care  of  servants,  who,  if  he  persist 
in  living,  "  get  tired  of  their  charge  and  are  known  to  resort  to  artificial 
means,  whereby  death  is  actually  accelerated.  They  unscrupulously  pour 
the  unwholesome  muddy  water  of  the  river  down  his  alread)-  choked 
throat,  and,  iVi  some  cases,  suffocate  him  to  death.  The  process  of  Hindu 
'antarjal,'  or  immersion,  is  another  name  for  suffocation." 

'  In  the  case  of  an  old  man  the  return  home  after  '  immersion  '  is 
infamously  scandalous,  but  in  that  of  an  aged  widow  the  disgrace  is  more 
poignant  than  death  itself.  Scarcc]\-  any  effort  has  ever  been  made  to 
suppress  or  even  to  ameliorate  such  a  barbarous  practice,  simply  because 
religion  has  consecrated  it  with  its  holy  .sanction."  The  above  are  the 
words  of  a  former  Brahman,  who  has  seen  the  errors  of  his  native  religion. 


572 


PANORAMA    Ol      xNATIONS. 


He  instances  cases  in  wliich  the  aged  of  both  sexes  were  returned  to 
their  homes,  after  they  had  undergone  this  murderous  process  a  dozen 
times  ;  anxious  to  die,  having  looked  upon  the  Ganges,  but  unable  to 


n 

B 

■z 

> 
H 

w 


mi 


•~a! 


Wik 


■;-i 


'^   .  ^ 


1  \:%i^^  r  <^T 


pass  away,  so  vital  is  the  spark  of  life.  Disgraced  beings,  they  dragged 
on  amiseriible  existence,  and  one  of  thcni.a  widow,  at  length  drowned  her- 
self in  the  divine  river, which  is  thought  to  tlow  from  the  throne  of  the  gods. 


THE    SACRED    CITY.  573 

If  the  man  dies,  with  the  names  of  the  gods  whispered  in  his  ears 
by  his  attendants,  his  body  is  burned  at  the  Nimtollah  Ghaut,  the  most 
noted  river  terrace  at  Benares,  the  son  setting  fire  to  the  pile,  if  he 
luckily  is  present.  A  portion  of  the  body,  which  is  not  burned,  is 
thrown  into  the  Ganges,  and  the  funeral  pile  is  watered  from  the 
sacred  stream,  the  son  also  bathing  in  it.  Upon  returning  to  the  stricken 
home,  he  is  greeted  by  the  doleful  cries  of  the  females  who  are  beating 
their  breasts  and  tearing  their  hair. 

For  a  month  the  son  goes  unsha\'(:d,  with  unpared  finger  nails, 
dresses  in  a  simple  white  garment  and  lives  upon  a  very  slender  diet- 
To  fully  carry  out  Hindu  regulations,  consisting  of  presents  of  money 
brass  pots,  silver  utensils,  sweetmeats  and  sugar,  to  the  Brahmans,  the 
Pundits  (professors),  and  so  on  down  the  grade  of  castes,  with  special 
entertainments,  after  the  funeral,  to  the  Brahmans,  the  "  Kayastas " 
(writers)  and  other  classes,  a  fortune  is  required.  A  late  Rajah  of 
Calcutta  celebrated  the  demise  of  his  illustrious  father  at  an  expense  of 
$250,000.  At  the  funeral  services  the  distribution  of  garlands,  accord- 
ing to  caste,  is  an  important  feature  of  the  proceedings  and  the  cause 
of  bitter  jealousies.  The  "Gooroo,"  or  spiritual  guide,  and  the  "puno- 
hit,"  officiating  priest,  are  always  mos  thonored,  the  only  question  being 
as  to  how  much. 

At  the  feasts  given  to  the  Brahmans,  and  others,  the  guests  place 
themselves  on  grass  seats  in  long  rows,  in  the  court  yard,  and  if  the 
householder  is  wealthy  they  do  not  commence  to  eat  until  the  number 
reaches  two  or  three  hundred.  Each  guest  is  provided  with  a  piece  of 
plaintain  leaf  and  an  earthen  plate,  and  upon  these  receptacles  ire 
placed  their  fruits  and  sweetmeats.  In  spite  of  the  utmost  vigila..ce 
Hindus  of  the  lower  castes,  decently  dressed  Init  poor,  and  willing  to 
strive  after  a  free  lunch,  often  enter  the  court  yard  and  obtain  sha.'-es 
destined  for  the  privileged  class.  They  are  not  killed,  however,  a.s  of 
yore,  but  are  simply  ejected ;  and,  says  a  native,  ''  some  of  the  Brah- 
mans who  are  invited  do  not  scruple  to  take  a  portion  home,  regardless 
of  the  contaminated  touch  of  a  person  of  the  lowest  order,  simply  be- 
cause the  temptation  is  too  strong  to  be  resisted." 

THE  SACRED  CITY. 

Next  to  the  river,  Benares  is  the  natural  object  of  the  Hindus 
greatest  veneration.  Ruins  found  in  the  vicinity  of  the  city,  of  palaces, 
mosques  and  temples,  indicate  tliat  there  was  a  Benares  of  far  greater 
antiquity  than  the  present;  the  Hindus  believe  it  to  have  been  founded 


574 


PANORAMA    OK    XATICiNS. 


at  the  creation  of  the  world.  To  die  within  its  Hmits  is  to  be  sure  of 
heaven.  The  waters  of  the  Ganges  are  far  hoher  in  Benares  than  else- 
where. Along  the  terraced  river-side  fires  are  continually  burning,  on 
which  smolder  the  bodies  of  the  recent  dead.  Sacred  bulls  roam  through 
its  narrow  streets,  and  from  the  temples  dedicated  to  Doorga,  troop 
forth  hundreds  of  sacred  yellow  monkeys. 


THE   INDU-CHINESE. 

|X  China,  Thibet,  Siam  and  IJurniah  arc  to  he  found  the  purest 
specimens  of  that  Mongol  race  whose  branches  spread  over 
Asia  and  Eastern  Europe.  As  Medes,  Scythians,  Huns, 
i'  Mongols  and  Tartars,  this  people  have  appeared  in  history 
^  spreading  their  names  and  their  individualities  over  the  world. 
Tiie  blood  of  the  race  courses  in  the  veins  of  wandering  tribes 
from  the  Pacific  to  the  Atlantic  ocean,  and  of  permanent 
empires  of  which  it  is  a  basis  two  still  exist  which  are  among 
the  most  widely  extended  of  the  world — the  Turkish  in  the 
west  and  the  Chinese  in  the  east. 


A  BEWILDERING  ANTIQUITY. 

The  Turks  are  the  result  of  various  mingling  of  races,  with  the 
Mongol  predominating,  but  the  Chinese  seem  to  have  shot  east  at  once, 
and  to  have  been  the  flourishing  and  peculiar  people  they  are  to-day, 
nearly  four  thousand  years  ago.  As  a  nation  they  have  been  traced 
into  such  remote  periods  of  time  as  to  fairly  bewilder  the  ethnologist, 
and  force  him  at  times  to  rest  unsatisfied  in  his  labors.  The  one  theory 
is  that  they  are  an  offshoot  from  the  parent  stem  which  grew  in  Western 
Asia,  and  the  other  that  they  emigrated,  before  history  was,  from  the 
suppositious  continent  of  Lemuria,  now  sunk  beneath  the  waters  of  the 
Indian  Ocean.  Upon  the  latter  supposition  the  Mongols  would  have 
spread  into  Siam  and  Burmah  and  China,  and  while  some  of  the  race 
settled  in  .Southeastern  Asia,  the  restless  or  weaker  portion  commenced 
to  wander  west  and  north. 

Certain  it  is  that  here,  and  especialK'  in  China,  is  the  pure  type  of 
a  distinct  race.  As  has  been  well  said:  "It  is  inhabited  by  more  than 
400,000,000  of  the  human  race,  living  under  the  same  goverment,  ruled 
by  the  same  laws,  speaking  the  same  language,  studying  the  same  liter- 
ature, possessing  a  greater  homogeneity,  a  histor}^  extending  over  a 
longer  period  and  a  more  enduring  national  existence  than  any  other 
jjeople  whether  of  ancient  or  modern  times;  indeed  when  we  consider  its 

575 


5/6 


I'AXUKA.MA    UF    NATIONS. 


high  antiquity,  its  peculiar  civihzation,  its  elaborate  administrative  ma- 
chinery, its  wondrous  lancrua£re  and  classic  literature,  its  manufacturine 
industry  and  natural  productions,  China  is  perhaps  the  most  remarkable 
countr\-  in  the  world."  Here  then,  in  their  native  land,  packed  closely 
into  a  territory  two-thirds  as  large  as  the  United  .States,  this  mysterious 
people,  with  their  j-ellow  skin,  coarse  hair,  thin  beard,  depressed  nose, 
obli(iue  e\es,  thin  eyebrows,  large  ears  and  lips,  and  low,  tlat  forehead, 
calml)'  live  and  thrive  ;  passionless  yet  industrious;  practical  \-et  literary; 
peaceable,  domestic,  frugal-their  existence  flowing  on  and  on,  compa- 
ratively unruffled  by  outside  storms,  like  their  beloved  river,  the  Yang- 
tse-Kiang,  or  .Son  of  the  Ocean. 

NEGLECT  OF  NATUR.\L  ADYANT.AGES. 

The  two  great  rivers  of  China  come  tumbling  down   together  from 
the    table-lands  of  Central   Asia,   where  each   of  them  meets  a  range  of 


■N.VKR  SCENE   IN'    CHINA. 

mountains,  and  one  is  diverted  to  the  north  and  the  other  to  the  south. 
Their  acquired  impetus  seems  to  force  them  to  describe  an  immense  cir- 
cuit, so  that  they  are  separated  Ijy  an  interval  of  over  one  thousand 
miles,  one  tlirecting  its  course  toward  the  cold  north  and  the  other  to- 
ward the  tropics.  But  suddenly  they  again  approach  each  other,  almost 
join  hands,  and  finally  empty  into  the  Yellow  .Sea  onK'  a  hundred  miles 
apart.  The  area  of  their  two  basins  is  estimated  at  nearly  a  million 
square  miles,  the  Yellow  River  being  useless,  however,  for  purposes  of 
na\igation. 

The  orand    canal   traversing  Northeastern   China,  the  grand    wall 
along  its  northern  borders — both  of  these  are  immense  but    imperfect. 


BASIS   OF   THE    STATE.  577 

From  Pekin  in  the  north  to  Hangchow  in  the  south  is  the  great  plain 
of  China,  six  hundred  by  three  hundred  miles,  and  which  has  suffered, 
from  time  immemorial,  from  the  floods  of  her  great  rivers.  Nature  has 
done  her  work  on  a  grand  scale,  and  the  people,  had  they  the  mechanical 
genius  of  the  American  or  the  European,  would  promptly  bind  the  loose- 
jointed  empire  into  one  stupendous,  compact  body. 

The  Chinese,  however,  have  been  devoting  themselves  to  the  task 
of  building  up  a  system  of  popular  education  and  establishing  the  social 
structure  of  their  great  country,  and  have  neglected  to  perfect  the 
material  advantages  of  the  empire.  Such  neglect  may  be  excusable  in 
them,  when  the  historic  student  remembers  that  when  Western  civiliza- 
tion was  unborn  they  were  using  the  compass,  gunpowder,  paper  and 
printing;  that  though  divided  into  three  religious  sects,  each  vies  in 
charity  with  the  others;  that  among  all  classes  courtesy  is  the  study 
and  practice  of  life  ;  that  since  they  were  known  to  history  they  have 
been  setting  to  the  world  a  continued  example  of  temperance  in  eating 
and  drinking,  and  finally,  notwithstanding  their  neglect  of  natural  and 
artificial  water-ways,  that  there  is  probably  a  greater  amount  of  tonnage 
belonging  to  the  Chinese  than  to  all  other  nations  combined. 

BASIS  OF  THE  STATE. 

Education  is  the  sure  passport  to  distinction  in  China  and,  if  desired, 
to  public  preferment.  So  it  matters  not  what  the  future  career  of  the 
youth  is  to  be,  his  first  aim  is  to  pass  his  examination.  The  result  is 
that  a  knowledge  of  the  common  branches  is  all  but  universal,  although 
there  is  not  such  a  general  diffusion  of  knowledge  as  in  many  other 
countries  whose  districts  would  show  a  lamentable  number  who  could  not 
read  and  write.  Each  Chinese  word  has  its  symbol,  and  many  a  mer- 
chant who  may  be  at  home  when  dealing  with  his  own  articles  would  not 
be  able  to  read  an  ordinary  book.  The  number  of  adult  males  who  can 
read  the  classical  books,  it  is  said,  is  not  more  than  three  in  a  hundred  ; 
of  women  one  in  a  thousand.  The  province  of  literature  is  open  to 
women,  so  that  authors  among  that  sex  are  not  rare. 

Although  fostered  by  the  state  in  every  possible  way,  the  cause  of 

education  is  not  left  to  run  alone  at  this  point ;  but  the  "sons  of  high 

officers  of    state,  and    Mantchoos  of  noble    birth  resort  to  a  national 

institution   established  for  them  at  Pekin.     They  receive  instruction  in 

the  Chinese,    Mongolian   and  Mantchurian  languages,  and  when  their 

education  is  complete  they  are  dispatched  to  various  parts  of  the  empire, 

to  serve  as  attaches  until  more  important  offices  become  vacant  for  them. 

Distin'jfuished  students  anions:  them  are  instructed  for  the  astronomical 
"^  ="  37 


578  PANORAMA    OF     NATIONS. 

board,  the  chief  duties  of  which  are  to  inform  the  Emperor  when  an 
ecHpse  of  the  sun  or  moon  is  Hkely  to  take  place." 

THE  SCHOOLBOY 

The  schoolmaster  is  held  in  the  same  veneration  by  the  Chinese  as 
the  priest  is  in  other  countries  where  Brahmanism  or  Buddhism  is  all  in 
all  ;  and  while  the  Burmese  or  Siamese  boy  is  getting  his  mind  filled  with 
forms  and  ceremonials  and  a  perplexing  religious  system,  albeit  with 
much  good  thrown  in,  the  Chinese  lad  is  being  taught  hrs  first  lessons  in 
morality  and  moderation.  When  he  is  six  years  of  age  his  schoolmaster 
is  selected  and  he  may  commence  his  education  upon  any  day  which  is 
not  an  anniversary  of  the  death  and  burial  of  Confucius,  or  that  of 
Tsong-Kit,  the  inventor  of  letters.  These  are  considered  as  unlucky 
days  by  the  fortune-teller.  Carrying  with  him  a  present  of  money  for 
his  instructor,  the  little  boy  enters  the  school,  worships  at  a  shrine  of 
Confucius,  salutes  his  teacher,  presents  his  gift  and  is  conducted  to  his 
desk  and  chair.  The  school  is  usually  held  in  a  temple  or  in  the  spare 
room  of  a  guild,  the  scholars  study  their  lessons  aloud  and  early  are 
taught  the  use  of  the  rod. 

The  primer,  or  first  book,  consists  of  sentences  of  three  char- 
acters, each  of  which  is  committed  to  memory  and  explained ; 
or  the  beginning  of  learning  may  consist  of  a  mere  committal  to 
memory  of  surnames,  with  their  meanings,  as  the  basis  of  history 
and  literature.  Next  a  thousand  different  characters,  classified,  and 
divided  into  rhyming  couplets,  are  committed  to  memory.  Already 
the  boy's  mind  has  been  filled  with  fragments  of  wisdom,  but  now 
he  commences  a  more  systematic  study.  He  enters  upon  the  study 
of  the  four  "Shoos"  or  books  compiled  by  the  disciples  of  Con- 
fucius, and  containing  his  conversations  with  them,  and  an  original 
production  by  one  of  his  later  followers,  in  which  is  expanded  the 
doctrine  of  the  mean,  or  as  we  have  been  taught  in  English,  the  Golden 
Mean.  Thus  early  does  the  Chinese  teacher  commence  to  mould  the 
national  character,  which  is  preeminently  one  of  moderation  and  conserv- 
atism, bordering  wpon  timidity.  In  accordance  with  l»w,  the  themes  for 
the  essays  upon  which  depend  future  degrees  and  prosperity,  are  taken 
from  the  four  Shoos. 

PREPARING    FOR    HIS    DEGREES. 

When  the  boy  buds  into  the  youth  of  seventeen  or  eighteen,  he 
commences  to  prepare  for  his  first  degree,  which,  translated,  is  that  of 


THE   SCHOOLBOY.  579 

"  flowering  talent,"  or  "  elegant  shoots."  He  now  seeks  more  seclusion  ; 
for  the  course  of  intellectual  discipline  which  he  must  undergo  is  severe. 
In  the  higher  schools  each  pupil  has  a  separate  apartment  for  study,  and 
there  is  a  common  hall  where  the  principal  lectures  upon  the  four  Shoos 
to  the  room  of  silent,  rapt  scholars.  Even  the  servants  of  the  building 
suspend  their  work  while  the  sacred  words  flow,  and  it  is  only  as  a  spe- 
cial favor  that  one  is  allowed  to  approach  near  the  hall. 

Many  students,  instead  of  receiving  this  important  preliminary  edu- 
cation in  cities  and  towns,  in  order  that  their  minds  may  be  wholly 
concentrated  on  their  work,  choose  pagodas,  temples  and  secluded  spots 
in  the  country,  shut  away  from  the  world  by  groves  and  mountains. 
One  of  their  most  famous  retreats  is  the  Sichu  Mountains,  in  Southern 
China.  Many  of  these  educational  shrines  are  founded  upon  spots  which 
have  become  sacred  as  having  been  the  resorts  of  noted  Confucian 
sages,  centuries  ago,  before  the  fair  retreats  of  learning  were  dreamt 
of.  One  of  the  colleges  is  at  the  foot  of  a  mountain  and  at  the  head  of 
a  picturesque  ravine,  through  which  rushes  a  wild  stream  to  a  beautiful 
lake.  It  is  called  White  Deer  Grotto,  because  near  it,  in  a  cave,  once 
lived  a  Chinese  sage,  who  was  so  enveloped  in  his  philosophy  that  he 
could  not  spend  the  time  to  walk  to  the  neighboring  village  for  provis- 
ions, but  sent,  instead,  a  white  deer,  which  was  his  constant  companion. 
Attached  to  the  college  is  a  temple,  which  contains  an  idol  of  Confucius 
in  place  of  the  usual  tablet,  this  being  contrary  to  all  his  teachings. 

Having  mastered  the  four  Shoos,  so  that  he  has  them  by  rote,  the 
student  passes  to  the  classic  on  Filial  Piety.  This  work  is  attributed  to 
Confucius.  The  Five  Kings,  in  which  he  next  must  perfect  himself,  is 
a  compilation  by  the  great  sage  of  the  traditions  and  records  of  wise 
Chinese  emperors,  acollection  of  national  poemsand  ceremonials,  enriched 
by  the  elucidation  of  Confucius.  All  of  Chinese  civilization,  ancient 
and  modern,  is  embodied  in  these  books;  Confucius  thus  cr)-stallized  the 
national  character.  The  study  of  history,  general  literature,  and  of  the 
essays  of  the  Chinese  masters,  with  frequent  examinations  as  to  the 
rational  ground  of  the  system  upon  which  he  stands,  precedes  the  grand 
event  of  the  youth's  examination  for  the  degree  of  "flowering  talent." 

Certain  classes,  however,  are  excluded  from  the  privileges  of  striv- 
ing for  the  degree  and  honor ;  viz.,  brothel  keepers,  actors,  policemen, 
jailors,  domestic  slaves,  barbers,  chair-bearers,  watermen,  musicians,  and 
their  descendants  to  the  third  generation,  as  well  as  "tse-min" 
(degraded  people)  forever.  These  latter  are  the  descendants  of  subjects 
who  for  over  a  century  threatened  the  stability  of  the  reigning  dynasty. 
Every  student,  also,  who  is  admitted  to  the  privileges  must  undergo  the  ' 


580  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

ordeal  in  his  native  province.  The  number  of  successful  candidates,  is 
furthermore,  fixed  according  to  population.  It  therefore  would  appear 
that  there  are  several  restrictions  and  clogs  upon  the  action  of  the  inhab- 
itants of  China  who  desire  an  education  and  public  preferment  at  the 
same  time.  There  is  no  restriction  as  to  age,  however,  a  case  being 
mentioned  of  an  examination  in  Canton  where  a  hoary-headed  China- 
man stood  on  the  lists,  side  by  side  with  his  son  and  grandson. 

COMPETITIVE  EXAMINATIONS. 

After  the  various  candidates  have  been  examined  as  to  their  qualifi- 
cations to  take  the  examination,  and  their  age,  lineage  and  description 
of  person  (a  record  for  future  generations)  have  been  recorded  on  the 
lists,  the  competitors  assemble,  soon  after  daybreak,  in  a  large  hall.  The 
examiners  are  the  district  rulers,  the  prefects  and  the  literary  chancellor. 
Each  student  carries  with  him  a  small  basket  containing  his  pencil,  ink- 
stand, stick  of  ink,  and  a  little  refreshment  to  tide  him  over  the  following 
fifteen  or  twenty  hours  of  close  application.  Within,  he  purchases  his 
paper  of  a  government  official,  and  then  seats  himself  at  one  of  the  long 
tables  with  his  companions.  He  may  have  for  company  five  or  six 
thousand  anxious  students,  of  all  ages,  but  usually  gaily  dressed  and 
eager.  After  every  pocket,  shoe  and  wadded  garment  have  been  searched 
to  see  that  no  "pony"  has  been  smuggled,  a  gun  is  fired  without,  and 
doors  and  windows  are  closed  and  guarded.  Every  opening  is  posted 
over  with  strips  of  paper  containing  these  words :  "  No  sealed  dis- 
patches for  the  presiding  examiner  can  be  handed  in,  as  he  is  examining 
the  essays.  You  must  retire  and  keep  out  of  the  way."  With  every 
precaution,  however,  the  sharpest  board  of  examiners  are  sometimes 
deceived.  The  name  of  an  ambitious  individual  may  be  assumed  by  a 
thorough,  but  mercenary  student,  who,  for  a  liberal  reward  passes  over 
the  coveted  degree  to  his  patron. 

Well,  everything  being  as  secure  as  human  precaution  can  make  it, 
the  themes  are  given  out  and  the  candidates  commence  on  their  two 
essays,  terseness  as  well  as  elegant  penmanship  being  requisites.  1  his 
is  followed  by  the  composition  of  a  poem  of  twelve  lines,  and  a  recitation 
or  a  written  extract  from  the  sacred  edict.  At  the  close  of  the  day  a  gua 
is  fired,  and  the  students  who  have  not  finished  their  essays  are  furnished 
with  lamps,  at  government  expense.  Several  days  thereafter  the  list  of 
successful  candidates  is  posted  on  the  walls  of  the  hall.  Seven  examin- 
ations are  altogether  conducted,  the  literary  chancellor  having  charge  of 
the  last  four.  The  students  fall  out  by  tens  and  hundreds,  so  that  at  the 
final  competition  not  more  than  a  hundred  remain    of  the   five  or  six 


COMPETITIVE    EXAMINATIONS.  58  I 

thousand  who  entered  the  lists,  and  of  these  not  more  than  sixty  are 
invested  with  the  order  of  merit ;  whose  badge  is  a  golden  flower 
placed  on  top  of  the  cap  or  hat,  a  richly  embroidered  collar  being  also 
placed  on  the  shoulders.  When  the  ceremony  of  obtaining  the  B.  A. 
degree  is  over,  the  happy  recipients  dine  with  the  literary  chancellor. 
In  their  respective  towns  they  are  the  heroes  of  the  day,  one  of  their 
most  important  duties  being  to  worship  at  the  ancestral  hall,  and  present 
offerings  of  pork,  cake,  fruits  and  flowers  at  the  ancestral  tablets. 

The  successful  "  shoots  "  can  not  rest  from  other  examinations  before 
taking  the  next  degree,  if  they  wish  to  stand  well  in  the  community.  At 
intervals  during  the  following  three  years  the  government  examiners 
place  them  under  fire  to  prove  their  mental  calibre,  and  they  are  divided 
into  three  ranks,  the  highest  being  "lingsang" — "at  the  top  of  the 
tree."  Slothful  candidates  who  have  shunned  these  tests,  have  even 
been  severely  bastinadoed  by  the  authorities  of  proud  districts. 

The  other  literary  degrees  are  "  Keujin"  (elevated  men),  "  Tsinsze" 
(advanced  scholars),  and  "  Hanlin"  (pencil  forests).  The  Keujin  ex- 
aminations are  conducted  in  provincial  capitals,  as  at  Canton,  and  the 
other  two  at  Pekin.  Even  greater  precautions  are  taken  that  all  shall 
be  fair  and  above  board  than  during  the  contest  for  the  lower  degree, 
each  student  remaining  in  a  cell,  by  night  as  well  as  by  day,  until  the 
trial  is  over.  The  examiners  are  appointed  by  the  Emperor,  who  sends 
two  of  them  to  each  province.  On  the  morning  of  the  sixth  day  of  the 
eighth  month  of  every  third  year,  the  learned  examiners  are  escorted  to 
the  large  hall  surrounded  by  students'  cells,  and  in  the  center  of  which 
is  a  spacious  building,  where  they  are  lodged  ;  the  mandarins  who  form 
the  escort  being  headed  by  the  governor-general  himself,  who  rides  in  an 
open  chair  on  the  shoulders  of  sixteen  men.  The  student  whose  name 
leads  all  the  rest,  in  this  second  competition,  is  invested  with  the  proud 
degree  of  "  elevated  men,"  and  the  rejoicings  of  his  family  and  towns- 
men are  repeated.  Thus  he  progresses  toward  the  height  of  his  literary 
ambition,  the  degree  of  "  pencil  forests,"  or  LL.D. 

"The  examination  for  the  degree  of  Hanlin  is  conducted  in  the 
Imperial  Palace  by  the  Emperor  himself.  The  test  is  a  written  answer 
to  any  question  which  the  Emperor  may  propose.  The  successful  candi- 
dates are  divided  into  four  classes.  Those  of  the  first  class  have  the 
degree  conferred  on  them  and  are  reserved  for  important  vacancies. 
Graduates  of  the  second  class  become  members  of  the  inner  council  ; 
those  of  the  third  class  obtain  situations  in  the  six  boards;  and  those  of 
the  fourth  become  district  rulers.  The  newly-made  Hanlin  are  enter- 
tained at  dinner  by  the  Emperor,  and,  as  a  mark  of  great  honor,  each 


582  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

guest  sits  at  a  separate  table,  upon  which  the  most  recherche  viands 
are  spread.  The  graduate  at  the  head  of  the  Hst  is  called  '  Chwang- 
yuen,'  and  his  reputation  extends  to  all  parts  of  the  empire.  Wander- 
ing heralds  carry  his  name  to  remote  villages  as  well  as  populous  towns, 
and  both  high  and  low  make  a  point  of  becoming  acquainted  with  some 
particulars  of  his  family  and  early  training.  When  he  travels,  the  vari- 
ous hostelries  at  which  he  lodges  consider  themselves  highly  honored 
by  the  presence  of  so  distinguished  a  visitor." 

"The  Hanlin  hall  in  which  the  degree  is  conferred,  is  in  the  form  of 
a  parallelogram,  and  on  each  of  the  four  sides  there  is  a  cloister. 
Against  the  walls  of  the  cloisters  are  placed  marble  slabs  on  which  are 
inscribed  the  original  text  of  Confucius.  In  the  center,  under  a  pavilion, 
is  the  throne  on  which  the  Emperor  sits  when  called  upon,  in  the  dis- 
charge of  his  imperial  duties,  to  explain  the  doctrines  of  Confucius  to 
his  ministers.  When  the  degree  is  conferred,  the  approved  candidates 
arrange  themselves  around  the  throne,  and  as  the  name  of  each  is  called, 
the  Emperor  makes  a  mark  against  it  with  his  vermilion  pencil  in  a  list 
which  he  has  before  him." 

OFFICES   TO    BE    FILLED. 

The  latter  is  the  Emperor's  official  pencil,  his  sanction  to  all  laws 
and  edicts  requiring,  of  course,  the  imperial  seal.  He  is  assisted  in  the 
general  administration  of  the  government  by  a  council  of  four  ministers 
and  by  si.x  boards  ;  the  first  selects  the  district  and  provincial  officers, 
affixes  the  seal  to  all  government  papers  and  keeps  a  record  of  the  most 
meritorious  acts  of  both  public  functionaries  and  distinguished  citizens  ; 
the  second  is  the  treasury  department ;  the  third  has  charge  of  the 
religion  of  the  people  and  the  government  temples  ;  the  fourth  is  the 
department  of  war  ;  the  fifth,  of  criminal  jurisdiction  ;  the  sixth,  of  public 
works,  such  as  mines,  manufactures,  highways,  canals  and  bridges.  Each 
department  has  its  head  minister,  who  lays  its  decisions  before  the  inner 
council  of  four,  who,  in  turn,  submit  their  decisions  to  the  Son  of  Heaven 
and  the  Lord  of  Ten  Thousand  Years. 

Besides  these,  which  may  be  said  to  comprise  the  immediate  impe- 
rial government,  are  two  singular  boards  of  espionage,  one  of  which  has 
for  its  province  the  entire  field  of  official  action,  and  the  other  is  con- 
fined to  the  princes  of  the  royal  blood  and  their  relations.  The  first 
named  board  of  censors  has  its  spies  and  emissaries  in  every  nook  of  the 
mighty  empire,  ferreting  out  possible  conspiracies  and  bringing  corrupt 
officials  to  justice  ;  the  last  keeps  a  record  of  births,  deaths,  and  marri. 
ages,  besides  examining  into  the  personal  conduct  and  ability  of  the 
Emperor's  sons.     At  frequent  intervals  reports  are  submitted  to  the   six 


MANNERS    ADAPTED    TO    INTELLECTUAL    PURSUITS.  583 

great  boards,  or  departments,  which  reach  the  imperial  father  and  are 
supposed  to  have  a  weight  in  his  choice  of  a  successor. 

These  high  officials  are  but  a  drop  in  the  great  ocean  of  mandarins 
which  covers  the  Chinese  empire.  China  is  divided  into  nineteen 
provinces  and  each  province  has  a  governor  general,  a  treasurer,  a  sub- 
commissioner,  a  literary  chancellor,  a  chief  justice,  "  tautais,"  prefects, 
scores  of  district  or  county  rulers,  with  their  boards,  besides  the  the  offi- 
cers and  governing  bodies  of  the  towns  and  villages,  each  of  these 
official  grades  resting  upon  the  other,  the  higher  acting  as  a  parent  to 
that  beneath,  and  over  them  all  the  divine  paternity  of  their  earthly  god, 
the  Emperor.  Salaries  are  small ;  and  herein  lies  the  cause  of  great  cor- 
ruption, notwithstanding  this  permeating  spirit  of  paternity  ; —  salaries 
are  small,  and  yet  many  of  the  mandarins  of  China  retire  from  office 
wealthy  men,  though  they  may  have  previously  been  endowed  with  little 
else  than  their  degrees. 

The  examination  for  military  honors  is  sufficient  evidence  of  the 
value  which  the  Chinese  attach  to  the  army  as  a  bulwark  of  the  empire. 
It  is  usually  conducted  by  the  city  provost,  who  sits  on  a  dais  with  writ- 
ing materials  placed  on  a  table  before  him  and  gives  the  competitors 
their  proper  marks.  On  horseback  and  on  foot  the  competition  is  almost 
confined  to  an  archery  contest,  the  targets  being  cylinders  of  mat  with 
centers  of  red.  Shooting  on  the  fly,  at  lOO  yards  range,  the  bending  of 
heavy  bows  requiring  a  force  of  from  eighty  to  one  hundred  and  twenty 
pounds,  the  wielding  of  ponderous  swords  and  the  casting  of  great 
stones  and  mallets  (as  in  Scottish  games)  virtually  decide  the  fate  of 
the  aspirants  for  military  preferment. 

Although  the  Chinese  have  their  god  of  war,  they  have  deified  a 
man  and  not  a  principle  or  a  trait.  All  their  teachings  divert  them 
from  war,  and  their  military  organization  is  very  defective.  There  is  a 
standing  army,  and  the  military  establishment  is  cumbrous ;  but  the 
infantry  are  armed  with  old-fashioned  matchlocks,  spears,  bows, 
swords  and  bucklers,  and  the  cavalry  with  helmets,  cuirasses  of  quilted 
cloth  covered  with  metal  plates,  bows  and  arrows,  and  shields  of  wicker- 
work.  The  artillery  scarcely  know  how  to  use  their  heavy  iron  and 
brass  guns.  They  are  too  moderate  to  be  war-like  ;  although  they 
esteem  personal  prowess  in  a  worthy  cause,  a  resort  to  force  they  have 
always  held  as  a  mark  of  inferior  civilization. 

MANNERS  ADAPTED  TO  INTELLECTUAL  PURSUITS. 

The  teachings  of  the  Chinese  from  the  earliest  times  have  tended 
to  develop  in  them  those  manners  in  life  which  are  particularly  adapted 
to  intellectual  pursuits.      Moderation   in  all  things  has  ever  been  their 


584  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

watch-word  —  a  simple  diet  and  a  simple  life.  Although  they  have  been 
the  pioneers  in  some  of  the  true  inventions  of  the  age,  they  have  left 
them  to  more  practical  people  to  perfect.  Two  or  three  centuries 
before  Christ  they  built  the  most  stupendous  work  of  defense  which  the 
world  ever  saw.  Since  the  erection  of  the  great  wall,  with  its  fifteen 
hundred  miles  of  brick  and  granite,  they  have  done  nothing  of  moment 
in  this  line.  The  Tartars  did  not  fairly  make  their  way  over  the  wall 
until  fourteen  centuries  after  it  was  built,  but  although  at  one  time  the 
empire  was  divided  into  three  kingdoms  and  convulsed  with  civil  and 
religious  dissensions,  the  bulk  of  the  Chinese  were  not  affected,  but 
continued  to  study  Confucius  and  other  philosophers,  leaving  the 
quarreling  to  the  distinctive  military  classes. 

A  Buddhist  priest  overthrew  the  Mongolian  dynasty,  and  for  nearly 
three  centuries  his  successors  ruled  with  a  steady  hand.  In  the  middle 
of  the  seventeenth  century  the  Mantchoo  dynasty,  which  is  now  in  power, 
overturned  the  Chinese  and  imposed  the  pig-tail  upon  them,  which  had 
long  been  one  of  their  characteristics. 

The  Mantchoos  are  the  Southern  Tungooses,  the  northern  branch, 
the  wanderers  of  Siberia,  evincing  little  of  their  ability.  They  occupy  their 
old  country  (Mantchooria)  which  is  now  a  province  of  China,  and  als® 
constitute  the  military  class  of  the  empire.  The  Mantchoos  divide  the 
civil  government  with  the  conquered  race,  who  are  ostensibly  satisfied 
with  the  arrangement.  As  long  as  the  new  Mongolian  dynasty  is  mod- 
erate in  its  views,  the  Chinese  will  revere  the  Emperor  as  "the  only  man," 
as  he  designates  himself,  or,  perchance,  the  Son  of  Heaven.  They  will 
philosophically  accept  the  ruler  who  is  sent  them,  continue  their  study 
of  Confucius,  and  glide  along  a  few  more  centuries  without  marked 
change.  Rulers  may  change  and  dynasties  may  overturn  one  another, 
but,  to  judge  from  the  past  four  thousand  years,  it  is  impossible  to  con- 
ceive of  the  Chinese  being  under  any  other  form  of  government  than  a 
monarchical  and  a  patriarchal,  which  is  best  adapted  to  their  literary 
habits. 

Under  their  form  of  government,  connected  with  education,  the 
Chinese  have  become  a  most  good-humored  as  well  as  a  peaceable  people. 
As  a  race  there  is  perhaps  no  other  that  comes  so  near  applying  the 
one  rule  of  life  laid  down  by  Confucius  :  "  Do  not  unto  others  what  you 
would  not  have  them  do  to  you."  Of  the  sixteen  lectures  from  his 
Sacred  Institutions,  periodically  delivered  to  the  people,  the  second  is 
"On  Union  and  Concord  among  Kindred"  ;  the  third  "  On  Concord  and 
Agreement  among  Neighbors";  the  ninth  "On  Mutual  Forbearance"! 
the  sixteenth  "  On  Reconciling  Animosities." 


CHINESE    DOCTRINES.  585 

RELIGIOUS  TOLERANCE. 

All  that  the  government  requires  of  any  religious  sect  is  that  it  shall 
acknowledge  the  civil  supremacy  of  the  empire ;  this  obtained,  and  Bud- 
dhists, Mohammedans,  Roman  Catholics,  Nestorians  and  Protestants  are 
allowed  the  privileges  of  free  worship.  Religious  tolerance  is  shown, 
also,  in  the  peculiarly  impartial  attitude  which  the  government  assumes 
toward  the  different  sects  in  the  matter  of  an  official  worship  of  some 
gods  common  to  Buddhism  and  to  Taouism,  and  in  the  way  of  the  finan- 
cial patronage  which  it  bestows  upon  Lamaist,  Buddhist  and  Taouist 
temples  as  well  as  upon  the  heads  of  the  churches.  In  fact,  the  tolerant, 
peaceful  spirit  of  Confucianism  has  been  brought  to  bear  upon  the  posi- 
tion of  the  government  toward  the  sects  and  of  the  sects  toward  each 
other.  The  majority  of  people  would  apply  the  word  indifference  to  such 
an  attitude  ;  and  it  is  true  that  the  Chinese  have  no  such  word  as  religion. 
They  have  doctrines  but  no  religions. 

CHINESE  DOCTRINES. 

The  cursory  view  which  has  thus  been  taken  of  the  scholar  and  the 
politician  of  China  indicates  how  thoroughly  Confucianism  has  permeated 
society  in  the  state.  The  doctrine  most  prominent  in  this  practical  sys- 
tem is  that  of  filial  piety.  Confucius  founded  the  state  upon  the  family; 
in  reverencing  the  father  the  Chinese  youth  reverences  the  Emperor,  and 
disobedience  to  parents  is  the  first  step  toward  rebellion  against  the 
government.  Acts  of  self-denial  on  the  part  of  the  child  are,  therefore, 
equivalent  to  acts  of  patriotism,  which  uphold  the  entire  grand  structure. 
Sons  go  to  prison  and  into  banishment  for  offenses  committed  by  their 
parents  and  grandparents.  In  pursuance  of  native  medical  practice 
children  allow  pieces  of  fiesh  to  be  cut  from  their  bodies  and  prepared 
with  various  ingredients,  which  are  given  to  their  sick  parents  that  they 
may  be  restored  to  health.  The  government  itself  takes  advantage  of 
this  sentiment,  and  when  it  is  unable  to  capture  offenders,  endeavors  to 
seize  upon  the  bodies  of  their  parents,  and  even  though  the  criminals 
may  be  of  the  most  hardened  character,  it  is  seldom  that  they  will  allow 
the  aged  ones  to  suffer  for  them. 

Ancestral  worship  is  a  similar  element  of  Confucianism, which  has  done 
much  to  maintain  the  Chinese  structure  of  society  and  state.  It  matters 
not  how  humble  the  dwelling,  each  has  its  shrine  to  which  the  members 
of  the  family  repair  to  worship,  or  invoke  the  spirits  of  those  who  have 
gone  before.  To  either  the  ancestral  hall  or  the  tomb,  all  repair  to 
seek  guidance  or  to  obtain  commendation  for  past  deeds. 


586  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

The  most  splendid  exhibition  of  ancestral  worship  is  of  course  given 
by  the  Emperor  and  his  mandarins  when  they  congregate  in  the  temple 
of  imperial  ancestors  at  Pekin.  Sages,  heroes  and  benefactors  are 
also  canonized  and  brought  into  the  large  congregation  of  gods,  whom 
the  Chinese  worship  upon  all  occasions.  Confucius,  "  the  most  holy 
holy  teacher  of  ancient  times,"  has  thus  become  a  god. 

Confucius  himself,  intensely  practical  though  he  was,  brought  many 
gods  of  nature  into  being,  conspicuous  among  whom  was  the  Dragon 
King.  His  Great  Extreme  has  been  resolved  by  the  Chinese  into  their 
Supreme  God,  of  whom  they  have  never  made  an  image. 

However  the  Chinese  may  disagree  as  to  religious  systems,  they 
are  unanimous  in  their  worship  of  Confucius.  Twice  a  month  services  are 
held  in  his  honor  throughout  the  empire,  and  twice  annually  every  officer 
of  the  government,  including  the  Emperor,  attends  special  services  in 
the  Confucian  temple  which  is  found  in  every  provincial,  prefectoral  and 
district  city.  The  temples  are  all  alike,  each  being  approached  by  a 
triple  gateway,  at  either  side  of  which  is  a  pillar.  Within  the  court  yard 
is  a  pond  of  pure  water,  emblematic  of  Confucian  doctrines.  Passing 
through  another  triple  gateway  one  enters  the  temple,  divided  into  two 
quadrangles,  in  the  first  of  which  stands  the  altar  of  Confucius,  with  his 
name  engraved  upon  a  red  tablet  above  it.  On  either  side  of  the  quad- 
rangle are  shrines  and  tablets,  in  memory  of  his  seventy-two  disciples  and 
others  who  have  made  themselves  famous  as  expounders  of  his  doctrines. 
Beyond  the  altars  of  the  sage  and  his  disciples  is  the  shrine  which 
honors  his  parents  and  grandparents.  Attached  also  to  each  temple 
are  halls  whose  tablets  are  of  a  local  character,  recording  the  names  of 
great  benefactors,  sages,  virtuous  women,  good  officials,  and  sons  and 
grandsons  renowned  for  their  filial  piety.  Occasionally  an  unworthy 
name  will  creep  in,  but  it  is  not  allowed  to  rest  in  peace.  In  the  hall  of 
one  of  the  temples  the  tablet  of  a  man  had  been  placed  who  was  more 
noted  for  his  mercantile  than  his  scholarly  or  pious  character.  The  city 
officials  refusing  to  remove  it,  upon  a  petition  of  learned  men,  the  griev- 
ance was  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  government,  who  dispatched  a 
commissioner  to  the  scene  of  disturbance.  Upon  investigation,  the 
commissioner  agreed  with  the  learned  gentlemen  that  the  name  dishon- 
ored the  shrine,  and  ordered  the  removal  of  the  tablet.  A  cord  was 
therefore  tied  around  it,  as  if  it  were  some  disgraceful  being,  and  it  was 
dragged  far  beyond  the  precincts  of  the  temple  of  wisdom. 

The  Confucian  temple  at  Pekin  is  a  magnificent  structure,  elabor- 
ately decorated,  with  a  vaulted  roof  of  blue.  Rows  of  cedar  trees,  cen- 
turies old,  adorn  the  court-yard.     But  more  ancient  than  these,  by  nearly 


LH1MA&  JAPAN. 


CHINESE    DOCTRINES.  587 

two-score  centuries,  are  ten  stone  drums,  or  tablets,  upon  which  are 
engraved  stanzas  of  poetry,  said  to  have  been  written  in  the  days  of 
Yaou  and  Shun,  2357  and  2258  B.  C.and  who  are  among  the  most  rev- 
ered founders  of  Chinese  civiHzation  and  progenitors  of  Confucianism. 
So  sacred  are  they  that  they  have  always  been  kept  in  the  royal  city. 

Taouism  is  a  form  of  religion  which  has  been  developed  by  the 
power  of  Buddhism.  Its  founder  was  Laou-tsze,  the  son  of  poor  parents, 
and  in  manhood  keeper  of  the  government  archives.  These  practical 
duties  were  ill  suited  to  his  contemplative  disposition,  and  he  retired  to  his 
native  hills  to  reflect  and  philosophize.  His  celebrated  work,  Taou-tih- 
King,  contained  both  traces  of  the  ancient  Hindu  religion  (before  it 
had  degenerated  into  Brahmanism)  and  of  Buddhism.  The  author  was 
mystical  as  to  whether  his  Taou  was  to  be  considered  as  a  Supreme 
Principle  or  a  Supreme  Being;  but  made  himself  plain  in  expounding 
his  doctrine  that  virtue  consisted  in  losing  sight  of  one's  self  in  the  uni- 
verse and,  by  contemplation,  of  returning  to  the  bosom  of  Eternal 
Reason.  He  taught  the  hoUowness  of  worldly  things  ;  that  virtue  is 
all ;  that  man  should  go  through  life  as  if  he  owned  nothing,  and  love 
his  enemies  as  well  as  his  friends.  Laou-tsze  was  a  remarkable  philoso- 
pher, providing  for  the  spiritual  wants  of  man  ;  he  commenced  where 
Confucius  concluded,  and  as  he  had  listened  at  court  to  the  teachings 
of  that  wonderful  worldly  sage,  his  thoughtful  mind  penetrated  to  the 
defects  of  his  system. 

But  theTaouists,  in  their  ambition  to  hold  their  ground  against  the 
Buddhists,  shamefully  perverted  his  doctrine.  They  not  only  deified 
Laou-tsze  and  opposed  him  to  Lord  Buddha,  but  provided  a  god  to  meet 
every  want  of  the  people.  Did  they  worship  wealth  and  longevity,  the 
Taouists  made  gods  representing  them.  Did  they  fall  down  in  admira- 
tion before  a  great  warrior  they  found  in  him  the  incarnation  of  the  god 
of  war.  They  were  ready  to  go  to  the  depths  of  Chinese  superstition, 
and  provide  priests  to  drive  ghosts  from  haunted  houses  or  evil  spirits 
from  human  bodies.  Did  the  ghost  or  ghoul  disobey  the  commands 
of  the  priests,  although  they  set  before  it  tables  heaped  with  pork,  fowl 
and  rice,  they  threatened  to  despatch  a  letter  to  the  gods  of  the  infernal 
regions. 

The  Archabbot,  who  is  at  the  head  of  the  Church,  is  second  only  to 
the  Emperor  in  actual  power  and  is  much  the  same  mysterious  creature 
as  the  Grand  Lama  of  Thibet.  The  Taouists  affirm  that  upon  the 
death  of  their  generalissimo,  his  successor  is  chosen  by  the  Trinity  of 
their  faith  ;  the  officer  is  chosen  from  the  members  of  a  certain  family,  the 
names  of  the  survivors  being  engraved  upon  pieces  of  lead,  which  are 


588  PANORAMA    OF    NATION'S. 

placed  in  a  vase  filled  with  water,  and  that  which  is  divinely  favored 
rises  to  the  surface.  Candidates  for  the  priesthood  devote  five  years 
to  study,  but  usually  confine  their  labors  to  works  on  astrology  and 
alchemy ;  few  of  them  are  acquainted  with  the  philosophical  writings  of 
Laou-tsze. 

The  corruptions  of  Buddhism  are  even  more  strongly  marked  in 
China  than  elsewhere;  the  field  of  investigation  is  so  vast  —  and 
throu^diout  its  length  and  breadth  idolatry  is  its  most  marked  feature. 
If  Buddha  (or  "the  Buddha,"  as  devotees  fondly  call  their  Incarnation)  is 
cognizant  of  the  lengths  to  which  his  religious  system  have  gone  he  will 
not  desire  to  return  in  the  great  cycle  of  being  to  his  former  state  —  or, 
it  may  be,  that  he  would  long  to  return  that  he  might  lay  about  him 
with  the  ponderous  axe  of  a  giant  reformer. 

The  Chinese  Trinity  of  Buddhism  is  Buddha  Past  (represented  by 
Gautama  himself),  Buddha  Present  (the  perfect  state  of  Heaven  upon 
earth,  such  as  many  true  Buddhists  attain),  and  Buddha  Future  (the 
coming  Messiah,  or  Incarnation  of  the  Supreme  Essence  of  Buddhism.) 
Few  there  are  who  can  hope  to  attain  to  Buddha  Past ;  but  many  strive 
after  that  state  of  being  by  secluding  themselves  in  caves  and  giving  their 
whole  being  over  to  meditation,  or  by  submitting  themselves  to  terrible 
forms  of  bodily  mutilation.  The  Buddhist  monasteries  are  constructed 
upon  a  uniform  plan,  the  two  outer  gates  being  in  charge  of  two  huge  gods  ; 
under  the  second  gateway  are  four  figures  representing  the  North,  South, 
East  and  West  of  China  and  are  supposed  to  assist  Buddha  in  his 
various  plans  for  the  good  of  the  people  —  to  give  him  free  entrance  to 
the  empire  ;  and  beyond,  in  the  main  hall,  are  the  idols  of  the  Trinity. 
In  the  rear  of  the  hall,  in  the  center  of  the  temple,  is  the  "  dagoba,"  or 
depository  for  the  relics  of  Buddha,  a  hair,  a  tooth,  a  portion  of  his 
dress,  etc.,  etc.  On  each  side  of  the  large  court  yards  in  which  the 
principal  halls  of  the  temple  are  erected  are  rows  of  cells  for  the  monks, 
a  visitors'  hall,  a  refectory,  and,  sometimes  a  printing  office,  where  the 
services  used  by  the  priests,  new  works  on  the  tenets  of  Buddhism  and 
tracts  for  general  distribution  are  printed. 

"  In  some  of  the  temples  the  idols  are  very  numerous,  and  in  Vang- 
chow-Foo  there  is  one  in  which  there  are  said  to  be  no  fewer  than  ten 
thousand.  The  idols,  which  are  very  diminutive,  are  contained  in  one 
large  hall,  and  in  their  fanciful,  but  orderly  arrangement,  present  a  very 
singular  appearance.  In  the  center  of  the  hall  stands  a  pavilion  of  wood, 
most  elaborately  carved,  upon  which  is  placed  a  large  idol  of  Buddha. 
The  pavilion  within  and  without  is  literally  studded  with  small  idols 
which  are,  I    believe,  different  representations  of  the  same  deity.      On 


CHINESE    DOCTRINES.  589 

each  of  the  four  sides  of  the  hall  are  small  brackets  supporting  idols  of 
Buddha,  and  a  still  larger  number  of  these  are  placed  on  the  beams  and 
pillars  of  the  vaulted  roof.  Two  are  full-sized  figures  of  the  sleeping 
Buddha.     At  Pekin  and  Canton  there  are  halls  precisely  similar." 

Attached  to  nearly  every  monastery  or  temple  of  prominence  is 
some  sort  of  an  enclosure  for  the  preservation  of  animals  which  have 
been  presented  to  idols  of  Buddha,  the  devotee  having  made  a  vow  to 
preserve  their  lives  and  then  placed  them  in  the  keeping  of  the  monks. 
The  animals  thus  become  sacred.  They  may  consist  of  a  large  sty  of 
sleek  pigs  ;  a  large  poultry  yard  of  fowls,  ducks  and  geese  ;  a  pen  con- 
taining sheep,  goats  horned  cattle,  or  horses  and  mules  ;  an  artificial 
pond  of  fish  rescued  from  the  market;  a  tank  of  huge  tortoises  — 
but  in  every  case  they  are  tenderly  cared  for,  and  when  death  comes 
their  remains  are  religiously  consigned  to  mother  earth  and  their  souls  go 
climbing  up  ths  ladder  of  existence.  This  feature  of  the  religion 
Buddha   himself  would  commend. 

As  has  been  stated,  Mohammedanism  has  also  obtained  a  foothold 
in  China.  The  defrraded  forms  of  Taouism  and  Buddhism  are,  in  fact, 
losing  their  hold  upon  the  Chinese.  Confucianism  and  Taouism  sprung 
up  in  the  sixth  century  B.C.,  Buddhism  was  brought  from  India  during 
the  first,  and  Mohammedanism  did  not  come  in  until  the  seventh  century 
after  Christ.  Christianity  can  not  be  said,  as  yet.  to  be  firmly  established 
in  China.  Whatever  may  be  said  of  the  comparative  merits  of  the 
religions  which  have  obtained  a  footliold,  it  is  certain  that  Mohammed- 
anism  has  been  best  maintained  according  to  the  original  standard. 
Five  times  daily  does  the  Chinese  Mohammedan  pray  looking  toward 
Mecca,  he  washes  his  hands  before  presuming  to  handle  the  Koran,  he 
observes  the  great  fast  of  Ramadan,  and  Chinaman,  though  he  be, 
abstains  from  the  use  of  swine's  flesh.  His  mosques  are  numerous, 
though  they  are  Chinese  in  their  architecture.  The  maternal  uncle  of 
the  prophet  is  supposed  to  have  introduced  Mohammedanism  into 
China.  After  a  residence  of  fifteen  years  in  his  adopted  land,  he  died  in 
Canton,  where  his  tomb  may  be  seen  in  one  of  the  great  mosques  which 
he  built. 

Confucianism,  having  for  its  prime  object  the  establishment  of  the 
principle  of  submission  to  the  father  and  the  Emperor  upon  the  basis  of 
virtue,  no  outward  assurance  is  required  of  its  loyal  tendency. 
Buddhism  and  Taouism  and  Mohammedanism,  however,  with  their 
grand  lamas,  their  grand  archabbots  and  their  grand  muftis,  are  obliged 
to  furnish  evidence  of  their  good  intentions  by  placing  in  each  temple 
or  mosque  a  tablet,  near  the  high  altar,  upon  which  is  inscribed  in  large 
letters,  "  May  the  Emperor  reign  ten  thousand  years." 


590  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

CHINESE   GODS. 

As  the  military  and  the  learned  classes  are  the  two  distinct  bodies 
of  the  Chinese  people,  there  must  be  gods  who  stand  as  the  representa- 
tives of  their  spirit.  Kwan-te,  a  distinguished  Chinese  general,  had 
been  dead  nearly  800  years  when  the  salt  wells  of  a  large  province  dried 
up  and  caused  millions  of  people  much  distress.  The  Emperor  and  his 
ministers,  in  their  helplessness,  consulted  the  Archabbot  of  the  Taouists 
who  suggested  an  appeal  to  Kwan-te  who  reigned,  it  is  true,  as  a  king 
in  the  world  of  spirits.  His  Imperial  Majesty  sent  a  dispatch  to  him, 
and  the  spirit  hero  appeared  in  mid-heaven  riding  on  his  great  red 
charger,  and  insisted  as  the  price  of  his  assistance  that  a  temple  be  erected 
to  him.  The  structure  was  thrown  together  with  great  haste,  and  the 
salt  wells  at  once  yielded  their  welcome  supplies.  From  that  day  on 
Kwan-te  was  elevated  to  the  rank  of  a  god,  who  leads  the  imperial  troops 
in  war  and  protects  the  millions  of  Chinese  homes.  His  worship  is  con- 
fined to  government  officials. 

Mau-chang,  a  precocious  literary  character,  as  well  as  a  lover  of 
virtue  has  been  deified  into  the  god  of  learning,  who  keeps  a  divine  record 
of  the  learned  and  the  virtuous.  His  temples  and  idols  are  in  all  the 
principal  cities  of  the  empire,  and  collegiates  anxious  about  their  degrees 
and  parents  ambitious  for  the  welfare  of  their  children  offer  him  bundles 
of  onions  to  obtain  his  favor.  Through  the  priesthood,  also,  he 
prophesies  regarding  national  calamities. 

The  Dragon  King  holds  in  his  keeping  the  wind,  rain,  thunder  and 
lightning  of  nature.  In  seasons  of  drought  the  district  ruler  supplicates 
his  idol.  If  the  King  fails  to  respond,  the  prefect  tries  his  persuasive 
powers,  and  if  the  god  will  hear  neither,  the  governor-general,  dressed 
in  sackcloth  and  his  neck  and  ankles  humbly  fettered,  heads  a  sorrowful 
procession  which  moves  toward  the  temple.  The  four  banners  of  yellow 
silk,  inscribed  with  the  words  wind,  rain,  thunder  and  lightning,  are 
placed  upon  the  altar  of  the  god,  after  which  the  governor-general  con- 
signs his  written  supplication  to  sacred  flames,  and  retires  amidst  the 
firing  of  crackers,  the  beating  of  gongs  and  cymbals  and  other  unearthly 
noise  calculated  to  influence  the  tumultuous  god  of  nature.  If  after  all 
this  homage  he  is  implacable  the  Archabbot  is  called  upon  to  offer 
prayers,  and  if  welcome  rain  is  still  withheld  the  Archabbot's  salary  is 
also  withheld  by  the  Emperor. 

The  temples  erected  to  the  Dragon  King  are  often  thronged  with 
peasants,  who  appear,  with  wreaths  of  weeping  willow  bound  around 
their  heads,  that  the  god  will  grant  them  a  few  satisfactory  showers. 


DOMESTIC    AND    SOCIAL    LIKE.  59 1 

-  Shing  Wong  is  a  great  idol  who  annually  receives  a  new  silk  gown 
from  the  government  or  some  wealthy  family  and  has  his  face  washed 
by  the  prefect  himself.  The  god  has  a  stone  and  a  copper  seal,  and 
when  his  votaries  come  to  do  him  homage,  clothes  of  the  sick  or  sheets 
of  yellow  paper  are  stamped  with  them  that  the  feeble  may  be  strength- 
ened and  evil  spirits  warded  off.  Shing  Wong  employs  some  cruel 
implements  of  torture  upon  evil  spirits,  which  are  exhibited  in  several 
of  his  temples,  and  both  they  and  his  judicial  proceedings  are  very 
similar  to  those  which  are  in  vogue  in  the  criminal  courts  of  the  empire. 

The  ten  kingdoms  of  the  Buddhist  hell  are  each  presided  over  by 
a  god,  who  punishes  certain  classes  of  offenses  with  a  variety  of  tortures 
such  as  the  imaginations  of  men  have  created  from  Greece  to  China  and 
from  Rome  to  America. 

Pih-te,  or  Pak-tai,  is  the  beneficent  god  of  the  Chinese,  who  existed 
before  the  world  was,  became  incarnate,  and,  after  a  probation  of  500 
years,  ascended  to  heaven  to  sit  in  a  chariot  of  many  colors  and  be  at- 
tended by  angels  and  fair  women.  It  was  after  this,  in  the  reign  of 
Taou  (2357  B.  C.)  that,  according  to  Chinese  annals,  the  earth  was 
destroyed  by  a  deluge.  Twice  thereafter  Pih-te  reappeared  to  guide 
the  people  and  the  state,  and  to  wage  war  against  the  spirit  of  evil. 
Merchants  about  to  take  ventures,  partners  about  to  make  important 
business  statements,  master  and  servants  wishing  to  ratify  their  agree- 
ments, persons  desiring  to  declare  their  innocence  of  crimes  charged 
against  them,  all  repair  to  his  temple  for  advice  or  to  make  their  most 
solemn  and  binding  oaths. 

The  Queen  of  Heaven  is  a  canonized  girl  who  protects  fishermen 
and  sailors  from  the  fury  of  the  storms,  and  the  Goddess  of  Mercy  pro- 
tects the  souls  as  well  as  the  bodies  of  mankind.  Kuni-fa  is  the  tutelary 
goddess  of  women  and  children,  and  she  has  twenty  attendants  who  at- 
tend to  the  details.  The  Five  Genii  preside  over  fire,  earth,  water, 
metal  and  wood,  and  the  Great  Sage  of  the  Whole  Heavens,  of  whom 
there  is  an  idol  in  their  temples,  is  a  canonized  monkey  who  was  hatched 
from  a  bowlder,  and  became  first  human  and  then  superhuman  ! 

DOMESTIC  AND  SOCIAL    LIFE. 

From  the  character  which  centuries  of  education  have  developed  in 
the  Chinese,  it  would  follow  that  their  domestic  and  social  relations 
would  be  accompanied  with  much  ceremony  and  apparent  coolness.  But 
they  are  not  a  cold  people,  although  they  have  been  taught  to  restrain 
their  feelings.  Custom  confines  the  women  quite  closely  to  their  homes, 
and  the  practice  of  unnaturally  contracting  the  feet,  which  was  originally 


592 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


adopted  to  stamp  them  as  a  superior  order  of  beings  from  the  large- 
footed  women  of  Tartary,  prevents  them  from  moving  around  much  in 
their  houses.  The  ladies  of  the  better  classes  principally  employ  them- 
selves in  embroidering  and  painting  on  silk.  Music  is  also  a  favorite 
accomplishment. 

Chinese  music  is,  however,  most  painful  to  Western  ears.  Upon 
the  occasions  of  native  weddings  in  American  cities,  specimens  of  it 
have  been  heard,  which  accord  with  the  following  description  :  "  The 
gong  is  the  type  of  Chinese  music  ;  a  crashing  harangue  of  rapid  blows 
upon  it,  with  a  rattling  accompaniment  of  small  drums,  and  a  crackling 
symphony  of  shrill  notes  from  the  clarionet  and  cymbal,  constitute  the 
chief  features  of  their  musical  performances.  Their  vocal  music  is 
generally  on   a  high  falsetto  key,  somewhere  between  a  squeal  and  a 


scream. 


The  Chinese  are  extremely  fond  of  the  drama,  a  branch  of  which,  to 
their  minds,  is  dancing.  Elevating  it,  as  they  do,  to  such  a  height,  they 
consider  it  presumptuous  to  dance  themselves,  but  allow  that  honor  only 
to  professionals.  The  drama  proper,  although  popular,  is  not  of  a  very 
elevating  nature.  Women  are  excluded  from  the  stage,  their  parts  being 
taken  by  boys  or  eunuchs.  In  the  northern  and  eastern  provinces  perma- 
nent theatres  are  to  be  found,  but  usually  the  actors  are  invited  to  private 
houses  and  paid  for  each  performance.  In  every  large  dwelling  and  in 
nearly  every  inn  there  is  a  hall  set  apart  for  this  purpose,  and  along  the 
rivers  and  great  canals,  numerous  strolling  parties  live  in  barges.  As  a 
rule  the  actors  are  the  slaves  of  the  manager  ;  for  to  purchase  a  free  child 
for  the  purpose  of  educating  him  as  an  actor  is  punished  by  a  hundred 
strokes  of  the  bamboo,  and  no  free  female  is  allowed  to  marry  into  that 

class. 

One  of  the  most  common  causes  for  the  punishment  which  the  son 
of  China  brings  upon  himself  is  gambling.  It  is  all  but  universal.  The 
youthful  mChinaan  is  often  found  attired  in  very  scant  costume,  having 
pledged  his  articles  of  clothing  in  some  game  of  chance  ;  and  when  the 
foreigner  sees  a  struggling  urchin  being  dragged  through  the  streets  by 
his  stern  father,the  reason  for  his  predicament  may  be  inferred  with  tol- 
erable certainty. 

Next  to  gambling  the  Chinese  are  addicted  to  processions,  public 
shows  and  festivals,  with  accompanying  feasts.  The  new-year's  time,  the 
festival  of  the  dragon  boats,  the  feast  of  lanterns,  the  fisherman's  festi- 
val, etc.,  are  occasions  of  general  rejoicing  and  merry-making.  Friendly 
contests  of  strength,  such  as  elevating  or  tossing  heavy  weights,  they 
also  enjoy  ;  but  it  would  be  considered  quite  beneath   their  dignity  to 


THE    LOVAL    DRESS.  593 

countenance  prize  fights  or  wrestling  matches,  and  even  to  place  profes- 
sional gladiators  among  the  nobility,  as  do  the  Japanese. 

THE   LOYAL  DRESS. 

The  native  Chinese  costume,  although  not  graceful  to  European 
eyes,  combines  warmth  with  ease.  Silk,  cotton  and  linen  in  summer,  with 
padded  cotton  garments  for  the  poor,  and  furs  and  skins  for  the  rich  in 
winter ;  the  robes  usually  light  but  compact,  the  shoes  with  thick  felt 
soles  to  exclude  moisture  and  cold — what  more  common-sense  ideas 
could  be  combined  in  dress?  The  garments  of  the  two  sexes  do  not 
differ  materially,  except  in  color. 

The  tail  is  now  universally  worn  by  Chinese  males,  the  only  general 
exceptions  being  found  among  the  Buddhist  priests,  who  shave  their 
heads,  and  the  Taouist  priests  who  let  their  hair  grow  long,  as  do  also 
many  of  the  independent  tribes  of  the  mountains.  The  pig-tail  has 
become  the  symbol  of  loyalty,  and  when,  during  the  present  century,  a 
defeated  literary  candidate  and  a  fanatic  headed  the  Taiping  rebellion 
against  the  government,  the  first  of  his  many  complaints  was  "that  the 
Chinese  from  the  outset  had  their  own  style  of  wearing  the  hair  ;  but 
these  Mantchoos  have  compelled  them  to  shave  their  heads  and  wear  a 
long  tail,  so  as  greatly  to  resemble  the  conmionest  beast." 

THEY  REFUSE  TO  SHAVE  THE  HEAD. 

The  aboriginal  tribes  whom  the  Tartars  could  not  conquer  are 
scattered  in  the  mountainous  districts  of  the  entire  empire.  Some  of 
them  acknowledge  the  authority  of  the  Emperor  sufficiently  to  receive 
his  mandarins  as  their  principal  officers,  but  they  are  always  selected 
from  among  the  most  prominent  members  of  the  tribes.  It  is  a  custom 
of  most  of  these  primitive  people  to  select  New  Year's  Day  as  the  day 
when  matrimonial  alliances  are  to  be  entered  into.  The  fairs,  which 
are  held  in  the  court-yards  of  temples,  are  thronged  with  young  men  and 
maidens,  who  are  continually  pairing  off,  resorting  to  the  temples  to 
worship  the  idol  and  then  hastening  to  the  girl's  parents  to  sign  the 
necessary  documents.  From  seven  to  ten  years  after  marriage  the 
young  man  resides  with  his  father-in-law.  The  first-born  is  presented  to 
the  parents  of  the  husband  as  a  sacreci  offering  and  the  second-born  goes 
to  the  father-in-law.  Among  some  of  the  tribes  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
father  to  attend  to  all  the  children  and  grand-children  to  the  extent 
of  his  means,  and  when  he  is  buried  the  face  of  the  corpse  is  twisted 
around  to  indicate  that  he  is  still  watching  over  their  welfare  from  the 
Great  Beyond.  g 


594 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


The  body  will  not  be  allowed  to  rest  in  peace  for  any  length  of  time, 
for  the  relatives  will  be  anxious  to  ascertain  their  future  fortune  by  its 
state  of  preservation  ;  or  they  will  desire  to  carefully  clean  the  bones  of 
the  corpse,  that  their  health  may  be  preserved.  The  tribe  which  follows 
this  latter  custom  is  called  bone-washers.  A  few  of  the  tribes  burn 
the  bodies  of  the  dead,  and  the  widows  ascend  the  pyre  with  their 
husbands  as  did  those  of  India  in  the  old  days. 

To  avert  pestilence  and 
other  misfortunes  from  the  tribe 
various  measures  are  adopted. 
One  of  them  is  for  the  wealthy 
members  to  pay  a  certain  sum  to 
a  poor  family,  in  consideration 
for  which  the  father  agrees  to 
offer  himself  as  the  regular 
yearly  sacrifice  to  the  idol  of  the 
dog.  A  great  banquet  is  given, 
every  one  drinks  freely  of  wine, 
and  the  victim,  aftergetting  more 
intoxicated  than  the  others,  is 
put  to  death  before  the  altar. 
Another  practice  is  for  the  man, 
who  has  besmeared  himself  with 
paint,  and  by  his  contortions,  with 
priestly  assistance,attracted  pesti- 
lence, disease  and  misfortune,  to 
be  driven  from  the  villaee  as  a 
scapegoat.  The  remembrances 
and  bad  effects  of  the  past  year  are 
annihilated  throughthe  agency  of 
a  large  earthenware  jar,  which  is 
filled  with  gunpowder,  stones  and 
pieces  of  iron,  buried  in  the  earth, 
and  exploded  in  the  midst  of 
A  scExi;  IX  CHINA.  much  rejoicing  and  convivialtiy. 

The  aborigines  are  not  all  savages,  although  as  superstitious  as 
their  civilized  brethren  who  wear  the  pig-tails.  They  are  good  agricul- 
turists, breeders  of  cattle,  manufacturers  and  dyers  of  cloth.  The 
wildest  of  the  tribes  are  found  in  the  island  of  Formosa,  northeast  of 
Canton,  and  the  island  of  Hainan,  southwest  of  that  city.  In  the  north 
of    Formosa  the    savages  cover  only  their  loins,  and   indiscriminately 


CHINESE    HOUSES.  595 

siaugnter  all  Chinese  and  foreigners  who  cross  their  paths.  The  boldest 
tribes  of  Hainan  are  not  onl)-  as  cruel  and  quarrelsome  as  they,  but  are 
the  most  expert  thieves  living,  so  that  when  they  visit  the  markets,  at 
certain  hours  of  the  day,  the  grounds  more  resemble  a  military  encamp- 
ment than  a  mart  of  trade.  Soldiers  armed  with  spears  are  quartered 
in  barracks  not  far  distant,  and  when  the  market  is  closed  the  aborigines 
are  ordered  home. 

The  laws  in  force  for  the  suppression  of  this  turbulent  element  of 
the  empire,  and  its  eventual  absorption  by  the  law-loving  bulk  of  the 
population,  consist  of  provisions  against  extortion  by  the  Chinese  mer. 
chant ;  forbidding  the  aborigines  to  bear  fire  arms  or  the  Chinese  black- 
smith to  make  arms  for  them  ;  promising  free  pardon  to  any  Chinese 
who  shall  kill  an  aboriginal  who  does  not  conform  to  the  law  by  which, 
if  protected  by  the  government,  he  shall  throw  aside  his  rude  orna- 
ments, shave  his  head,  and  adopt  civilized  dress  and  manners ;  and 
obliging  the  native  rulers  to  teach  the  aborigines  the  arts  of  industry  and 
to  report  monthly  to  the  ruler  of  the  district  within  the  frontiers  of  which 
the  tribe  is  located. 

Many  of  the  primitive  tribes  are  also  found  in  the  district  through 
Avhich  the  upper  Hoang cuts  its  way.  This  is  called  the  "loess"  country, 
the  name  being  given  to  it  by  a  German  Baron,  who  thus  designated  the 
peculiar  yellow  deposit  through  which  the  river  pours,  and  which  has 
caused  it  to  be  called  the  Yellow  River.  The  table-lands  have  been  cut 
into  deep  gorges,  and  at  the  foot  of  the  vertical  cliffs,  far  below  the  level 
of  the  plain,  the  people  build  their  houses  and  villages,  rear  their  families, 
their  swine  and  chickens,  live  and  die. 

CHINESE   HOUSES. 

"  Chinese  architecture  is  entirely  different  from  that  of  any  other 
country.  The  general  form  of  the  houses  is  that  of  a  tent ;  those  of  the 
lower  classes  are  slight,  small  and  of  little  cost.  All  are  formed  on  the 
model  of  the  primitive  Tartar  dwellings  ;  but  even  in  the  great  cities  a 
traveler  might  fancy  himself  —  from  the  low  houses,  with  carved,  over- 
hanging roofs,  uninterrupted  by  a  single  chimney,  and  from  the  pillars, 
poles,  streamers  and  flags  —  to  be  in  the  midst  of  a  large  encampment. 
The  fronts  of  the  shops  are  covered  with  varnish  and  gilding  and  painted 
in  brilliant  colors.  The  streets  of  Canton,  and  of  most  of  the  cities,  are 
extremely  narrow,  admitting  only  three  or  four  foot-passengers  abreast ; 
but  the  principal  thoroughfares  of  Pekin  are  fully  one  hundred  feet  in 
width.  The  rooms  —  even  those  occupied  by  the  Emperor  —  are  small 
and  little  ornamented." 


2q6  panorama    of    KATIOXS. 

CHINESE  MARRIAGES. 

As  a  people,  the  Chinese  are  not  polygamists  ;  where  polygamy  does 
occur,  among  the  wealthier  classes,  it  may  be  said  to  almost  invariably 
sprino-  from  the  motive  of  the  man  to  have  a  numerous  offspring  who 
shall  do  his  name  honor  in  the  ancestral  hall.  His  desire  also  is  that  his 
children  shall  be  sons,  for,  at  each  stage  of  their  literary  and  worldly 
advancement,  they  do  not  fail  to  present  the  customary  offerings  and 
inscribe  their  new  honor  upon  the  family  record.  The  premature  death 
of  a  son  is  therefore  not  only  the  occasion  of  profound  grief,  but  is  looked 
upon  as  a  contraction  of  the  family  greatness.  The  wives,  on  the  other 
hand,  though  as  proud  of  family  honors  as  their  husbands,  are  said  to  be 
strenuously  opposed  to  polygamy.  In  short,  there  are  whole  families,  in 
the  upper  grades  of  life,  in  which  the  ladies  positively  refuse  to  marry, 
for  fear  that  they  may  be  called  upon  to  suffer  the  pangs  of  envy,  jeal- 
ousy and  hatred  occasioned  by  this  state  of  married  life.  To  avoid 
marriage  some  become  Buddhist  or  Taouist  nuns,  and  others  prefer  death 
itself  to  marriage.  During  the  reign  of  a  former  king,  fifteen  virgins, 
whom  their  parents  had  affianced,  met  together  upon  learning  the 
fact,  and  resolved  to  commit  suicide.  They  Hung  themselves  into  atrib-^ 
utary  stream  of  the  Canton  River  in  the  vicinity  of  the  village  where  they 
lived,  and  their  tomb  is  still  called  "  The  Tomb  of  the  Virgins."  At 
another  village,  in  1873,  eight  young  girls  clothed  themselves  in  their 
best  attire,  bound  themselves  together  and  threw  themselves  into  the 
Canton  Rivdr  in  order  to  avoid  marriage. 

Another  cause  of  this  dread  evinced  by  girls  for  the  married  state,, 
is  that  parents  do  all  the  match-making  for  both  sons  and  daughters. 
How  great  a  misfortune  this  distastefulness  is  considered  maybe  realized 
when  one  learns  of  the  eagerness  with  which  marriage  is  pressed  by  the 
parents;  in  short,  the  most  delicate  and  sickly  children  are  looked  upon 
as  the  fittest  subjects  for  early  marriages,  for  their  days,  in  all  proba- 
bility, will  be  short,  and  there  is  all  the  more  necessity  for  haste  in  the 
matter.  And  where  parents  are  old  and  feeble,  and  have  marriageable 
children,  they  are  in  constant  trepidation  lest  they  shall  close  their  eyes 
in  death  upon  bachelors  and  old  maids. 

It  often  happens  that  marriages  occur  so  early  in  life  that  the 
couples  are  separated  and  live  with  their  respective  parents  until  they 
arrive  at  a  proper  age.  A  shocking  case  of  one  of  these  forced  mar- 
riages, which  was  prompted  liy  a  desire  to  comply  with  the  parental  wish, 
is  that  of  a  young  man  and  woman  in  the  humble  walks  of  life,  which 
was  solemnized  at  the  house  of  the  bridegroom's  mother,  who,  at  the: 


FILIAL    OBEDIENCE    AND    RESPECT.  597 

time,  was  lying  at  the  point  of  death.  The  couple  were  made  man  and 
wife,  but  when  the  wedding-  aarmcnt  was  removed  from  the  bride  it  was 
discovered  that  she  was  a  leper. 

Before  the  parents  consent  to  the  betrothal  of  a  couple,  they  con- 
sult the  spirits  of  their  ancestors  by  placing  upon  the  family  altar  the 
documents  which  set  forth  the  date  of  their  births  and  the  maiden 
names  of  the  mothers.  If  the  blessing  of  the  departed  is  obtained,  the 
services  of  the  astrologer  are  next  engaged.  There  are  afterwards  many 
passings  to  and  fro,  by  those  who  are  conducting  the  affair,  bearing  let- 
ters from  father  to  father,  and  live  pigs  or  wild  geese  and  ganders, 
which  are  placed  upon  the  ancestral  altars,  as  offerings  to  family  pride 
and  bonds  of  union.  The  significance  of  the  wild  goose  and  gander  is 
that  the  same  pair  of  birds  is  said  to  remain  united  through  life  ; 
they  are  therefore  emblems  of  marital  constancy.  A  presentation  of 
silks  to  the  bride-elect  by  the  parents  of  the  youth,  followed  by  banquets, 
precedes  the  selection  of  the  marriage  day.  In  the  case  of  the  com- 
mon mortal,  a  single  astrologer  is  consulted,  but  if  the  Emperor  is  to  be 
married  the  naming  of  the  propitious  day  is  referred  to  the  Royal  Board 
of  Astronomy.  When  the  day  has  been  fixed,  presents  of  sheep,  geese  and 
pots  of  wine  are  exchanged,  in  accordance  with  the  rank  of  the  parents 
of  the  contracted  parties.  The  month  previous  to  the  marriage  is  de- 
voted by  the  lady  and  her  female  friends  and  attendants  to  lamentations 
at  her  coming  removal  from  her  father's  house,  the  night  immediately 
preceding  being  especially  set  apart  for  weeping  and  wailing. 

Notwithstanding  this  precaution  of  taking  time  by  the  forelock,  and 
mourning  for  possible  misfortunes,  the  life  of  the  average  Chinese  family 
is  peaceful  and  happy,  and  there  are  few  disobedient  sons  to  be  punished 
with  the  severity  for  which  the  parents  of  the  empire  have  become 
noted.  The  first  wife  controls  the  household,  if  polygamy  is  one  of  its 
features.  She  is  "  the  moon,"  the  secondary  wives  are  "  the  stars,"  and 
they  all  revolve  around  the  "sun."  The  first  wife,  or  "tsy,"  is  distin- 
guished by  a  title,  espoused  with  ceremonials,  and  chosen  from  a  rank  in 
life  totally  different  from  the  "  tsie,"  or  handmaids. 

FILIAL  OBEDIENXE  AND  RESPECT. 

All  foreigners  have  noticed  that  filial  obedience  and  respect,  not  to 
say  love,  are  prominent  traits  of  the  Chinese  character.  When  the 
social  customs  of  the  people,  however,  are  carefully  examined,  consider- 
able doubt  arises  as  to  how  much  of  this  feeling  comes  from  fear  or 
natural  affection.  The  Chinese  have  not  only  absolute  control  over 
their  youngest  children,  but  exercise  a  sort  of  police  supervision  over  even 


59S  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

their  elder  sons  and  daughters.  This  peculiarity  is  evinced  more  strongly 
in  the  case  of  daughters  than  of  sons.  One  Avill  see  not  only  mothers 
throwing  their  disobedient  children  into  the  river,  and  sometimes  drown- 
ing them  in  their  anger,  but  parents  beating  their  married  daughters ; 
audit  is  a  not  uncommon  sight  to  see  mothers  chastising  drunken  or 
otherwise  disreputable  sons  who  have  arrived  at  almost  middle  age. 
Further  than  this,  the  punishment  inflicted  upon  men  and  women  by 
their  parents  is  often  continuous  and  partakes  of  the  nature  of  prison 
discipline.  In  the  residences  of  those  of  wealth  and  standing,  a  son 
whose  propensities  are  distasteful  will  often  be  found  shackled,  and 
heavy  weights  attached  to  his  ankles,  being  kept  for  days  in  solitary 
confinement. 

When  parental  discipline  does  not  avail,  the  father  seizes  the  son, 
and,  with  the  assistance  of  his  servants,  dra<rs  him  through  the  streets  to 
the  "cangue  '  or  gaol.  The  sons  are  frequently  banished  to  distant 
provinces,  and,  if  the  mother  does  not  intercede  for  their  pardon  (for 
mothers  are  the  same  in  all  lands),  they  often  live  and  die  in  remote 
parts  of  the  empire. 

The  punishments  meted  out  to  children  who  abuse  or  murder  their 
parents,  sometimes  extend  to  many  generations.  The  laws  in  this 
regard  are  very  similar  to  those  which  prevailed  among  the  Israelites ; 
among  them  children  convicted  of  cursing  or  assaulting  their  parents 
were  put  to  death.  A  case  is  mentioned  in  China,  where  a  son,  aided 
by  his  wife,  severely  beat  his  mother,  and  both  offenders  were  decapi- 
tated. The  mother  of  the  son's  wife  was  flogged  and  sent  into  exile,  for 
she  had  committed  not  only  a  sin  but  had  outraged  the  teachings  of  all 
the  founders  of  Chinese  civilization,  since  she  had  not  effectively  instilled 
into  her  daughter's  mind  the  principles  of  filial  piety.  Furthermore, 
the  punishment  extended  to  the  magistrates  of  the  district,  who  v.-ere 
banished  from  the  country.  The  innocent  students,  even,  were  forbidden 
to  attend  the  literary  examinations  for  a  time,  and  thus  their  chances  of 
preferment  were  seriously  delayed.  The  house  in  which  this  unfilial 
couple  resided  was  razed  to  the  ground.  The  wide-embracing  and 
severe  punishment  of  families  and  whole  communities,  of  the  heads  of 
clans  and  literary  classes  to  which  such  offenders  belong,  even  extend- 
ing to  numerous  floggings,  deaths,  exiles,  etc.,  seems  quite  unjust,  but 
has  the  effect  of  making  every  man,  woman  and  child,  a  guard,  not  only 
over  his  own  actions,  but  even  over  those  of  his  neie^hbors.  When  the 
crime  reaches  the  magnitude  of  murder,  the  punishment  sometimes 
includes  a  lingering  death  for  the  parricide,  and  a  decapitation  for  the 
schoolmaster  who  had  the  misfortune  to  instruct  the  unnatural  child; 


AGRICULTURE.  599 

and  what  is  more  to  be  deplored,  disgrace  is  heaped  upon  the  ancestors 
of  the  family.  The  bones  of  grandfathers  are  scattered  and  dishonored, 
and  the  ancestral  hall  is  closed.  Offenses  of  this  nature  are  conse- 
quently rare. 

Another  picture  :  "A  pleasing  anecdote  in  relation  to  filial  piety  is 
told  of  a  certain  youth.  Having  lost  his  mother  who  was  all  that  was 
dear  to  him,  he  passed  the  three  years  of  mourning  in  a  hut,  and  employed 
himself,  in  his  retirement,  in  composing  verses  in  honor  of  his  parent. 
The  period  of  his  mourning  having  elapsed,  he  returned  to  his  former  resi- 
dence. His  mother  had  always  expressed  great  apprehension  of  thunder, 
and  when  it  was  stormy  requested  her  son  not  to  leave  her.  Therefore 
as  soon  as  he  heard  a  storm  coming  on,  he  hastened  to  his  mother's  grave, 
saying  softly  to  her,  '  I  am  here,  mother.'" 

AGRICULTURE. 

It  is  fortunate  that  the  Chinese  are  so  naturally  adapted  to 
agriculture,  since  their  four  hundred  million  bodies  so  much  depend 
upon  the  soil  for  existence.  Next  to  education  the  government  is  a 
patron  of  agriculture,  exempting  from  taxation  all  those  lands  which 
are  reclaimed  by  their  owners,  or  in  case  the  waste  lands  are  in  remote 
districts  and  not  thought  worthy  of  attention  by  the  proprietors,  trans- 
ferring the  title  to  those  who  will  cultivate  them.  The  Chinaman's  love 
of  quiet  industry  and  the  government's  continual  encouragement  of  it 
have  left  few  barren  spots  of  the  empire  untouched.  The  slopes  of  their 
hills  even  are  terraced,  and  thereby  made  to  retain  sufficient  water  to 
irrigate  the  crops.  When  encouragement  does  not  have  its  intended 
effect  force  is  unhesitatingly  applied.  Each  village  has  its  agricultural 
board,  and  if  a  farmer  shows  negligence  in  realizing  the  greatest  possible 
yield  from  his  land  he  is  simply  and  thoroughly  flogged  by  the  magistrate, 
upon  the  suggestion  of  the  board.  If  he  has  left  much  uncultivated  he 
receives  many  stripes;  if  little,  only  a  few.  The  property  of  landed  pro- 
prietors which  is  allowed  to  lie  unimproved  is  confiscated  to  the  crown. 

The  lands  in  China  are  held  by  families,  upon  the  payment  of  an 
annual  tax,  which  is  not  levied  in  case  of  a  failure  of  the  crop  ;  that  is  the 
law  of  the  land,  but  needy  mandarins  often  exact  it.  There  is  another 
general  law  to  the  effect  that  the  provincial  government  may  advance 
money  to  farmers  whose  crops  have  been  destroyed,  for  the  purchase  of 
fresh  seed. 

As  a  rule,  the  Chinese  farm  does  not  exceed  one  or  two  acres,  and 
is  separated  from  the  next  by  a  narrow  embankment.  To  draw  the 
greatest  possible  amount  of  good  from  his  land  the  farmer  allows  mounds 


600  '  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

of  a  certain  form  to  remain  in  tlie  middle  of  liis  small  field,  and  plants 
rows  of  cedar  trees,  variously  combined,  across  the  rice  plains.  These 
mystic  forms  and  fii^^ures  are  calculated  to  obtain  the  favor  of  the  gods. 
Upon  the  clay  walls  of  his  house  he  also  paints  a  circle  or  other  effective 
figure,  recommended  by  a  Buddhist  or  Taouist  priest  to  keep  wolves, 
panthers,  foxes,  wild  cats,  badgers  and  other  pests  away  from  his  few 
cattle  and  sheep.  The  elders  of  some  of  the  villages  even  pass  laws 
acfainst  injuring  either  the  surroundin;^  trees  or  the  birds  which  lodg-e  in 
them,  as  both  are  believed  to  have  a  good  effect  upon  the  adjacent  rice 
plains. 

HaviuLT  thus  seen  bv  what  means  the  government  and  the  gods  are 
expected  to  assist  the  peasant  of  China  we  will  see  how  he  aids  himself. 
The  plow  consists  of  a  beam  handle,  a  share  with  a  wooden  stem,  and  a 
rest  behind  instead  of  a  moulding  board.  It  is  so  licfht  that  he  often 
carries  it  home  on  his  shoulders.  A  large  wooden  hoe,  tipped  with  iron, 
often  takes  the  place  of  the  plow,  being  universally  employed  in  the 
cultivation  of  the  hill  lands.      The  harrow  has  three  rows  of  iron  teeth. 

The  ceremonies  which  usher  in  the  agricultural  year  in  China  are 
conducted  at  Pekin,  by  the  Emperor  in  person  ;  in  the  other  provinces 
the  various  ofificers,  headed  by  the  governors,  worship  the  god  of  spring-, 
Avho  is  represented  by  an  idol  holding  a  branch  in  his  right  hand,  his  left 
resting  on  the  horns  of  a  huge  buffalo  made  of  paper  ;  thus  indicating 
that  it  is  time  for  the  farmer  to  put  his  buffalo  to  the  plow  and  bring 
forth  his  crops.  After  the  land  has  been  plowed  and  harrowed,  fortune 
tellers  name  the  lucky  day  when  the  seed  is  to  be  sown.  At  the  ap- 
pointed time  the  seed  is  cast  into  a  corner  of  the  field,  and  when  the 
ishoots  have  grown  a  few  inches  they  are  transplanted.  The  irrigation  of 
the  land  is  not  accomplished  in  so  crude  a  manner  as  in  Egypt,  with 
merely  buckets,  chain  pumps  and  horizontal  wheels,  but  steam  power  is 
often  applied  where  the  land  is  high  above  the  surface  of  the  river. 
With  the  reo-ular  manure  which  is  used  are  also  mixed  feathers  of  birds, 
bone  dust,  bean  cake,  Peruvian  guano  and  human  hair,  which  is  preserved 
by  the  barbers. 

In  lune  the  rice  is  usually  reaped  with  sickles,  in  some  districts  the 
tops  of  the  ears  only  being  gathered,  stacked  into  small  bundles,  and 
rapped  against  the  inside  of  tubs  so  that  the  grain  will  be  thereby  col- 
lected. Other  kinds  of  rice  are  threshed  with  Hails  upon  an  asphalt 
floor  with  which  every  farm  is  provided,  or  the  grain  is  trodden  out  by 
oxen.  It  is  then,  perhaps,  gathered  on  trays  and  thrown  into  the  air, 
or  taken  up  on  pitchforks  that  the  wind  may  perform  its  primitive  func- 
tion of   winnowing.     Toward  the    end  of   July  another  crop  is  sown. 


AGRICULTURE.  6oi 

When  the  rice  is  finally  stored  in  the  granary,  it  is  mixed  with  the  ashes 
of  the  husks,  .which  contain  the  necessary  amount  of  carbon  to  drive  away 
all  destructive  insects.  Even  with  this  preser\'ative  farmers  are  not 
allowed  to  withhold  their  grain  in  times  of  scarcity,  hoping  for  extrava- 
gant prices ;  this  is  the  law,  uut  the  mandarins  come  in  again,  with  their 
small  salaries,  often  wink  at  the  statute  and  realize  a  handsome  fortune 
by  colluding  with  ecjually  unprincipled  farmers  to  take  advantage  of  a 
public  calamity. 

The  tea  plant  flourishes  not  only  in  Southern  China,  or  the  tropical 
regions,  but  as  far  north  as  Mongolia,  where  the  winter  is  severe.  The 
seeds  are  alternately  dried  and  soaked  until  they  begin  to  sprout,  when 
they  are  planted  in  a  thin  layer  of  earth,  spread  over  basket-work  or 
matting.  Like  delicate  children,  the  shoots  are  not  at  first  exposed  to 
the  night  air,  but  finally  they  get  strong  enough,  when  they  are  four 
inches  high,  to  be  planted  out  of  doors.  At  the  end  of  the  third  year, 
the  plant  has  reached  a  height  of  from  four  to  eight  feet  ;  and  a  tea 
plantation,  ready  for  the  harvest,  resembles  a  great  field  of  evergreens. 
The  leaf  is  similar  in  form  to  that  of  the  myrtle.  Three  crops  are  gath- 
ered, usually  in  April,  June  and  July.  One  leaf  is  plucked  from  the  stalk 
at  a  time,  and  deposited  in  a  clean  wicker-work  basket.  The  leaves  are 
then  spread  out  in  the  sun  to  dry,  trodden  under  foot  to  expel  any  lurk- 
ing moisture,  and  then  heaped  together  and  covered  with  cloths  for  the 
night.  When  uncovered  in  the  morning,  the  generated  heat  has  changed 
the  green  color  to  black  or  brown.  The  laborers  now  rub  them  between 
their  hands  to  twist  or  crumple  them,  and  they  are  exposed  to  the  sun, 
or  placed  in  a  wicker-work  frame  and  baked  over  a  charcoal  fire.  Before 
finally  getting  into  the  channels  of  trade  the  leaves  are  subjected  to 
another  baking,  and  are  cleaned  and  packed  by  the  middleman  be- 
tween  the  planter  and  the  tea  merchant. 

The  leaves  of  green  tea,  while  being  subjected  to  the  charcoal 
heat,  are  constantly  fanned,  in  order  to  retain  their  color. 

Brick  tea,  which  is  so  much  used  in  China,  Thibet,  Mongolia,  Mant- 
chooria  and  Siberia,  is  made  from  leaves,  stalks  and  stems,  which  are 
heaped  into  baskets  and  placed  on  iron  pans  of  boiling  water.  Under- 
neath the  pans  slow  fires  are  kept  burning,  and  the  steam  reduces  the 
contents  of  the  baskets  to  a  proper  consistency  to  be  placed  into  moulds 
and  pressed.  The  "bricks"  average  10x3x1  in.  They  are  purchased 
principally  by  Russian  merchants,  who  ship  them  to  Siberian  markets, 
where  they  are  bought  by  Tartar  and  Mongol  tribes. 

The  silkworm  was  indigenous  to  China,  the  silk  trade  being  carried 
on  between  tha"  empire  and  Persia  for  many  centuries  before  it  was  in- 


602  PANORAMA   OF    NATIONS. 

trocluced  into  Europe.  When  Alexander  the  Great  conquered  Persia, 
during  the  first  portion  of  the  fourth  century  B.  C,  the  silks  of  China 
were  exposed  for  sale  in  all  the  marts  of  Greece,  but  the  material  was 
supposed  to  be  a  vegetable  down  or  a  fine  wool. 

But  twenty-three  centuries  previous  to  the  first  sight  which  Europe 
obtained  of  the  mysterious  stuff,  an  Empress  of  China  reared  a  number 
of  silkworms,  and  succeeded  in  weaving  some  beautiful  webs.  She  is 
worshiped  as  the  goddess  of  silkworms,  and  set  the  style  which  every 
imperial  lady  has  since  followed  of  thus  interesting  themselves.  During 
October  of  each  year,  the  Empress,  accompanied  by  her  attendants,  re- 
pairs to  the  altar,  and,  with  golden  and  silver  implements,  gathers  mulberry- 
leaves  for  the  imperial  silkworms,  and  winds  a  few  cocoons  of  silk.  The 
garments  which  they  weave  are  to  cover  the  principal  idolsof  the  empire. 
Well,  the  delusion  under  which  Europeans  labored  was  dissolved 
by  two  Nestorian  monks,  who,  eight  centuries  later,  arrived  at  Constan- 
tinople from  China  and  told  the  Emperor  what  they  knew  about  silk 
culture.  They  were  persuaded  to  further  prosecute  their  investigations, 
returning  to  China  for  the  purpose.  Collecting  a  quantity  of  eggs  they 
packed  them  in  bamboo  tubes,  and  thus  the  industry  was  introduced  to 
the  West.  It  is  reported  that  these  pioneer  eggs  were  hatched  by  the 
heat  of  a  manure  heap. 

A  moth  will  lay  five  hundred  eggs  in  three  days,  after  which  sne  dies 
and  the  male  does  not  long  survive  her.  The  eggs  are  carefully  washed 
in  spring  water,  when  about  two  weeks  old,  and  during  the  autumn  and 
winter  months  are  preserved  on  pieces  of  paper  or  cloth.  In  the  spring 
they  are  placed  upon  bamboo  shelves,  which  are  devoid  of  any  harmful 
fragrance,  and  soon  a  hair-like  worm  appears,  which,  when  young,  is  fed 
almost  continually;  but,  like  other  babies,  the  time  between  meals  is 
gradually  extended.  Besides  mulberry  leaves  the  flour  of  peas,  beans 
and  rice  is  given  to  insure  strong  and  glossy  silk.  The  worm  matures 
in  thirty-two  days,  having  had  during  that  time  four  periods  of  sleep, 
each  of  which  was  accompanied  by  a  casting  of  its  skin;  while  the  new 
covering  was  forming  the  worm  slept.  For  a  few  days  previous  to  "the 
great  sleep,"  as  the  Chinese  call  it,  the  worm  has  a  voracious  appetite. 
Having  attained  to  maturity,  about  two  inches  in  length  and  as  thick  as 
a  man's  little  finger,  it  changes  from  a  gra\ish  to  an  amber  hue,  and  com- 
mences to  move  its  head  from  side  to  side  and  spin  the  thread  around  its 
body,  which  forms  the  cocoon.  In  a  few  days  it  has  accomplished  its 
object,  falls  into  its  last  sleep,  and,  casting  its  skin,  becomes  a  chrysalis. 
This  is  destroyed  by  placing  the  cocoon  near  a  slow  fire,  and  then  the 
manufacture  of  the  silk  commences  by  unwinding  the  thread. 


AGRICULTURE.  603 

Next  to  the  work  of  rearing  silkworms  and  manufacturing  silk, 
there  is  no  branch  of  manufacturing  industry  which  affords  more  employ- 
ment to  the  Chinese  than  that  of  making  porcelain  and  chinaware. 
From  the  preparation  of  the  clay  to  the  decoration  of  the  ware  the  pro- 
cesses are  simple,  and,  in  marked  contradistinction  to  the  tendency  of 
Western  lands,  machinery  seems  never  to  be  employed  when  the  work 
can  be  done  by  hand.  In  fact,  it  is  possible  that  the  Chinese  do  not 
desire  labor-saving  machinery  in  their  thickly-populated  empire,  which  is 
hemmed  about  either  by  rocky,  barren  and  hostile  countries  or  Ijy  those 
almost  as  populous. 

Wheat  and  barley  are  also  good  crops,  and  in  some  districts  the 
grain  is  sown  as  soon  as  the  second  crop  of  rice  is  harvested.  In  the 
northern  portions  of  the  empire  wheat,  barley  and  corn  are  sown  and 
reaped  at  the  times  prevalent  in  temperate  climates.  The  grinding  mill 
consists  of  two  circular  stones,  the  upper  one  concave  and  the  under  one 
convex.  A  bar  is  fastened  to  the  upper  stone,  and  a  bullock,  or  buffalo, 
is  attached  to  the  bar.  The  grain  is  poured  into  a  funnel  which  sets 
into  the  upper  stone,  and  falls  down  over  the  lower  one  as  flour.  Water 
mills  are  also  known,  although  not  common.  Their  inventor  has  been 
elevated  to  the  position  of  a  god,  and  each  mill  contains  an  altar  in  his 
honor. 

The  peanut  crop  is  harvested  in  December^  January  and  February. 
The  nuts  are  exposed  for  sale  in  all  fruit  shops.  Farmers  value  the  oil 
which  they  extract  from  them  very  highly  ;  the  residuum,  or  cake,  is  used 
as  manure  for  rice  lands  and  food  for  cattle,  while  the  shells  are  burned 
for  fuel.  Sugar  cane  is  grown  both  for  the  sugar  and  as  a  raw  article 
which  is  sold  by  the  fruiterers.  Indigo  is  raised  from  the  island  of  For- 
mosa to  Mongolia,  three  or  four  crops  being  gathered  from  one  root. 
The  plants  are  cut  with  sickles,  bound  into  sheaves  and  placed  in  vats, 
where  they  are  allowed  to  ferment  for  nearly  a  day.  The  liquor  is  then 
drawn  off  into  other  vats  and  beaten  with  paddles,  which  hastens  precipi- 
tation. The  precipitate,  after  being  boiled  strained  and  exposed  to  the 
sun.  is  cut  into  cakes,  in  which  form  the  world  sees  them. 

Beans  and  peas  are  also  raised  for  food  crops,  for  the  oil  which  is 
pressed  from  them,  and  for  the  cakes  which  are  used  as  cattle  feed  and 
manure. 

Chinese  cotton  is  the  crop  which  follows  wheat  and  bar'ey,  n  rota- 
tion. The  seed  which  is  not  required  for  next  year's  crop  is  sold  to  oil 
merchants,  or  used  as  food  and  medicine.  It  is  said  to  operate  upon 
the  kidneys.  The  stems  of  the  plant  are  used  for  fuel.  After  being 
cleaned  the  cotton  is  spun  into  yarn,  and  eventually  appears  as  nankeen, 


604  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

linings  for  dresses,  cotton  velvets,  etc.  Tobacco  is  another  prolific  croj). 
After  it  has  been  forwarded  to  the  factories,  the  leaves  are  trodden 
under  foot  by  men,  w(A\  sprinkled  with  oil,  subjected  to  a  great  pressure, 
taken  out  in  cakes,  and  afterwards  planed  into  "fine  cut." 

FISHING. 

The  Chinese  being  a  nation  of  fish-eaters  as  well  as  rice-eaters,  the 
government  has  imposed  very  strict  regulations  upon  fishermen,  dividing 
the  waters  into  districts  and  the  vessels  into  companies,  placing  over 
each  old  and  honest  "  salts."  There  are  salt-fish  vessels  and  fresh-fish 
vessels.  Many  of  the  latter  are  provided  with  great  cisterns  into  which 
the  fish  are  cast  as  they  are  caught,  and  others  are  simply  reservoirs 
from  stem  to  stern,  in  which  fish  are  artificially  reared  on  a  paste  made 
from  the  flour  of  wheat  and  beans.  Artificial  ponds  are  common  through- 
out the  empire,  and  the  Chinese  have  made  so  close  a  study  of  the  science 
of  pisciculture  that  they  place  plantain  trees  around  them,  for  the  rain 
which  falls  from  their  leaves,  after  copious  showers,  is  said  to  be  impreg- 
nated with  a  solution  which  promotes  the  health  of  the  fish.  Other  trees 
are  placed  on  the  banks,  that  the  fruit  may  fall  into  the  ponds  and  fatten 
the  fish.  Willow  trees  are  harmful.  Grass  growing  at  the  water's  edge 
is  avoided  lest  it  should  have  attached  to  it  the  ova  of  fishes  of  prey. 
Many  other  like  precautions  are  taken,  the  result  of  the  combined  expe- 
rience of  an  observing  people  for  many  centuries. 

In  capturing  fish  upon  their  own  ground,  the  Chinese  show  the 
same  ingenuity  and  close  powers  of  observation  as  in  rearing  them  arti- 
ficially. For  instance,  it  has  been  noticed  that,  when  terrified,  fish  invari- 
ably shoot  toward  the  light.  So  the  Chinese  fisherman  fastens  a  long, 
white  board  to  his  boat,  inclining  toward  the  water,  and  also  a  large  stone 
which  he  lowers  over  the  side,  so  that  when  he  paddles  along  at  night, 
the  stone  making  a  rushing  noise,  the  fish  will  jump  toward  the  reflec- 
tion and  in  most  cases  overleap  it  into  the  boat.  On  the  same  principle 
is  the  plan  of  forming  two  squads  of  boats  into  an  inner  and  an  outer 
circle,  to  the  inside  boats  being  fastened  a  circular  net.  In  the  center 
of  the  circle  formed  on  the  surface  of  the  water  by  the  corks  to  which 
the  net  is  attached,  is  a  boat  in  whose  bows  is  kept  burning  a  bright  fire. 
Teh  crews  of  the  outer  ring  of  boats  furiously  beat  the  water,  and  the 
fish  in  terror  dash  toward  the  central  fire,  which  lights  up  the  night  all 
around,  and  thousands  of  them  are  entangled  in  the  net  and  drawn  into 
the  inner  circle  of  boats. 

Along  the  banks  of  the  rivers  will  be  seen  tiny  huts  occupied  by 


CHINESE   CO.MMERCE.  605 

fishermen,  and  near  each  hut  a  large  dip  net  worked  by  a  windlass.  To 
many  of  the  nets  live  fish  are  bound  by  cords  to  serve  as  decoys,  or  pro- 
vided with  a  pocket  or  well  in  which  the  finny  attractions  swim  about 
uninjured.  Fish  are  also  speared,  caught  with  the  hook  and  line,  with 
the  hands  and  by  means  of  cormorants.  Each  bird  has  a  ring  around  its 
throat  t)  prevent  its  swallowing  the  fish  and  is  so  trained  that  it  sb.owa 
ercat  humiliation  when  it  dives  and  misses  its  prev.  When  fati^rued 
the  cormorant  rests  awhile  in  the  boat,  and  at  a  signal  from  the 
fisherman  resumes  its  occupation.  Fresh  water  turtles,  shrimps, 
and  oyster,;  are  objects,  also,  of  the  Chinaman's  industry  and  in- 
gcnuitN'. 

Oysters  are  never  eaten  raw,  being  considered  too  cold  for  the 
stomach.  They  are  either  fried  or  preserved  in  salt.  The  shells  are 
used  in  building  walls  or  converted  into  lime.  Oysters  are  also  put  to- 
other uses.  Small  images  of  Buddha,  or  of  other  popular  deities,  are. 
placed  inside  the  shell  and  the  mollusks  are  thrown  back  into  the  pond. 
There  they  remain  until  they  have  had  time  to  deposit  a  layer  of  mother- 
of-pearl  over  the  idol,  which  is  then  extracted  and  sold  as  a  miraculous, 
creation. 

CHINESE  COMMERCE. 

From  a  bare  mention  of  an  imperfect  list  of  China's  natural  products, 
it  will  be  realized  how  extensive  must  be  her  dealings  with  other  lands. 
The  Chinese  have  no  ambition  to  ascertain  in  actual  figures  the  extent 
of  the  internal  commerce  of  their  country,  which  is   half  as  large  as. 
Europe  ;  and  it  would  be  an  endless  task  for  a  foreigner  to  attempt  to- 
collect  such  information  from  a  territory  not  traversed  by  a  comprehen- 
sive system  of  public  roads  and  virtually  unbroken  by  railroads.     But 
despite  all  drawbacks,  floods  of  treasure  pour  down  her  imperfect  water 
and  canal  ways,  and  are  collected  by  native  merchants  and  borne  over- 
land tothe  sea-coast  ports,  while  opium,  metals,  sheetings,  trepang,  bird's- 
nests,  precious  stones,  furs,  gold,  silver,  umbrellas,  clocks,  telescopes, 
cutlery,  snuff,  etc.,  are  imported.     "Foreigners  can  acquire  land  and 
houses  at  the  free  ports,  and  may  travel  in  the  interior  for  purposes  of 
pleasure  or  for  trade,  but  must  use  the  conveyances  of   the  country. 
Produce  may  be  brought  from  the  interior  by  paying  at  the  port  of 
destination  a  duty  which  is  equal  to  one-half  the  duty  upon  exportation. 
This   half   duty   is   a   commutation    of    the   native   levies   exacted    in 
the  several  provinces,  and  comprises  a  part  of   the   provincial    revenue. 
Foreign    merchandise    may  be   sent    into   the  interior  under  a  similar 
system." 


6o6  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

THE  MONGOLS. 

Next  to  Thibet,  Mongolia,  or  the  hind  of  the  Mongols,  is  the  holy 
land  of  Lamaism  ;  after  Lassa  where  the  Grand  Lama  resides,  Urga,  the 
chief  town  of  Mongolia,  is  most  sacred.  It  is  on  the  direct  line  of  travel 
from  Lake  Baikal,  Southern  Siberia,  whose  wonders  in  connection  with 
Lamaism  have  been  already  narrated,  antl  here  resides  the  "  Kutukhtu," 
or  chief  Lama  of  the  great  province.  He  is  generally  brought  from 
Thibet,  an  immense  caravan  of  fanatics  accompanying  him  to  his  future 
capital.  The  nomads  speak  of  Urga  as  Bogdo-Kuren,  or  "sacred 
encampment."  The  Russians  called  it  Urga,  or  palace,  on  account  of 
the  large  temple  which  the  Lama  occupies.  It  is  high  and  square,  with 
flat  roofs,  and  accommodates  10,000  priests.  A  brass  image  of  the 
future  Buddha,  manufactured  at  Dolon-nor,  a  famous  town  for  the  con- 
struction of  idols,  sits  in  the  center  of  the  temple,  looming  up  thirty-three 
feet  in  heisht.  Before  the  idol  is  a  table  for  offerings,  and  numbers  of 
lesser  gods  are  ranged  around  the  walls.  The  Kutukhtu  is  said  to  have 
become  immensely  wealthy  by  accepting  as  personal  favors  the  offerings 
of  the  faithful,  being  the  owner  aLo  of  150,000  slaves,  who  inhabit  the 
environs  of  Urga  and  other  parts  of  Northern  Mongolia.  All  these 
slaves  are  under  his  immediate  authority  and  form  the  so-called  Shabin 
class. 

The  town  is  divided  into  two  parts,  the  Chinese  portion  being 
separated  three  miles  from  the  Mongolian,  and  called  the  place  of 
trade.  The  inhabitants  of  the  Chinese  quarter  consist  of  traders  and 
officials,  who,  by  law,  are  forbidden  to  settle  lest  they  should  enter  into 
collusion  with  the  natives. 

The  Mongolian  town  is  little  more  than  a  collection  of  temples 
with  little  Chinese  houses  or  felt  tents  grouped  together  and  a  market 
square  in  the  center.  The  inhabitants  seem  to  be  chiefly  priests  and 
beggars,  who  assemble  on  the  market  place,  covered  with  rags,  vermin 
and,  perhaps,  drifts  of  snow.  Packs  of  hungry  dogs  wait  near  the  rough 
shed  or  den  which  some  of  them  occupy;  for  death  comes  as  a  welcome 
relief  at  times — and  when  these  miserable  beings  pass  out  of  the  world 
of  Lamaism,  their  bodies  are  literally  cast  to  the  dogs.  This  custom 
even  prevails  among  the  so-called  higher  classes,  who  peaceably  live  and 
die  in  sight  of  the  beggars.  If  the  body  be  not  quickly  devoured  the 
priests  proclaim  the  ungodliness  of  the  deceased,  so  that  every  funeral 
procession  which  passes  through  the  streets  of  the  sacred  encampment 
is  accompanied  by  intelligent  dogs,  sniffing  and  licking  their  chops  in 
anticipatioa 


THE    MONGOLS.  607 

Th,e  government  of  Urga  is  a  portion  of  a  province  of  Northern 
Mongolia,  which  is  ruled  over  by  a  Mantchoo  sent  from  Pekin  and 
a  native  prince ;  and  this  is  the  general  plan  which  is  followed 
to  preserve  peace.  Much  of  the  southern  and  eastern  portion  of 
Mongolia  is  desert  land,  the  western  part  of  which  is  unexplored 
even  at  the  present  time.  The  country  through  which  one  passes 
from  Urga  toward  Pekin,  previous  to  reaching  the  desert,  is 
a  great  steppe  on  which  the  flocks  and  herds  of  the  Mongols  are 
grazing.  A  number  of  public  roads  cross  the  desert  and  converge  at 
Kalgan,  wells  being  dug  and  tents  pitched  by  nomads  who  beg  from 
passing  caravans  as  they  slowly  toil  over  the  six  hundred  miles  of  dreary 
country.  Herds  of  antelope  are  also  seen  like  the  nomadic  Mongols, 
seeking  pasturage  in  the  desert,  and  when  drought  drives  them  from  the 
plain,  they  avoid  the  settled  districts  and  sometimes  emigrate  in  vast 
herds  to  the  rich  lands  of  Northern  Mongolia.  Being  armed  with  such 
crude  weapons,  the  natives  have  to  resort  to  stratagem  to  approach  the 
timid  animals,  one  of  their  favorite  plans  being  to  near  them  by  quietly 
walking  upon  the  farther  side  of  a  camel  which  is  led  by  a  bridle.  The 
antelope  are  also  snared  in  traps  of  tough  grass,  which  lame  the  animals 
Avhen  they  struggle  to  get  free.  The  skins  are  usually  sold  to  Russian 
merchants. 

It  is  along-  this  line  of  travel  that  the  countless  caravans  of  brick 
tea  pass  into  Siberia.  In  early  autumn  long  strings  of  camels  may  be 
seen  drawing  toward  Kalgan,  over  rugged  hills  and  elevated  table  lands 
toward  the  fertile  valleys  and  plains  and  mild  climate  of  China.  It  is 
like  going  from  Switzerland  into  Italy.  The  town  commands  the  pass 
through  the  great  wall,  and  toward  it  are  coming  200,000  or  300,000 
chests  of  teas  by  steamer  and  cart.  Four  chests,  weighing  about  100 
pounds  apiece,  the  Mongol  will  load  upon  each  camel,  receiving  his  pay 
from  a  Chinese  agent  who  acts  for  the  Russian  tea  merchant.  His 
destination  is  either  Urgaor  Kiakhta,  in  Southern  Siberia  ;  if  to  the  latter 
point,  he  starts  on  a  journey  of  forty  days'  duration,  with  the  possibility 
of  contending  with  formidable  drifts  of  snow  beyond  Urga.  From  Urga 
to  Kiakhta  the  tea  is  transported  in  two-wheeleci  bullock  carts. 

But  it  would  be  far  from  the  truth  to  state  that  the  Mongols  carry 
most  of  the  brick  tea  into  Siberia.  They  are  passionately  fond  of  it  them- 
selves, and  not  only  drink  it  as  a  beverage  but  season  their  food  with 
it.  Ten  to  fifteen  large  cupfuls  is  the  daily  allowance  of  a  girl,  but  full- 
grown  men  imbibe  twice  as  much.  The  Mongols  live  in  tents,  eat  like 
wild  beasts,  consider  fowl  or  fish  unclean,  are  lovers  of  mutton,  especially 
of  fat  sheep's  tails,  are  owners  of  horses,  camels,  oxen  and  sheep,  and 


6oS  PANOKAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

the  carriers  of  Central  Asia,  going  north  and  south.  Not  only  do  they 
transport  tea,  but  salt  from  the  lakes  of  Mongolia  to  China,  and  supplies- 
between  the  Chinese  forces  situated  on  the  borders  of  the  empire.  Dur- 
ing the  autumn,  winter  and  early  spring  their  camels  are  all  employed* 
and  "with  the  return  of  April  the  transport  ceases,  the  wearied  animals 
are  turned  loose  on  the  steppe,  and  their  masters  repose  in  complete  idle- 
ness for  six  or  seven  months.  The  men,  as  a  rule,  do  nothing  but  gallop- 
about  all  day  long  from  tent  to  tent,  drinking  tea  or  kumys  and  gos- 
siping with  their  neighbors.  They  are  ardent  lovers  of  the  chase,  which 
is  some  break  to  the  tedious  monotony  of  their  lives,  but  they  are,  with 
few  exceptions,  bad  shots,-and  their  arms  are  most  inferior,  some  having" 
flint  and  steel  muskets,  while  others  have  nothing  but  the  bow  and 
arrows.  An  occasional  pilgrimage  to  some  temple  and  horse-racing' 
are  their  favorite  diversions. 

The  Mongols  of  Mongolia  do  not  in  fact  greatly  differ  from  the 
Mongols  of  Siberia,  except  that  their  dress  has  been  fashioned  after  the 
Chinese  style  and  the  men  wear  the  pig-tail.  They  therefore  acknowl- 
edge the  supremacy  of  the  Mantchoos  dynasty,  which  is  Mongolian 
itself.  The  Mongol  princes  receive  salaries  from  the  Emperor,  who  also 
promotes  them  from  one  rank  to  another,  and  princesses  of  the  Imperial 
family  are  given  in  marriage  to  both  Mongolian  and  Mantchoorian  princes. 
Three  times  in  ten  years  the  princes  travel  to  Pekin  to  bring  gifts  of 
camels  and  horses  to  the  Emperor  as  pledges  of  their  allegiance,  and 
receive  in  return  elegant  silks,  dresses  and  caps  of  far  greater  value. 
Once  in  ten  years  the  Emperor's  daughters-in-law  are  allowed  to  visit  the- 
court.  The  Mongols  pay  a  cattle  tax  to  their  own  princes,  but  no  tax 
to  China.  They  are  liable  to  military  service,  but  the  government  pro- 
vides them  arms.  Obviously  they  get  from  China  far  more  than  they 
give  to  her.  .      • 

THE    THIBETANS. 

The  origin  of  the  Thibetans  is  lost  in  the  shadows  of  time,  savage- 
tribes  of  nomads  with  their  flocks  of  sheep  andgoats  inhabiting  the  great 
table  lands  of  the  Himalaya  Mountains  when  the  Chinese  themselves 
first  commenced  to  have  a  history.  The  country  lies  between  the  lofty 
Himalaya  and  Kuen-Lun  mountains  and  is  also  traversed  by  ranges  of 
less  elevation.  This  mighty  Alpine  plain,  the  surface  of  which  is  lifted 
as  high  into  the  clouds  as  the  summit  of  the  Alps,  bore  the  name  among 
the  Chinese  of  the  Land  of  Demons,  or  of  Western  Barbarians.  The 
Thibetans  themselves  claim  to  be  the  most  ancient  race  in  the  world, 
and  proudly  boast  of  their  descent  from  a  large  species  of  ape.     Middle 


THE    THIULTANS.  609 

Thibet  is  still  called  Ape-land,  and  a  writer  who  lived  long  among  the 
Mongols  declares  that  the  features  of  the  Thibetans  much  resemble 
those  of  the  ape,  especially  the  countenances  of  the  old  men,  sent  out  as 
religious  missionaries,  who  traverse  Mongolia  in  every  direction. 

For  twenty  centuries,  more  or  less,  the  various  tribes  made  war  on 
the  surrounding  territory,  penetrating  into  Hindustan  and  snatching 
away  Chinese  territory,  invading  Parthia  and  establishing  one  of  their 
capitals  near  Khiva,  and  coming  into  conflict  with  Persians  and  Tartars. 
They  were  nomadic  in  their  habits,  following  the  courses  of  rivers  with 
their  cattle,  and  living  in  tents  as  they  fought  their  way  over  Central 
Asia.  Those  of  the  east  founded  several  obscure  kingdoms,  and  finally, 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  sixth  century,  one  of  the  rulers,  whose  residence 
was  on  the  stream  which  runs  near  Lassa,  became  so  powerful  that  he 
extended  his  dominions  on  the  southwest  to  India.  He  afterwards  fixed 
his  capital  at  Lassa. 

By  common  consent  this  king,  who  is  known  to  the  world  as 
"  Ssrong-bTsan-sGam-po."  introduced  Buddhism  into  the  country.  He 
sent  his  prime  minister  to  India  to  study  the  new  religion  in  all  its 
purity,  as  his  wife  was  a  Buddhist  and  an  Indian  princess.  Then  having; 
asked  the  hand  of  the  daughter  of  the  Chinese  Emperor  in  marriage,  and 
been  refused,  he  marched  to  the  frontier  of  China  and  was  defeated,  but 
received  the  lady  as  his  bride.  These  two  princesses  brought  with  them 
books  and  iilols,  and  for  their  preservation  temples  were  built  at  Lassa, 
or  "godland."  A  commission  was  appointed  of  an  Indian  pundit  (pro- 
fessor) two  Nepaulese  (Indian)  teachers,  one  Chinese  and  one  Thibetan 
to  translate  the  books  of  doctrine  and  the  ritual  of  Buddhism. 

Notwithstandinu-  the  marriage,  a  series  of  fierce  wars  between  China 
and  Thibet  lasted  for  eighty  years.  A  peace  was  then  concluded,  and  a 
stone  monument  commemoratin;/  it  was  erected  in  the  middle  of  the 
capital.  This  still  exists  in  the  inclosure  of  the  Lama's  great  temple,  but 
did  not  prevent  a  renewal  of  war  and  the  fall  of  the  Thibetan  power, 
forty-five  years  thereafter  (866) — that  power  which  had  dominated  Cen- 
tral Asia  for  four  hundred  years.  In  the  meantime  other  enthusiastic 
Buddhist  kings  had  arisen,  monasteries  were  built,  and  learned  men  were 
introduced  from  India  to  teach  the  faith.  In  the  eleventh  centur}',  the 
first  Grand  Lama,  or  head  of  the  faith  in  Thibet,  appeared  in  the  person 
of  an  abbot  of  the  monastery  of  Ssa-skya ;  in  the  twelfth,  Thibet 
acknowledged  the  sovereignty  of  China  ;  in  the  thirteenth,  China  was 
included  in  the  empire  of  the  Mongols,  under  Genghis  Khan. 

Genghis  was  not  a  Buddhist,  but  a  shrewd  monarch  who  desired 
through  the  spiritual  head   of  the  church  to  keep  Thibet  in  subjection. 

3J 


6lO  PANORAMA    OF     NATIONS. 

He  therefore  elevated  the  Lama  to  the  rank  of  a  sub-kiny,  and  sent  an 
ambassador  to  him  with  the  following  order  :  "  Be  thou  the  Lama  to 
adore  me  now  and  in  the  future.  I  will  become  master  and  provider  of 
the  alms-oifts  and  make  the  rites  of  the  religion  a  part  of  the  state  estab- 
lishment; to  this  end  have  I  exempted  the  clergy  of  Thibet  from  taxa- 
tion." The  grandson  of  Genghis  made  the  Grand  Lama  of  Thibet,  "  king 
of  the  doctrine  of  the  three  lands."  After  the  decline  of  Buddhism  in 
India,  the  patriarch  of  the  religion  transferred  his  scat  to  China  and  the 
Mongol  emperor  shifted  the  honor  to  Thibet.  In  the  fourteenth  century 
the  Mongol  dynasty  was  expelled  by  the  Chinese. 

•       ■  ■  LAMAISM. 

The  logic  of  events,  therefore,  would  make  Lamaism  a  form  of 
Buddhism,  which  is  Indian  in  its  constitution,  Mongolian  and  Chinese  in 
its  tendencies.  In  drawing  their  inspiration  to  so  great  an  extent  from 
India,  the  kings  of  Thibet  obtained  deep  draughts  of  Brahmanism.  The 
priesthood  became  as  supreme  a  caste  as  the  Brahmans.  and  from  thence 
also  were  received  the  seeds  of  .Sivaism.  The  Sivaits  are  those  who 
worship  Siva,  or  the  god  of  destruction,  as  superior  to  either  Brahma  or 
Vishnu.  Lamaism  also  adopted  other  gods  of  the  Hindu  faith,  but  the 
power  of  their  religion  is  in  the  priesthood,  who  are  the  visible  congre- 
gation of  the  saints,  the  highest  orders  of  whom  claim  to  be  incarna- 
tions of  previous  saintly  souls.  Little  inferior  in  rank  to  gods  and  spirits 
are  these  incarnated  saints. 

Lamaism  has  its  trinity,  as  does  Buddhism,  in  the  "three  most  pre- 
cious jewels"  of  the  Buddha,  the  law  and  the  congregation  of  the  priests  ; 
its  festivals  commemorate  the  great  events  in  the  life  of  the  Buddha,  and 
injury  to  life,  as  a  portion  of  the  ladder  of  existence,  is  strictly 
forbidden.  Joined  also  to  Hinduism,  Brahmanism  and  Buddhism  is 
Shamanism,  or  spirit  worship.  This  is  the  ancient  religion  of  the  Tar- 
tars, and  the  four  "  isms,"  ingeniously  bound  together,  constitute 
Lamaism. 

'     THE  TWO  LAMAS. 

Lama,  in  the  Thibetan  language,  signifies  spiritual  teacher,  or  lord. 
At  the  head  of  Lamaism  are  two  lords  who  with  their  priesthood  govern 
Thibet  and  hold  the  spiritual  supremacy  over  Mongolia.  Southern 
Siberia  and  portions  of  China.  Both  of  them  have,  theoretically,  the 
.-.ame  authority,  but  the  "  Dalai-Lama,"  or  "  Ocean-priest,"  who  resides 
near  Lassa,  rules  over  a  much  broader  territory  than  the  other,  and  is  in 
reality  more  powerful. 


THE    TWO    LAMA.s.  6 1  I 

Their  followers  believe  that  they  never  die,  but  when  the  body  of 
one  perishes  the  soul  passes  into  the  body  of  a  small  boy,  and  it  is  the 
official  dut\'  of  the  surviving  Lama  to  interpret  the  oracles  and  determine 
upon  whom  the  incarnation  has  descended.  Sometimes  the  deceased 
has  confidentially  mentioned  to  his  friends  in  whom  he  would  re-appear, 
or  the  statement  is  contained  in  his  will.  These  transmigrations  are 
believed  to  occur  from  the  bodies  of  all  the  priests  of  the  first  three  de- 
grees ;  but  of  late  years  it  is  noticeable  that  the  Emperor  of  China 
can  invarialjly  place  his  finger  upon  the  heails  of  those  little  boys  whose 
bodies  are  to  be  endowed  with  priestly  souls.  Women  sometimes  attain 
to  the  rank  of  "  Khubilghans,"  or  incarnations  of  former  saints. 

The  architecture  of  the  temples  is  a  mixture  of  Chinese  and  Indian 
styles,  and  their  construction  in  Thibet  seems  to  have  been  affected  by 
the  Mohammedanism  which  entered  the  country  when  the  Thibetans,  dur- 
ing the  eighth  ccntur)-,  were  in  alliance  with  both  the  Arabs  and  Turks  ; 
for  the  native  temples  always  face  the  east,  in  Mongolia  the  south.  The 
rule  is  also  followed  that  the  temple  may  look  toward  Pekin  and  the 
Emperor.  In  this  connection,  also,  it  should  be  remembered  that 
Genghis  Khan,  the  founder  of  the  great  Mongol  Empire,  was  a  Moham- 
medan, if  anything.  The  temples  are  usually  square  and  divided  into 
entrance  hall,  main  hall  and  sanctuary,  and  all  around  are  the  dwellings 
of  the  priests,  which  together  form  the  lamasery. 

The  personal  residence  of  the  Grand  Lama  stands  on  Buddha's 
Mount  near  the  city  of  Lassa.  It  is  o\er  300  feet  high  and  contains 
10,000  rooms.  Numerous  other  temples  of  enormous  extent  are  scat- 
tered over  the  plain  on  which  the  capital  of  Thibet  is  built.  These 
edifices  are  thronged  with  priests,  20.000  of  whom  are  in  attendance 
upon  the  Lama.  "Vast  numbers  of  pilgrims  come  to  him  from  distant 
countries  every  year.  He  is  never  seen  except  in  a  remote  and  secret 
part  of  his  temple;  here,  surrounded  by  lamps,  he  seems  absorbed  in 
religious  revery.  He  never  speaks,  or  gives  a  sign  of  respect,  even  to 
princes.  With  an  air  of  sublime  indifference,  he  lays  his  hand  on  their 
heads,  and  this  is  regarded  as  an  inestimable  privilege."  This  mysteri- 
ous and  divine  creature,  the  incarnation  of  the  patron  saint  of  Thibet, 
sits  cross-legged,  like  all  the  deities  of  India  and  the  incarnations  of  the 
Buddha,  and  is  clothed  in  fine  woolen  and  silken  robes  wrought  in  gold. 
Near  the  Lama's  sacred  residence  is  a  Chinese  garrison,  whose  temples 
are  ablaze  with  precious  stones. 

Lassa  itself  lies  in  a  fertile  plain  encircled  by  mountains  and 
hills.  It  is  the  largest  town  in  Central  Asia,  containing  some  25,000 
people  exclusive  of  the  50,000  lamas  who  reside  in  the  vicinity.      It  is  the 


6l  2 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS 


Rome  of  Buddhism.  The  immense  priestly  establishment  of  Lamaism 
is  supported  by  revenues  from  great  landed  estates,  and  b)-  gifts 
from  the  people  whose  superstitions  are  continually  being  made  lever- 
ages for  extortion.  In  Lassa  itself  there  are  hundreds  of  professional 
sorcerers,  and  hundreds  more  are  continualK'  departing  to  practice  their 
arts  upon  the  Mongolians  and  the  more  ignorant  tribes  of  Siberia. 
Another  jjrolifk  source  of  revenue  is  found  in  the  sale  of  idols,  which 
are  manufactured  by  the  lamas  themselves. 

THEIR  FINE  WOOLENS  AND  SHAWLS. 

The  Thibetans  as  a  people  are  celebrated  in  the  modern  world  for 
their  fine  woolens  and  shawls.  The  material  for  shawls  is  the  fine,  soft 
fur  beneath  the  long  hair  of  the  goat  of  Thibet.  Another  considerable 
article  of  trade  is  the  glossy,  waving  tail  of  the  yak,  which  is  used  as  a 
fly  or  insect  brush.  In  the  midst  of  a  vast  plain  in  Southwestern  Thibet 
is  a  great  encamj)ment,  consisting  of  black  tents  made  of  blankets 
fastened  to  stakes  by  ropes  of  hair.  Flags  of  colored  silk  and  cloth 
flutter  about  on  all  sides.  This  vast  encampment,  or  town,  is  surrounded 
continually  by  thousands  of  goats,  sheep  and  yaks,  grazing  on  the  plains 
and  feeding  far  away  over  the  hills.  Here  is  the  chief  market  for  shawl 
wool,  and  the  native  herdsmen,  buyers  and  sellers  are  seen  to  be  attired 
in  what  has  come  to  be  the  national  dress — thick  woolen  cloth,  and 
prepared  sheep  skins  with  the  fleece  turned  inward. 


THE  BURMESE. 

HI-;  Pmrmese  are  Mongolian  in  all  their  features,  but  unlike 
thf  Chinese  are  generall)'  athletic  and  excel  in  wrestling, 
IJ  boxing,  rowing  and  foot  ball,  the  latter  being  almost  a  national 
sport.  The)-  are  a  social,  hap|)y,  domestic  people,  notwith- 
standing the  despotic  form  of  go\'ernmcnt  under  which  the 
people  of  Independent  Burmah  live.  TIk-  general  name, 
Burmese,  embraces  a  number  of  races,  such  as  the  Moans, 
who  are  descendants  of  the  ancient  Peguans,  a  people  far 
mightier  than  tlie  present,  and  the  Laotians,  or  Shans,  who  are 
believed  to  constitute  the  parent  stock  of  the  Siamese.  The 
eastern  Shan  states  arc  divided  between  the  Burmese  and  Siamese 
governments,  but  in  so  indefinite  a  way  that  it  is  said  few  Laotians  can 
tell  to  which  countr)-  they  owe  allegiance.  The  ruling  race,  the  Burmans, 
or  Mranmas,  as  the)-  style  themselves,  claim  to  have  descended  Irom 
celestial  beings,  who  fell  from  their  spiritual  state  during  their  life  upon 
the  earth. 

THE  ANCIENT  PEGUANS. 


The  ancient  kintrdom  of  Pe<ju  centered  near  the  mouths  of  the 
Irawaddy  and  covered  nearly  the  present  territory  of  British  Burmah. 
It  was  in  a  peculiarly  favorable  position  to  get  into  quarrels  with  the 
Burmese  and  the  Siamese,  and  all  parties  improved  their  opportunities. 
The  early  history  of  Siam  is  little  else  than  a  series  of  wars  with  the 
Peguans  and  the  Burmese,  sometimes  for  dominion  around  the  Gulf  of 
Bengal  and  at  other  times  because  there  were  disputes  about  the  posses- 
sion of  white  elephants  or  idols.  One  of  their  longest  wars  is  said  to 
have  been  occasioned  by  the  theft  of  a  handsome  idol  from  a  small 
Siamese  temple  by  a  crew  of  unprincipled  Peguan  sailors.  A  dearth  of 
provisions  occurred  that  year  in  Siam,  which  was  imputed  to  this  impious 
act,  and  the  king  of  Pegu  refused  to  deliver  the  stolen  idol  to  a  Siamese 
embassy.  The  Peguans  were  obliged  to  call  the  Portuguese  to  their 
assistance  before  they  could  expel  the  invaders.  Both  of  the  native 
kingdoms  were  almost  exhausted  bv  this  "  war  of  the  idol,"  and  hostilities 


6l4  PANUKAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

were  suspended  until  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  centur\-.  Another 
invasion  of  his  territor)-  by  the  Siamese  forced  the  Icing  of  Pegu  to  form 
an  alhance  with  the  king  of  Burmah.  The  invaders  were  expelled,  the 
king  of  Pegu  was  assassinated  b\-  his  ally,  the  Peguan  army  disbanded, 
and  the  kingdom  incorporated  with  the  empire  of  Burmah. 

THE  GOVERNMENT. 

The  Burmese  government  consists  ostensibly  of  the  King,  the  four 
ministers  of  state  forming  the  High  Council,  and  the  household  ministers 
who  execute  the  royal  orders.  When  the  King  sanctions  the  decisions 
of  the  High  Council  they  become  laws.  These  officers  are  also  remov- 
able at  the  King's  pleasure.  It  is  said  that  there  are  no  regular  salaries 
attached  to  government  officers  ;  that  the  land  is  divided  into  districts, 
parcelled  out  to  the  lords,  and  that  every  officer  regards  his  ofiice  or 
district  as  his  field  of  gain,  practicing  every  art  to  make  it  profitable. 
The  power  of  the  King  decreases  with  the  distance  from  Mandalay,  his 
capital,  so  that  in  distant  provinces  the  people  elect  their  own  governors. 
In  the  districts  bordering  on  China  both  Chinese  and  Burmese  take  a 
hand  in  self-government,  and  the  state  of  affairs  is  as  complicated  as  in 
the  country  of  the  Laotians. 

ROBBED  BY  OFFICIAL.S. 

The  government  employs  a  system  of  taxation,  or  extortion,  verj^ 
similar  to  that  of  Persia,  by  which  the  royal  revenue  is  raised,  and  the 
expenses  of  the  army  are  borne  by  the  peasantry.  First,  there  is  a  house 
tax  levied  upon  the  villagers,  from  the  pa)'ment  of  which  farmers  who 
have  taken  up  royal  land  and  artificers  employed  on  the  public  works 
are  exempt,  they  being  liable  to  military  duty.  The  soil  is  taxed  five 
per  cent,  of  the  crops.  Pishing  privileges  are  let  by  the  government,  all 
these  taxes  and  revenues  being  farmed  out  to  officers  of  the  crown,  who 
live  well  or  poorly  according  to  their  ability  to  extract  money  from  the 
community.  The  King  also  sells  monopolies,  such  as  that  of  cotton,  by 
which  the  farmers  are  forced  to  deliver  their  crops  to  the  officials  at 
very  low  prices,  who  sell  the  produce  to  European  or  native  manufacturers 
and  speculators  at  an  enormous  profit.  The  farmer  receives  a  certain 
number  of  acres  from  the  government  free  of  the  regular  tax,  but  this 
land,  with  the  like  tracts  of  his  neighbors,  must  help  maintain  a  soldier 
and  pay  him  a  certain  sum  in  money;  and  other  families,  who  have  tax- 
free  land,  bear  upon  their  shoulders  doughty  captains  and  ccnUurions. 
The  colonel  raises  his  salary  from  his  officers  and  men.     As  a  great  part 


THE    ROVAL    CAI'ITAL.  615 

of  the  income  of  officials  is  derived  from  law  suits,  litigation  is  encour- 
aged. Trial  by  ordeal  is  sometimes  practiced  outside  of  Mandalaj-  and 
British  Burmah.  The  parties  are  made  to  walk  into  the  river,  and  he 
who  keeps  long('st  under  water  gains  the  cause.  Capital  punishment 
seldom  occurs. 

Althoigh  the  written  code  of  laws  is  derived  from  the  Institutes  of 
Menu,  every  monarch  has  added  or  amended  as  he  pleased,  and  the  result 
is  a  curious  jumble.  Among  the  laws  which  have  thus  sprung  up  are 
those  which  make  the  inhabitants  of  a  whole  town  responsible  for  the 
theft  of  property  proved  to  have  been  lost  therein,  though  the  thief  him- 
self be  not  discovered,  and  which  hold  wife  and  children  responsible  for  an 
absconding  debtor.  As  in  the  most  barbarous  of  the  African  states, 
so  in  Burmah  a  debtor  may  be  enslaved,  and  a  fc;mal(!  in  such  a  case 
often  is  taken  as  a  concubine.  In  other  respects  woman's  legal  status 
is  not  so  bad. 

Fortunately  the  present  King  of  Burmah  is  reported  to  have  the 
promptings  of  a  reformatory  spirit.  He  is  easily  approached,  and  does 
not  require  that  his  feet,  his  ears,  his  nose  and  all  his  features  and  acts 
shall  be  characterized  as  golden.  But  white  umbrellas  and  wdiite 
elephants  are  yet  the  royal  insignia.  The  Lord  White  Elephant  has 
a  palace,  a  minister  and  numerous  attendants. 

THE  ROYAL  CAPITAL. 

During  the  war  between  the  Burmese  and  the  Peguans  the  capital 
of  the  kingdom  was  changed  many  times.  Pugan,  where  imposing  ruins 
are  still  found,  remained  the  capital  for  twelve  centuries,  when  the 
Chinese  invaded  Burmah  and  a  removal  elsewhere  was  found  necessary. 
It  was  after  this  that  the  Burmese  and  Peguans  fought  for  the  supremacy 
and  until  the  middle  of  the  last  century  it  seemed  probable  that  the 
ancient  race  would  maintain  themselves  in  power.  They  had  captured 
the  Burmese  capital  and  the  last  king  of  his  race.  But  a  brave  village 
chief  threw  off  their  yoke,  recovered  Ava,  the  capital,  became  King  of 
Burmah  and  founder  of  the  present  dynasty. 

Mandala)',  the  modern  capital,  was  founded  and  built  between  1856 
and  1857,  the  royal  house  having  previously  shifted  its  official  residence. 
Twice  its  troops  conquered  Siam  and  repulsed  the  Chinese.  The  city 
has  still  an  unfinished  appearance  being  laid  out  in  three  parallelograms, 
the  two  innermost  ones  of  which  are  walled.  The  center  one  contains 
the  Emperor's  palace  and  government  offices.  Be\ond  the  inner  wall 
are  the  military  quarters,  protected   from  the  outer  world  by  a  massi\e 


6i6 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


O 

7: 


CLASSES    OF    SOCIETY. 


6r 


wall,  towers  and  gates  and  a  deep  ditch.  Within  this  inclosure  are  also 
the  houses  of  the  civil  officers  ;  but  beyond  the  great  wall  are  the  exposed 
merchants,  mechanics  and  common  citizens. 

CLASSES  OF  SOCIETY. 

It  would  be  contrary  to  Buddha's  teachings  for  the  Burmese  to  have 
instituted  caste  ;  notwithstanding  which,  their  society  is  divided  into 
classes  which  are  thus  enumerated:  The  royal  family;  great  officers; 
priests ;  rich  men  ;  laborers  ;  slaves  ;  lepers ;  executioners.  All  except 
slaves,  lepers  and  executioners  may  aspire  to  the  highest  offices.  The 
slaves  are  the  servants  of  the  pagodas,  the  executioners  being  reprieved 
felons  who  are  dead  in  law.  The  latter  are  marked  by  a  tattooed  circle 
on  the  cheek  and  often  by  the  name  of  the  crime  stamped  upon  the 
breast.  They  are  not  allowed  to  sit  down  in  an\-  man's  house  and  all 
intimacy  with  them  is  forbidden. 

COSTUMES  OF  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN. 

The  dress  of  the  Burmese  is  very  simple  and  picturesciuc,  and  is 
thus  described  by  a  native  lady:  The  "  pasoh  "  is  a  silk  cloth  15  cubits 
long  and  about  2^  cubits  wide.  It  is 
wound  around  the  body,  kilt  fashion, 
tucked,  in  with  a  twist  in  front,  and  the 
portion  which  remains  gathered  up  is 
allowed  to  hang  in  folds  from  the 
waist,  or  thrown  jauntily  over  the 
shoulder.  The  body  is  covered  with 
a  white  cotton  jacket,  over  which  a 
dark  or  colored  cloth  one  is  often  worn. 

Elderly  people  and  the  wealthy  of 
all  ages,  when  they  are  paying  a  visit 
of  ceremony  or  going  to  worship  at  the 
pagoda,  wear  a  long  white  coat,  open  ^ 
in  front,  except  at  the  throat,  and  ^^^ 
reaching  almost  to  the  knees.  Round 
the  head  a  flowered  silk  handkerchief 
is    loosely    wound    as   a  turban,      The  ^  Burmese  couple. 

old  wear  a  simple  narrow  fillet  of  white  book-muslin  round  the  temples, 
showing  the  hair. 

The  woman's  "tamehn"  is  a  simple  piece  of  cotton  or  silk,  almost 
square,  5)^  feet  long  by  about  5  feet  broad,  and  woven  in  two  pieces 
of  different  patterns.      This  is  worn  tightly  over  th.e  bosom  and  fastened 


•''vW§ 


6lS  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

with  a  simple  twist  of  the  ends.  The  opening  being  in  front,  the  sym- 
metry of  the  thigh  is  displayed  in  walking,  but  a  peculiar  outward  jerk 
of  the  heels  which  the  girls  acquire,  prevents  any  suggestions  of  immod- 
esty. Then  there  is  the  loose  cotton  jacket,  and  over  the  shoulders  is 
thrown  a  bright  silk  handkerchief,  the  same  as  that  used  by  the  men  for 
turbans.  Nothing  is  worn  on  the  head,  except  flowers  twisted  into  the 
hair.  These  are  national  costumes,  and  except  in  quality  of  material 
differ  little  whatever  the  occupation. 

It  is  not  woman  alone  who  is  proud  of  her  long  hair.  Both  sexes 
allow  it  to  grow  to  its  full  length,  the  young  men  wearing  it  on  top  of 
the  head  and  the  women  on  the  back.  The  Burmese  hair  is  invariably 
black,  so  that  the  general  practice  of  adding  false  tresses  to  the  natural 
is  not  expensive. 

ORNAMENTS  AND  CHARMS. 

The  Burman  undergoes  the  painful  process  of  tattooing  because 
the  girls  have  stamped  it  with  their  approval,  and  because  he  has  been 
taught  to  believe  in  it  as  a  charm.  His  favorite  localities  are  the  loins 
and  legs,  so  that  when  he  has  been  decorated  he  seems  to  have  drawn  on 
a  most  delicate  pair  of  dark  blue  trunks.  Lizards,  birds,  mystic  words 
and  squares,  rings,  images  of  Buddha,  etc.,  arc  tattooed  not  only  on  these 
parts  of  the  body,  but  even  upon  the  top  of  the  head,  which  is  shaved  for 
the  purpose. 

A  tattoo  of  a  few  dots  made  with  a  peculiar  mixture  and  placed 
between  the  eyes  ensures  a  successful  love-suit.  A  woman  sometimes 
resorts  to  the  custom  of  tattooing,  which  in  British  Burmah  is  said  to 
distinctly  indicate  that  she  desires  an  Englishman  for  a  husband.  Gold, 
silver,  lead,  curious  pebbles,  pieces  of  tortoise  shell,  etc.,  covered  with 
mystic  characters  are  let  into  the  flesh  of  soldiers,  robbers,  and  others 
exposed  to  clanger,  as  charms  against  death.  Some  of  these  characters 
who  have  become  inmates  of  English  prisons  are  found  to  have  literally 
a  chest  full  of  such  amulets  ;  long  rows  and  curves  of  them  appear, 
which  show  underneath  the  skin  of  the  chest  as  little  knobs.  Necklaces 
and  bracelets  of  them  are  worn  by  reputable  Burmese  to  ward  qfl  evil 
spirits.  There  are  also  tattooes  which  guard  against  snake  bites  ;  most 
potent  ones  which  have  to  be  pricked  into  the  body  while  the  patient 
chews  the  raw  flesh  of  a  man  who  has  been  hung ;  and  those  which  are 
said  to  prevent  drowning,  though  there  is  some  doubt  as  to  the  efficacy 
of  the  latter,  since  a  young  man  who  insisted  upon  being  put  to  the  test, 
was  thrown  into  the  Ran^'oon  River,  with  his  hands  and  feet  tied.      The 


BUILDING    A    HOUSE. 


619 


result  prompted  the  government  to  arrest  his  tattooers,  and  the\-   were 
convicted  of  manslau>i[hter. 

The  ear-boring  is  to  the  Burmah  girl  what  the  tattooing  is  to  her 
brother.  It  makes  her  a  woman.  The  ceremony  is  usually  performed 
before  a  large  invited  company,  and  when  the  professional  borer  passes 
his  gold  or  silver  needle  through  the  lobe  of  the  girl's  ear,  her  shrieks 
are  drowned  by  a  band  of  music  outside,  engaged  for  the  occasion,  which 
also  is  a  sign  that  the  important  act  has  been  accomplished.  The  hole 
is  gradually  enlarged  until  it  can  receive  the  huge  cylinder  of  gold,  amber 
or  glass,  which  is  a  characteristic  of  the  Burmese  women.  The  custom 
of  thus  destroying  the  shape  of  the  ear  is  going  out  of  fashion.  Men, 
except  those  of  very  high  rank,  tlo  not  wear  the  ear-cylinders,  while 
women  discard  them  when  at  home.  The  ear  lobes 
are  often  put  to  other  uses,  both  damsel  and  matron 
being  in  the  habit  of  tying  cheroots  thereto  which 
they  design  presenting  to  admirers,  or  smoking  them- 
selves. 

Bl'ILDING  A  HOUSE. 

Unlike  the  religious  edifices  of  the  Burmese, 
their  private  dwellings  are  humble  in  appearance,  being 
never  more  than  one  story  high,  except  the  occupant 
is  a  distinguished  noble  and  the  monarch  has  granted 
him  the  favor  to  add  a  spire-like  roof  as  an  index  of 
his  rank.  The  houses  are  simply  bamboo  or  wooden 
huts,  as  a  rule.  No  Burman  is  allowed  to  build  a 
brick  house,  for  fear  he  might  turn  it  into  a  fort. 
Ornamentation  is  also  generally  forbidden  by  the 
government,  and  an  arch  is  never  allowable  over  the 
door  of  a  house.  The  mean  appearance  of  the 
native  domicile  has  therefore  been  forced  upon 
him,  presumably  to  permanently  fix  the  marked 
contrast  between  sacred  and  secular  architecture. 
The    house   stands    on    posts    and   a   veranda   runs    along   the    front. 

In  building  his  house  the  Burman  always  consults  a  soothsayer, 
■  who  helps  him  select  lucky  posts,  lucky  ground,  and  lucky  side  pieces  to 
the  steps  which  lead  up  to  the  veranda.  The  six  posts  which  support 
the  main  part  of  the  hut  are  named,  the  south  post  being  the  most 
important  one.  It  is  adorned  with  leaves  and  otherwise  marked  as  the 
dwelling-place  of  the  household  spirit.  People  of  wealth  build  their 
houses  of  teak,  which  white  ants  will  not  attack,  and  their  roofs  are  tiled. 
Poorer  people  thatch  their  roofs  with  leav'es  or  coarse  bamboo  matting. 


.•ARRANGEMENT    OF 
EARRING. 


620  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

Of  course,  in  British  Burmah  wooden  slabs  and  other  approaches  to 
modern  conveniences  are  in  use,  such  as  chandehers,  bookcases,  chairs, 
tables,  bedsteads,  etc.;  but  in  the  house  in  the  districts,  or  a  "jungle 
house,"  a  few  bamboo  mats  and  pillows,  with  bedding,  rolled  up  together  ; 
two  or  three  earthen  pots  ;  a  round  wooden  dish  in  the  middle  of  the 
floor,  to  be  filled  with  ice,  and  close  at  hand  a  jar  of  water,  in  which  is 
a  ladle,  consisting  of  half  a  cocoanut,  with  a  handle  through  it — these 
are  the  inside  appliances  of  the  true  Burmah  hut.  In  fine  weather  cook- 
ing is  done  behind  the  ijremises. 


.-5 


outsidp:  the  house. 

Land  is  so  cheap  that  the  Burman  has  a  good  yard  as  well  as  a 
farm  of  a  dozen  acres  for  the  cultivation  of  rice.  When  not  in  use  he 
pastures  his  buffaloes  and  o.xen  on  a  village  plat,  and  pa^'s  the  proprietor 
a  small  sum  for  taking  care  of  them.  His  cart,  with  its  solid,  wooden 
wheels  and  boat-like  body,  and  his  rude  plow,  with  its  three  teeth  of 
tough  wood,  stand  in  the  court-yard  ;  also  a  hand  rice-mill,  composed  of 
wooden  cjdinders,  which  perhaps  leans  up  against  a  little  bamboo 
granary.  The  rice  is  husked  and  winnowed  by  the  women,  who,  in  the 
native  districts,  merely  throw  the  grain  into  the  air  and  let  the  chaff 
blow  away.  A  small  garden,  fenced  off  from  the  yard,  is  filled  with 
flowers,  vegetables  and  medicinal  plants.  The  Burman's  favorite  is  a 
red  flower,  whose  seeds  are  used  for  the  beads  of  the  rosar)',  and  which 
is  said  to  have  sprung  from  the  blood  of  Budda's  toe,  a  few  drops  of 
which  were  shed  by  an  angr\-  cousin  who  cast  a  rock  at  him. 

Furthermore,  there  is  a  loud-mouthed  pariah  dog  outside,  the 
cousin  of  a  great  pack  of  outcasts  who  haunt  every  village,  to  devour 
the  offerings  at  the  pagoda  or  receive  tid-bits  at  the  hamls  of  mendicant 
monks.  Naturally  he  takes  to  his  legs,  but  can  be  trained  to  watch  the 
house,  or  fasten  on  to  a  tiger  or  wild  boar.  His  companion  is  the 
Burmese  cat'  upon  the  end  of  whose  tail  is  a  horny  hook.  Hens,  game 
cocks,  pigeons,  etc.,  are  given  free  range  ;  for  Buddhism  condemns  keep- 
ing animals  in  confinement. 

If  the  jungle  hut  is  in  a  tiger  district,  the  house  and  land  are  sur- 
rounded by  a  substantial  fence  of  sharpened  bamboos. 

COURTSHIP  AND  MARRIAGE. 

Manu  enumerates  three  ways  by  which  marriage  may  be  brought 
about :  When  the  parents  of  the  couple  give  them  one  to  another;  when 
the\-  come  together  through  the   good  ofiices  of  a   go-between  :    when 


COURT.SHll'    AND    MARRIAGE.  62  I 

they  arrange  the  matter  between  themselves.  The  latter  is  the  way 
usually  chosen  in  Burmah,  and  runaway  marriages  are  not  uncommon. 
A  favorite  place  of  meeting  between  lovers  is  at  the  bazaars,  where  even 
well-to-do  girls  will  be  seen  presiding  over  stalls  and  selling  cheroots,  fried 
garlic  and  other  dainties. 

When  the  courtship  is  authorized  by  parents,  the  swain  makes  it  a 
point  to  come  late,  after  the  parents  have  retired,  when  he  finds  his 
sweetheart  dressed  in  her  best,  with  llowers  in  her  hair  and  powder  on 
her  cheeks  and  neck.  The  courtship  is  formal,  consisting  of  visits  and 
the  presentation  by  the  youth  of  gay  handkerchiefs  covered  with  amor- 
ous verses  and  by  the  maiden  of  green  cheroots,  which  she  rolls  herself, 
or  a  brilliant  woolen  mufiRer. 

Before  the  marriage  comes  off  the  dowry  must  be  fixed,  and  the 
astrologers  pitch  upon  the  fortunate  day  and  hour.  The  ceremony  has 
nothinir  of  a  religious  nature  about  it.  Previous  to  it,  and  afterwards, 
several  practices  are  followed  in  the  nature  of  jokes  but  they  all  partake 
of  the  character  of  extortion.  The  son-in-hiw  usually  lives  at  the  house 
of  his  father-in-law  for  two  or  three  years  ;  and  in  Upper  Burmah,  where 
labor  is  scarce,  this  is  not  an  unwelcome  arrangement  to  the  head  of  the 
family.  Well,  as  the  young  man  journeys  towards  the  bride's  house,  in 
procession  with  his  friends,  carrying  a  bundle  of  mats,  a  long  arm-chair,  a 
teak  box,  matresses,  pillows,  sweetmeats  for  the  feast  and  presents  for 
the  lady,  he  finds  stretched  across  his  pathway  a  string  ;  those  who  have 
placed  it  there  threaten  to  launch  a  curse  upon  him  and  his  bride  as  they 
break  what  is  called  "the  golden  cord,"  unless  some  money  is  given 
them.  This  demaml  having  been  complied  with,  after  the  youth  has 
become  a  proud  benedict  the  house  is  pelted  with  stones  and  sticks, 
sometimes  as  a  matter  of  amusement,  in  order  to  disturb  the  equanimity 
of  the  young  couple,  and  often  to  extort  money  or  a  portion  of  the  feast 
as  the  price  of  a  cessation  of  hostilities. 

\'arious  marriage  rhymes  have  been  woven  into  the  minds  of 
Burmese  maidens  and  youth,  which  really  have  much  effect  in  furthering 
or  preventing  marriages.  Those  who  are  born  on  certain  days  of  the 
week  should  never  marry  those  who  were  born  on  certain  others.  One 
of  the  popular  warnings  has  been  thus  translated  : 

Friday's  daughter, 

Didn't  oughter 
Marry   with  a  Monday's  son  ; 

Should  she  do   it, 

Both  will  rue  it. 
Life's  last  lap  will  soon  be  run. 
Saturday  and  Thursday  should  never  marry.      But  there  are  elabo- 


62  2  PANUKAMA    OK    NATIONS. 

rate-  geometrical  figures  and  combinations  showing  wliat  days  can 
marry.  There  are  also  lucky  months,  during  which,  if  other  conditions 
are  followed,  riches  and  love,  slaves  and  children,  money  and  buffaloes, 
cattle  and  furniture  will  be  the  happy  portion  of  the  coui)le,  the  bless- 
ings to  be  bestowed  in  various  combinations. 

Burmese  women,  after  marriage,  are  remarkabl\-  independent  of 
their  husbands  in  financial  matters.  All  tht^  money  and  possessions 
which  a  girl  brings  with  her  are  kept  separate  for  the  benefit  of  her 
children  or  heirs,  and  if  she  is  divorced  she  carries  not  only  her  prop- 
erty with  her,  but  anything  which  she  has  added  to  it  by  trading  or  in- 
heritance. If  she  has  a  complaint  to  make,  also,  she  can  go  before  the 
village  elders  and  state  her  case  with  the  assurance  of  being  justh' 
treated,  unless  the  husband  gets  there  before  her,  and  places  his  bribe. 

VILLAGERS    AND    AGRICULTLRLST.S. 

The  average  life  of  a  Burmese  villager  is  smooth  and  happy. 
When  he  has  tended  to  his  patch  of  paddy  land,  he  strolls  out,  smoking 
a  cheroot  or  muncliing  betel  nut,  to  \isit  his  neighbors.  In  the  lower 
part  of  his  house,  is  usually  a  little  shop,  in  which  his  wife  sells  dried 
fish,  betel  nuts,  cocoanuts,  knives,  looking-glasses,  colored  tumblers  and 
perhaps  a  few  dr)'  goods.  Like  all  his  other  arrangements,  the  shop  is 
another  aid  to  his  easy-going  life,  it  being  not  conducted  for  profit,  but 
merely  to  give  his  wife  a  little  [)in  money  and  neighbors  an  excuse  to 
drop  in  at  all  hours  of  the  day. 

Two  meals  in  the  day,  breakfast  in  the  morning  and  dinner  late  in 
the  afternoon,  is  the  rule  with  the  Burman.  The  sta];le  article  of  footl 
is  boiled  rice,  which  is  heaped  upon  a  platter,  rountl  which  the  household 
arrange  themselves,  sitting  on  their  heels.  The  curry,  placed  in  little 
bowls,  consists  of  a  thin  vegetable  soup,  spiced  with  chillies  and  onions. 
Knives,  spoons  and  forks  are  considered  useless.  After  the  meal,  each 
one  goes  to  the  jar  ot  water  cm  the  x'eranda,  and  rinst-s  his  mouth,  after 
which,  whether  he  be  man,  woman  or  chiltl,  smokes  his  cheroot,  a  cigar 
made  of  chopped  tobacco  leaves  covered  with  the  leaf  of  the  teak  tree 
and  si.x  or  eight  inches  long.  Chewing  betel  accompanies  the  smoking, 
the  expression  chewing  being  somewhat  misk-ading  ;  for  the  Burman, 
after  splitting  the:  nut  in  two,  and  smearing  the  leaf  with  slaked  lime, 
puts  with  it  a  little  piece  of  tobacco,  rolls  everything  together,  stows 
away  the  cpiid,  ami  now  and  then  squeezes  it  affectionateU-  between  his 
teeth.  Until  he  chews  betel,  it  is  the  common  saying  that  no  one  can 
speak  Burmese. 

After  dinner,  wlien   thf   sun    goes   down,  the  villacre   Burman   goes 


rilK     I'KIKSTS.  623 

clown  to  his  well  and  has  some  water  poured  over  his  body.  If  he  is 
pious  he  repeats  a  charm  over  the  first  bucketful.  Having  performed 
his  ablutions,  our  frientl  [)Uts  on  his  good  clothes  and  seeks  amusement 
in  the  dance,  or  some  dramatic  entertainment,  taking  his  family  with  Iiim. 
One  of  the  most  favorite  forms  of  amusement  is  to  listen  to  the  impro- 
vising of  a  professional  poet,  who  may  give  his  exhibition  at  a  house  or 
on  the  street.  The  spectators  are  asked  to  choose  a  subject,  and  taking 
tliis  as  a  theme  he  chants  out  liis  poems.  Some  of  the  poets  repeat 
from  memory,  and  when  their  theme  is  some  incident  in  the  life  of 
Buddha,  such  as  his  departure  from  liis  father's  palace  to  wear  the  yellow 
robe,  great  crowds  are  always  collected. 

The  Burmese  of  the  low  lands  cultivate  their  rice  as  do  the  Egyp- 
tians, even  to  the  laz)-  process  of  driving  buffaloes  and  oxen  through 
the  soft  soil  to  plow  it.  Laborers  from  Upper  Burmah  are  the 
harvest  lands  of  British  Burmah.  When  they  leave  home  they  are 
obliged  to  pledge  a  piece  of  property,  or  some  member  of  their  family 
who  remains  behind,  that  they  will  return  to  their  country,  so  fearful  is 
the  king  that  he  will  lose  his  subjects.  After  the  grain  has  been  loaded 
into  his  big  riceboat,  supposing  he  is  in  British  Burmah,  the  farmer  starts 
for  Rangoon,  the  capital,  and  in  a  few  weeks  returns  with  fine  Chinese 
handkerchiefs  and  silks  for  his  f;imil\-. 

To  insure  a  prosperous  journey,  and  a  safe  return  from  the  robber 
boats  which  infest  the  streams  and  rivers  of  Burmah  during  the  rice 
season,  and  from  the  many  sharks  who  lie  in  wait  at  Rangoon  and  other 
cities  to  pounce  upon  his  receipts  —  to  escape  these  dangers  and  others 
of  a  less  definite  nature  —  the  Burmese  farmer  resolves  to  provide  a  feast 
for  the  monks  of  the  village  monastery.  He  therefore,  invites  the  young 
men  and  women  of  the  neighborhood  to  his  house,  upon  an  evening 
which  the  astrologers  pronounce  propitious,  and  together  they  hull  the 
rice,  prepare  it  for  boiling,  sing  love  songs,  and  conduct  themselves  as 
civilized  boys  and  girls  do  in  every  land.  The  next  morning  the  farmer 
and  his  family  carry  the  offering  to  the  monastery  in  a  great  box  and 
deposit  it  before  the  superior,  who  looks  on  calmly  without  a  word  of 
thanks,  but  says  before  they  go,  that,  "  if  they  keep  the  Ten  Precepts 
and  live  virtuously  they  will  escape  the  Four  States  of  Punishment  and 
be  delivered  from  the  I'ive  Enemies." 

THE   PRIESTS. 

Buddhism  is  supposed  to  have  spread  into  Burmah  from  Ceylon, 
and  it  has  been  preserved  here  in  great  purity.  The  priests  live  mostly 
in  monasteries  and  confine  their  ministration  to  the  preaching  of  sermons. 


624  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

allowing  the  people  their  own  forms  of  worship.  Their  yellow  robes 
(the  color  of  the  morning)  were  originated  by  Buddha  himself.  Their 
heads  are  shaven  and  their  feet  bare.  A  Buddhist  priest  may  at  any 
time  be  released  from  his  vows  of  celibacy  and  poverty  and  return  to 
secular  pursuits;  hence  nearly  every  youth  assumes  the  yellow  robe  for 
a  time,  as  a  meritorious  act,  or  for  the  purpose  of  study.  These  novices 
who  thus  "obtain  their  humanity,"  must  have  reached  the  age  of  twenty 
years  and  have  obtained  their  parents'  permission  to  assume  the  robe. 
They  must  be  free  from  scrofula,  asthma,  lc|)r()s\-  ami  otiier  diseases  ;: 
unincumbered  with  debts;  the  bondsman  or  underling  of  no  great  man  ; 
and  must  also  appear  with  vestments  and  sacred  begging  bowls  already 
prepared.  The  young  man  is  instructeil  "  to  gain  his  subsistence  by  the 
labor  of  his  feet,"  but  not  to  work,  with  his  hantls  or  Ijeij'  with  his  tons/ue  : 
is  told  what  food  he  may  accept,  and  that  he  may  receive  from  his  bene- 
factors cotton  and  silk,  or  cloth  of  red  or  yellow  wool,  though  he  must 
first  wear,  "  through  humility,  yellow  clothes  made  of  rags  thrown  about 
in  the  streets  or  among  the  tomlis";  though  it  is  well  to  dwell  in  a 
"  house  built  under  the  shade  of  loft_\'  trees,"  the  \ahan  ma\'  accept  from 
the  hands  of  benefactors  dwellings  of  "  Ijamboo,  wood  or  bricks,  with 
roofs  adorned  with  spires  of  pyramidal  or  triangular  form  "  ;  he  is  warned 
against  indulgence  in  carnal  jjleasures,  covetousness,  the  killing  or  wish- 
ing the  death  of  any  being,  or  arrogating  to  himself  "  extraordinary  gift.s. 
or  supernatural  perfections." 

The  priest  who  examines  and  instructs  the  candidate,  according  to 
the  Burmese  or  Buddhist  ritual  of  ordination,  then  adds:  "Sooner  the 
lofty  palm  tree  that  has  been  cut  down  can  become  green  again,  than 
an  elect  guilty  of  such  pride  be  restored  to  his  holy  station."  If 
Buddhism  had  done  no  more  than  to  inculcate  this  doctrine  in  the 
superstitious  East,  it  would  not  have  lived  in  vain. 

The  above  are  the  four  cardinal  sins,  and  if  an)-  of  them  are  com- 
mitted the  young  man  is  expelled  from  the  monaster)-,  stoned  by  the 
people,  and  in  Upper  I3urmah  is  put  to  death.  Other  offenses  may  be 
atoned  for  by  confession  and  by  undergoing  such  penances  as  to  water 
the  .sacred  trees,  sweep  out  the  rooms  of  the  monastery,  to  walk  for  a 
stated  time  in  the  heat  of  the  sun,  to  carry  heavy  baskets  of  earth  from 
one  place  to  another,  to  sleep  without  a  pillow,  or  to  watcli  by  night  in 
a  churchyard. 

If,  instead  of  returning  to  secular  jjursuits,  the  lUu'man  should  con- 
tinue to  lead  a  holy  life  and  by  his  virtue  and  zeal  induce  a  benefactor  to 
build  a  monastery  for  him,  he  must  see  that  its  foumlations  art"  not  laid 
so  that  thev  will   crush   man\'  insects  of  worms.      Neither  must  he  detile: 


rilK    MONASTERIES    AND    I'AVAMS.  625 

green  grass  or  fresh  water,  or  ruthlessly  destroy  any  vegetable  substance; 
for  they  are  necessary  to  the  support  of  animal  life.  The  period  of  man's 
life,  both  in  the  present  and  in  the  future  state,  is  shortened  by  the  amount 
of  animal  existence  which  he  has  destroyed. 

"In  rt-lurn  for  this  self-denial  the  Biiddhist  monks  are  bountifully 
honored  by  the  people,  from  the  sovereign  on  the  throne,  who  vacates 
his  seat  for  them,  to  the  beggar  in  the  street,  who  prostrates  himself  in 
the  dust  when  they  pass.  In  Upper  Burmah  all  make  obeisance  whea 
the  mendicant  passes,  and  the  women  kneel  down  on  each  side  of  the 
road.  In  Lower  Burmah  such  outward  marks  of  respect  are  not  usual  in 
the  larger  towns,  but  there  is  no  lack  of  veneration.  The  oldest  layman 
assumes  the  title  of  disciple  to  the  last  inducted  monk,  and,  with  clasped 
hands,  addresses  him  as  'payah,'the  highest  title  the  language  affords. 
The  highest  officials  impose  upon  themselves  the  greatest  sacrifices 
both  of  time  and  money,  to  build  splendid  monasteries  for  them  and 
minister  to  their  wants.  Finally  the  monk's  person  is  sacred  and 
inviolable.  Nothing  he  does  can  subject  him  to  the  civil  law."  Nor 
does  this  reverence  cease  with  his  death,  his  body  being  embalmed, 
while  the  limbs  are  swathed  in  linen,  varnished  and  even  gilded.  The 
mummy  is  preserved,  sometimes  for  months,  until  the  grand  day  of  the 
funeral. 

THE  .MONASTERIES  AND  PAYAHS. 

A  layman  considers  it  an  indignity  to  have  any  one  over  his  head 
in  his  house,  and  the  feeling  is  carried  even  into  the  architecture  of  the 
monasteries.  They  are  never  but  one  story  in  height,  though  they  are 
raised  eight  or  ten  feet  from  the  ground,  and  sometimes  surmounted  by 
three,  five  and  even  seven  tiers  of  roofs  —  the  number  being  propor- 
tionate to  their  sacredness.  A  bishop's  monastery  may  have  seven 
roofs,  and  also  the  royal  palace.  The  monasteries  are  usually  of  plain 
teak  wood,  with  few  ornamentations ;  but  in  Mandalay  the  Royal 
Monastery  represents  the  extreme  gorgeousness  with  which  an  enthusi- 
astic monarch  may  surround  the  religiously  simple  habits  of  Buddhist 
priests.  There  is  a  plain  of  many  acres  between  Mandalay  Hill  and  the 
city  walls,  covered  with  brick  monasteries,  with  their  lofty  zinc  roofs, 
golden  bells  hanging  from  the  gables,  every_square  inch  of  wood-work 
elaborately  carved  and  the  whole  ablaze  with  gold  leaf  and  mosaics  of 
looking  glass.  But  in  the  midst  of  this  glitter  and  blaze  of  royal  and 
religious  fervor  rises  a  high,  brown  teak-wood  tower  to  which  the  monks 
often  withdraw  for  contemplation.  Each  monastery  of  this  collection, 
which  (in  bulk)  is  called  the  Royal  Monastery,  is  separate  and  presided 

4o 


<J26 


PANORAMA     OF     NATION'S. 


over  by  ;i  liishop.  The  interior  frescoes  and  decorations  correspond  to 
the  outward  magnificence.  Most  of  the  representations  are  supposed 
scenes  in  Buddha's  hfe,  especially  the  ones  where  he  is  passing,  in  a 
■chariot,  throuQ-h  the  abodes  of  hell  and  the  six  heavens ;  or  receiving  the 
Buddhaship  untler  the  banyan  tree.  The  sinful  fisherman  is  often  delin- 
eated dangling  by  the  tongue  on  a  fish  hook,  and  falling  back  into  a 
lake    of    burning    pitch    from    whence    the  demons    have   caught    him. 


PRIEST  SOUNDING   HELL  OF  A   TEMPLE. 


The  magnificence,  however,  of  the  ecclesiastical  architecture  of 
Burmah  is  best  e.xhibited  in  its  pagodas,  or  "  payahs  "  as  they  are  called 
by  the  natives.  F"ormerly  a  payah  could  only  be  erected  over  some 
relic  of  Lord  Buddha  —  a  piece  of  his  fiesh.  a  tooth,  a  hair,  a  fragment 
of  bone,  shreds  of  his  yellow  robe,  his  staff,  alms-bowl  and  rosary.  Now, 
however,  images  of  holy  things  or  sacred  books  are  enshrinetl.  In  the 
center  of  e\'ery  payah,  and  built  into  the  foundation,  is  a  square  chamber 
in  which  are  the  objects  of  veneration,  most  of  them  having  been  given 


liUDDinsr  sHO(_iTs.  627 

by  Buddha  to  Iiis  relatives  or  disciples,  and  religiously  preserved  until 
they  could  thus  be  protected. 

The  payah  and  pagoda  have  been  expanded  far  Iiejond  the  original 
iiilcnl,  if  we  ma}'  believe  that  Budtlha  merely  said  that  a  small  mound 
should  be  raised  o\'er  his  hones  in  the  form  of  a  heap  of  rice.  Thert-  is 
nothing  regarding  tliclr  construction  in  the  hol_\  books.  The  pa\ali,  so 
it  will  be  explained  by  the  Buddhist,  resembles,  besides  a  sNuimetrical 
rice  heap,  the  de\otee  sunk  in  meditation  ;  the  temple  is  also  like  the 
sacred  lotus-bud  enclosing  its  treasures,  and  b\'  an  extension  of  the  lines 
it  gets  the  form  of  a  Ixll  oi'  spire  seen  in  souk?  structures.  The  names 
of  various  parts  of  the  building  recall  the  idea  of  the  flower  bud  with  its 
\oung  leaves  folded  in  adoration.  Thus  the  rounded  swelling  just  below 
the  slender  spire  is  called  the  palm  bud,  and  on  the  extreme  summit  is  the 
diamond  IukI.  Tliere  arc  i)a\ahs  which  rise  up  to  a  [ilain  cone,  those 
which  arc  shapc'd  like  a  bell,  and  those;  which  are  calletl  "  iinerted 
begging  pots." 

These  shrines,  of  di\erse  form  and  springing  Irom  cities  and  lorests, 
A'alieys  and  mountain  tops,  are  what  forcibly  impress  one  with  the  all- 
pcrwuling  inllucncc  of  lUiddhlsm.  All  the  wealth  of  the  countr\'  is 
lavished  upon  sacred  and  religious  things,  while  roads,  bridges  and 
works  of  public  utility  are  neglected. 

BUDDlll.ST   ■■S11()0'I\S." 

The  space  between  the  ground  and  lloorof  the  monastery  is  always 
kejit  open  and  is  a  favorite  resort  of  the  Ixiys  who  attend  school  and 
want  to  have  a  cjuiet  game  of  "  gohn-nyin-hto,"  which  is  played  with  the 
big  flat  seeds  of  a  jungle  creeper.  The  )'outhful  Burmese  yell  out  their 
letters,  when  in  the  hall  above,  and  chant  their  lessons  drawn  from  the 
teachings  of  Lord  Buddha.  The\' learn  the  formulas  of  the  religion,  are 
taught  to  imitate  the  deportment  of  the  monk,  afterwards  are  told  the 
meaning  of  the  yellow  robes  and  the  ceremonials,  and  every  door  is 
thrown  open  to  them  b)^  which  they  can  gain  humanity  or  the  religion 
of  Buddha. 

When  the  youth  is  twelve  or  thirteen  he  usually  prepares  to  be  bap- 
tized and  receive  the  name  which  stamps  him  as  a  Buddhist.  He  had 
his  worldly  name,  and  now,  by  means  of  a  certain  ceremony  and  with- 
drawing, for  a  period  at  least,  to  the  quietness  and  meditation  of  the 
monastery,  he  receives  a  spiritual  title.  If  he  returns  to  the  world  he 
drops  the  latter,  but  to  have  received  the  "bwe,"  as  it  is  called,  is  to 
have  become  the  "  twice-born  "  of  Brahmanism.  Upon  the  appointed 
day  the  boy  is  loaded  with   fine  clothes  and  family  jewels  ;  then,  mount- 


628 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


i'hl;'  ;i  ponj-  or  getting  into  a  richly  decorated  car,  preceded  by  a  band  of 
music,  he  pays  all  his  relatives  a  farewell  visit.  As  he  progresses,  friends 
and  relatives,  lively  young  men  and  girls  with  powdered  faces  and  bright 
dresses,  all  lauyhino-  and  singing  and  dancing,  crowd  around  him  and 
accompany  him  back  to  his  parents'  house,  when-  the  monks  are  waiting 
for  him.  Here  the  fine  clothes  and  jewelry  are  stripped  from  his  body, 
and  his  long  hair,  of  which  he  was  so  proud,  is  cut  close  to  his  head.  His 
head  is  shaved  and  washed  with  a  purifying  decoction  of  seeds  and  bark, 
a  l)ath  is  taken,  once  more  he  puts  on  his  bright  clothes,  and.  then, 
returning  to  the  presence  of  the  monks,  he  isformalK'  initiated  asa  "  shin,'' 
being  robed  in  his  )-ellow  garments  and  the  begging  pot  hung  around 
his  neck  by  a  strap. 


THE  SIAMESE, 


HESE  people  now  form  the  most  powerful  kingdom  of  Indo- 
China,  or  Further  India.  They  are  supposed  to  be  descended 
from  the  Laotians  or  Shians,  who  occupy  the  territory  to  the 
east.  The  Laos  races  are  divided  into  a  number  of  states, 
those  of  the  north  paying  tribute  to  Burmah  and  those  of  the 
south  to  Siam.  The  Cambodians,  at  the  southern  extremity 
of  the  peninsula  of  Cochin  China,  or  Anam,  also  pay  tribute 
once  in  three  years,  acknowledging  the  same  allegiance  to 
Anam.  The  Siamese  themselves  are  tributary  in  the  same 
loose  way  to  China,  from  which,  however  (as  is  the  case  with 
most  of  her  dependencies),  they  receive  more  than  they  give,  since  their 
vessels  are  free  of  duties  in  Chinese  ports. 

The  Siamese  are  called  the  Thai  race,  the  free  race,  and  Siam  is  the 
Kingdom  of  the  Free,  thougli  wh\-  they  should  embrace  that  name  so 
affectionately  is  a  mystery  to  Western  nations,  who  have  their  own  ideas 
of  independence.  They  form  about  a  third  of  the  population,  the  Chinese 
another  third,  and  the  Laotians,  the  Malays  (who  occupy  the  peninsula 
of  Malacca)  the  Cambodians,  Peguans.  etc.,  the  balance. 

THE  PARENT  RACE. 


The  Siamese  trace  their  descent  from  the  first  disciples  of  Buddha. 
Their  descendants  having  established  themselves  in  a  province  of  what 
is  now  North  Laos,  were  so  annoyed  by  their  enemies  that  they  deserted 
their  country  and  founded  a  city  in  Western  Siam.  They  conquered 
Southern  Siam,  then  held  by  the  Cambodians,  and  changed  their  seat 
of  government  to  Ayuthia,  a  short  distance  north  of  the  present  capital. 
The  Laotians,  the  Cambodians,  the  Peguans  from  the  west,  Chinese  cap- 
tives and  Hindus,  were  all  brought  together  in  the  capital  city  ;  and  this 
period  (1350)  marks  the  commencement  of   Siam's  authentic  history. 

The  Laotians,  as  the  parent  race  of  the  Siamese,  are  entitled  to 
prominent  notice.  They  are  a  gentle,  unwarlike,  superstitious  people, 
the  northern  tribes  tattooin"-  their  bodies  and  the  southern  ones  leaving 

629 


630 


I'ANcjkAMA    U¥    NATIONS. 


They  thus  divide  themselves  into  distinct  families. 
The  Laos  people  are  agriculturists, 
raising  maize,  sweet  potatoes,  rice 
and  melons.  A  great  portion  of  their 
territory  is  mountainous  or  consists  of 
plateaus  cut  by  ancient  watercourses  in- 
^o  yorges  and  vallex's.  The  soil  or  soft 
rock  is  sometimes  worn  away  into  ter- 
races or  other  regular  forms,  at  the 
bottom  of  which  ihe 
their    low     houses    and 


SIAMESE  ME.V. 


^^ardens,  besides    having 


natives  build 
cultivate  their 
a    few  fowls  or 


track    the   wild   boar    thr 


ouiiii 


swine. 

Though    not    warlike,    the     natives 

arc  intrepid   hunters.     Perched   in   a  tree 

or  in    a    little  hut    raised     on      bamboo 

stakes  the)-   lie   in  wait   for   the   tiger,  or 

the    forest,     their    only    weapons    often 


LAOTIAN  HOt'SES. 


being  a  cutlass  or  a  bow.      I*"rom   the   latter  they  launcli,   with   tremen- 
dous force,  balls  of  clay  which  ha\e  jjccn  hardened  in  the  sun. 


I'EKS^JXAL    API'EARAN'LE.  63  I 

PERSONAL    APPEARANCE. 

The  Laotians  differ  sliglitly  from  tlie  Siamese,  being  more  slender, 
with  more  prominent  cheek  bones  and  darker  complexions.  Thc\' wear 
their  hair  long,  while  the  Siamese  of  the  male  se.\  shave  the  head.  In  the 
case  of  the  man  of  .Siam  the  head  is  shaved  every  two  or  three  weeks,, 
a  tuft  being  left  on  top  live  inches  broad  and  two  inches  high.  The 
priests  shave  their  heads  entirely.  Women  have  theirs  closely  cut  and 
often  encircled  by  a  thin  band  of  bare  skin,  from  which  they  faithfully 
cull  the  hairs. 

The  dress  of  the  Siamese  consists  of  a  cotton  waist-cloth,  a  jacket 
and  a  straw  hat.  To  this  simple  attire  the  women  often  add  a  silk 
scarf  crossed  over  the  breast.  They  are  fond  of  bracelets,  necklaces 
and  finger  rings,  but  reject  the  hideous  ear  cylinders  of  the  Burmese. 
Turbans  are  not  worn,  but  in  the  sun  a  light  palm-leaf  hat  is  set  upon 
an  elastic  bamboo  frame,  which  allows  a  refreshing  circulation  of  air  to 
pass  beneath.  .Small  children  are  clad  in  fig-lea\es,  flowers,  and  the 
resinous  tumeric.  .Silk,  gold  brocades  and  high  conical  hats  compose 
the  costumes  of  the  nobility.  Of  course,  on  state  occasions  dignitaries 
and  wealth)'  individuals  wear  rich  suits,  consisting  of  drawers,  vest,  belt 
and  a  large  tunic.      But  they  usually  are  barefoot. 

When  the  king  is  receiving  Europeans  he  is  dressed  in  large  trous- 
ers, a  short  jacket  of  some  thin  material,  a  shirt  caught  at  the  throat 
with  a  precious  stone,  a  skullcap  and  slippers.  The  second  king  of 
Siam  appears  in  mililar\'  costume  with  broad  sash,  epaulettes,  sword  and 
all. 

AN    ASIATIC    VENICE. 

Alone  in  the  seventeenth  centurv  foreign  ideas  commenced  to  be 
kindly  received  in  Siam,  and  a  European  merchant  who  had  become  a 
great  favorite  with  the  people  and  the  king,  on  account  of  his  practical 
ability  and  the  interest  which  he  took  In  the  national  welfare,  was 
appointed  governor  of  all  the  northern  provinces.  He  also  suggested 
to  His  Majesty  the  propriety  of  erecting  a  fort,  on  European  principles, 
to  protect  his  capital.  Mr.  P^aulkon  (or  as  he  had  been  dignified  with 
the  title  b)-  the  king,  Chau  Pyya  Wicha-yentra-the-bodi  Faulkon) 
accordingly  selected  a  plat  of  garden  ground  on  the  west  bank,  near 
the  mouth  of  a  canal,  and  constructed  a  fort.  The  garden-ground 
became  a  portion  of  the  site  of  the  unique  city  of  Bangkok,  and  the 
fort  still  stands  close  to  the  residence  of  His  Royal  Highness.  Ayuthia 
was  destroyed  by  the  Burmese  when  they  conquered  Siam  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  eighteenth  century.     The  fort  had  been   erected  for  a  cen- 


632 


PANORAMA    OK    NATIONS. 


VAST    PALACES    AND    TE.Ml'l.ES.  633 

tury,  and  the  city  of  Bangkok  had  so  far  advanced  in  magnificence  that 
a  few  years  after  the  destruction  of  the  old  capital,  it  was  occupied  by 
the  royal  family.  The  first  king  to  hold  his  court  in  Bangkok  was  of 
Chinese    origin,    he  having  delivered   his  country  from   the  Burmese. 

The  present  capital  is  situated  a  little  above  the  mouth  of  the 
Menam  river,  on  an  island,  extending  along  both  shores  for  many  miles. 
Its  streets  are  canals  and  ditches,  which  extend  in  all  directions  and 
reach  almost  every  house.  The  houses  of  the  lower  classes  consist  of 
neat  wooden  huts,  thatched  with  palm  leaves,  which  are  eight  or  ten 
feet  from  the  banks,  to  which  they  are  fastened  by  long  bamboos.  In 
front  of  many  of  them  are  little  platforms,  on  which  are  exposed  art- 
icles for  sale.  The  central  apartment  of  the  house  contains  the  house 
hold  god ;  each  house  has  its  boat,  or  the  family  may  combine  house, 
shop  and  boat  in  one,  and  go  rowing  up  and  down  the  river,  with  vege- 
tables, goods  or  fish  exposed  for  sale.  Thus  living  continually  on  or 
near  the  water,  the  citizens  become  entirely  fearless,  so  that  children  of 
not  more  than  five  years  old  have  their  tiny  boats  which  barely  set 
above  water,  and  in  which  they  go  out  to  play  with  their  mates. 

The  Chinese  are  the  traders  of  Bangkok  ,  they  and  the  Armenians 
may  be  said  to  monopolize  the  commerce  of  the  country.  The  former 
pay  a  tax  of  three  dollars  when  they  enter  the  kingdom,  and  a  like  sum 
every  three  years  for  their  commercial  privileges.but  are  otherwise  exempt. 

Sometimes  a  triple  row  of  the  smaller  houses  will  extend  along  the 
river  for  miles.  There  is  a  reason,  of  course,  for  the  people  thus  build- 
ing their  houses  into  the  river,  when  there  is  much  land  on  the  island 
and  on  the  banks  which  might  be  utilized.  The  cause  of  it  is  found  in 
a  royal  mandate  which  forced  them  to  live  over  the  water  that  they 
might  obtain  ventilation  and  drainage,  and  ward  off  cholera  epidemics, 
which  raged  so  fatally  when  the  capital  was  first  established  at  Bangkok. 
So  that  now  only  people  of  high  rank,  who  are  supposed  to  be  intelli- 
gent enough  and  able  to  take  hygienic  precautions,  are  privileged  to 
build  upon  the  shores. 

Few  houses  in  the  city  are  built  of  brick  or  stone,  but  are  generally 
of  wood,  raised  upon  piles,  to  keep  them  beyond  the  tides  and  the 
annual  inundations  of  the  river;  they  are  reached  by  rude  ladders.  Ex. 
cept  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  palaces,  horses  and  carriages  are  rarely 
seen. 

VAST   PALACES    AND    TEMPLES. 

The  vast  palaces  of  the  Grandees  and  the  Buddhist  pagodas,  which 
cover  the  shores  of  the  island  and  river,  are  of  brick,  being  ornamented 


634  PANORAMA    Of    NATIONS 

with  beautiful  gilded  worlc,  and  with  mosaics  fashioned  into  the  forms  of 
llowers  and  animals,  the  materials  being  China  cups,  plates  and  dishes 
of  all  sizes,  broken  antl  whole.  They,  \^ith  the  habitations  of  the  nobles, 
are  raised  on  posts  above  the  swampy  ground.  The  temples  or  wats, 
usually  rise  from  cool,  dense  groves,  and  adjacent  are  the  dwelling 
houses  of  the  priests.  White  Avails,  domes  and  lofty  spires  are  every- 
where seen  gleaming  and  glistening  through  the  leaves. 

Bangkok  is  the  constant  residence  of  the  two  kings  of  Siam  and 
their  respective  courts.  The  palace  of  the  First  King  is  surrounded  by 
high  walls,  and  is  nearly  a  mile  in  circumference.  It  includes  temples, 
public  offices,  accommodations  for  thousands  of  soldiers  with  the  neces- 
sary equii)ments,  a  theatre,  and  rooms  for  about  3,000  females,  six  hua- 
clred  of  whom  are  the  wives  of  the  king. 

"On  one  side  of  the  royal  palace  are  the  temples  and  monasteries 
dedicated  to  the  sleeping  idol,  and  on  the  other  the  palace  and  harem  of 
the  Second  King.  The  sleeping  idol  is  a  reclining  figure  150  feet  long 
and  forty  feet  high,  entirely  overlaid  with  plate  gold,  and  the  soles  of  its 
feet  covered  with  bas  reliefs,  inlaid  with  mother-of-pearl  and  chased  with 
gold,  each  separate  design  representing  the  many  transmigrations  of 
Buddha.  Near  this  temple  is  the  palace  of  the  white  elephant,  and,  fur- 
ther on,  the  temple  of  the  emerald  idol.  The  latter  is  a  remarkable  and 
beautiful  structure,  Avith  Gothic  doors  and  windows  richly  ornamented 
with  gold,  and  the  roof  supported  by  lofty  octagonal  columns,  the  ceiling 
covered  with  mythological  syn.ibols  and  figures ;  the  altar  is  a  pyramid 
100  feet  high,  terminating  in  a  fine  spire  of  gold.  The  emerald  idol  is 
about  twelve  inches  high  and  eiglit  inches  in  width.  The  gold,  of  which 
its  hair  and  collar  are  composed,  is  mixed  with  crystals,  topazes,  sap- 
phires, diamonds  and  other  precious  stones." 

THE  TWO   KINGS. 

The  Second  King  is  an  official  peculiar  to  .Siam,  Cambodia  and 
Laos.  The  full  title  of  the  First  King  is  "  His  Majesty  the  King  encir- 
cled with  the  Great  Crown";  that  of  the  Second,  the  Youngest  King. 
He  is  consulted  by  the  real  monarch  before  any  important  step  is  taken, 
has  his  court,  his  madarins,  his  little  army,  receives  about  one-third  of 
the  revenue  and  instead  of  prostrating  himself  before  the  King  he 
salutes  him  by  raising  both  hands  in  tlie  air.  This  is  a  privilege  accorded 
to  no  other  native.  All  others  prostrate  themselves  before  the  Lord  of 
Life,  and  pronounce  themselves  slaves — liars — little  beasts.  The  same 
groveling  homage  is  paid  by  every  inferior  to  his  superior. 


OXE-TllIKD     OF      rill-:    I'EUl'LE    SLAVES.  6 


00 


Siamese  rank,  is,  in  fact,  represented  in  tlie  law  by  figures,  tlie  First 
King  being  beyond  representation  ;  below  him  the  ranks  range  from 
100,000  for  the  Second  King  down  to  five  for  the  slave.  The  royal  seal 
and  the  national  standaril  consists  of  a  white  t-lephant  on  a  crimson  back- 
ground. When  one  of  the  sacred  animals  is  captured  it  is  alwajs  con- 
sidered the  property  of  the  King,  and,  by  the  way,  the  elephant  is  not 
white  but  is  of  a  dark  cream  color,  an  albino.  Ikiddhists  believe  white 
animals,  such  as  albino  deer,  monkeys  and  tortoises,  to  be  particularly  the 
abodes  of  transmigrating  souls. 

The  two  kings  have  their  seraglios,  although  the  lower  classes  are 
not  polj'gamists.  The  Queen  Consort  does  not  take  part  in  political 
affairs,  but  is  head  of  a  separate  court,  and  has  her  female  guards  who 
are  uniformed  antl  armed,  their  costume  Ijcing  not  unlike  that  of  a  native 
Scotchman.  This  arrangement  applies  to  the  royal  families  of  both 
Siam  and  Cambodia. 

The  laws  of  Siam  are  founded  upon  an  ancient  written  coile  and 
upon  traditional  usage,  subject  to  royal  revision.  Nearly  the  only  crime 
whose  nature  and  moilc  of  |)unishmcnt  ha\e  been  unmistakabh-  fixed  is 
treason  ;  for  that,  one  is  tied  into  a  large  sack,  nearK'  beaten  to  death 
and  then  thrown  into  the  river. 

In  their  social  life  the  Siamese  resemble  their  neighbors,  the  l)ur- 
mese,  the  intercourse;  between  husband,  wife  and  chikfi-en  being  affection- 
ate and  their  habits  simple.  The  wives,  as  a  rule,  are  the  financiers. 
Their  education  is  the  same,  their  houses  are  the  sam<;  and  their  priests 
are  the  same. 

UXE-TfllRI)  01-    THE   PEOPLE  SLAVES. 

As  has  been  observed,  however,  the)-  are  more  inclined  to  artificial 
distinctions  in  society  than  the  Burmese,  and  "one-third  of  the  common 
people,  it  is  largely  estimated,  are  slaves  by  birth,  by  gambling  or  other 
debts,  b)'  retlemption  from  the  penalty  of  crime,  l)\'  cai)ture,  etc.  Men 
sell  their  children,  their  wives  or  themselves ;  convicts  in  scores  clank 
their  chains  about  the  streets;  villages  of  thousands  are  made  up  of 
foreign  captives.  Yet  Siamese  life  is  in  the  main  comfortable,  and  is 
moreover  gladdened  by  man\-  sports,  amusements  and  holidays.  On  all 
great  occasions  the  coffers  of  kings  and  nobles  are  opened  widely  for 
merry-making  for  the  people  and  merit-making  for  themselves." 

Around  Bangkok  are  whole  villages  of  Peguans.  The  native  annals 
state  that  in  one  of  the  wars  with  the  Shians  they  took  120,000  captives. 
Wild  tribes  along  the  Burmah  frontier  also  lie  in  wait  for  the  inhabitants 
of  that  country,  and  if  they  effect  a  capture  find  a  ready  market  for  their 
prisoners. 


636 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

BUDDHISM  ABSOLUTE. 


There  is  probably  no  country  in  tlie  world  where  Buddhism  has  so 
absolute  a  sway  as  in  Siam.  Even  more  profusely  than  in  Burmah  is 
the  wealth  of  the  kingdom  lavished  upon  temples  and  priests.  In  Siam, 
also,  there  is  a  famous  shrine  to  which  numberless  pilgrims  bring  their 
offerings  of  fancy  paper  cut  into  fantastic  shapes,  cups,  dolls  and  gold 
and  silver  toys,  it  being  no  less  than  the  footprint  of  Buddha,  on  the 
side  of  a  mountain,  and  sunk  into  solid  rock.  It  is  believed  to  have 
been  made  by  the  great  being  in  his  passage  over  the  mountain,  during 
one  of  his  miraculous  flights,  and  on  its  summit,  in  the  crevices  of 
the  rocks,  in  the  valleys,  in  the  caverns,  are  what  resemble  the 
footprints  of  elephants,  tigers  and  other  wild  beasts  which  formed 
his  cortege.  The  temple,  which  is  erected  around  the  footprint,  is  built 
of  brick,  is  approached  by  a  broad  fliglit  of  steps,  and  the  walls  are 
covered  with  glistening  figures  of  colored  glass.  The  panels  and  cor- 
nices are  of  gilt  and  the  massive  doors  of  ebony  inlaid  with  mother-of- 
pearl.  The  interior  of  the  temple  is  blackened  by  time  and  smoke;  the 
floor  is  covered  with  silver  matting ;  a  catafalque  rises  in  the  center 
surrounded  with  stripes  of  gilded  serge,  and  therein  is  Buddha's  famous 
footprint.  According  to  some  accounts  it  is  a  very  square,  clumsy  sort 
of  a  footprint. 

This  is  but  one  of  a  thousand,  to  describe  which  would  be  unprofit- 
able and  a  repetition  of  the  Burmah  i)icture  and  of  what  has  been  wit- 
nessed in  Bangkok.  But  the  fact  that  Buddhism  is  supreme  in  Siam 
will  be  impressed,  when  it  is  stated  that  in  the  capital  alone  there  are 
20,000  priests  supported  by  voluntary  contributions. 


THE  ANAMESE. 

HE  Laotians  claim  to  be  the  aborigines  of  Anam,  or,  as  it  is 
sometimes  incorrectly  called  from  one  of  its  provinces,  Cochin 
China.  The  Anamese  more  nearly  resemble  the  Chinese  in 
their  manners  and  customs  than  any  other  natives  of  Further 
India;  but,  like  the  Burmese  and  the  Siamese,  they  are 
indolent  and  pleasure-seekers,  leaving  the  Chinese  to  carry 
on  their  commerce.  They  are  more  courteous  in  their  manners 
than  the  Siamese  and  have  the  same  remarkable  control  over 
their  passions  and  their  features  as  the  Chinese.  The  men 
wear  frocks  and  wide  trousers,  and  dress  to  a  considerable 
extent  in  silk,  the  manufacture  of  which  forms  almost  their  only  in- 
dustry. Both  sexes  carr)-  fans  and  never  uncover  their  heads  byway  of 
salutation.  The  dress  of  the  Anamese  is  the  old  costume  of  the 
Chinese  before  the  Tartar  conquest,  when  Tonquin  threw  off  its 
allegiance  to  the  mother  country.  The  inhabitants  of  the  province  of 
Cochin  China  are  principally  descendants  of  refugees  from  Tonquin. 

The  government  is  founded  upon  the  Chinese  model,  the  officials 
being  divided  into  military  and  civil  or  literary  mandarins.  From  the 
former  the  Emperor  selects  his  chief  executive  officers  —  ambassadors, 
governor-generals  and  viceroys.  The  bastinado  is  the  common  form  of 
punishment  for  political  and  social  offenses.  As  in  Siam  the  enslaving 
of  the  debtor  and  his  family  by  the  creditor  are  among  the  legal  forms 
of  restitution,  and  the  poor  sometimes  sell  the  children  whom  they  can 
not  afford  to  keep. 

The  Anamese  also  pattern  after  the  Chinese  in  the  laxity  of  their 
religious  observances,  being  in  this  respect  far  severed  from  the  Siamese 
and  Burmese.  Although  polygamy  is  practiced  among  the  wealthy, 
women  are  allowed  full  liberty  and  often  engage  in  commerce  and  agri- 
culture. 

Cochin  China  (so  called  by  the  Portuguese  to  distinguish  it  from 
Cochin  on  the  western  coast  of  Hindustan)  formed,  in  ancient  times,  one 

state  with  Tonquin,  the  province  adjoining  China.     The  two  provinces 

637 


638 


I'ANUKAMA    Ul-     XATIOXS. 


separated  and  before  the  king  of  Cochin  conquered  Tonquin  he  had  also 
subdued  Cambodia.  The  first  kings  of  the  reunited  empire  ruled  more 
as  patriarchs  than  as  monarchs  and  by  their  example  prompted  their 
subjects  to  habits  of  simplicity,  industry  and  frugality.  But  with  the 
discovery  of  gold  and  silver,  free  communication  with  tlie  enterprising- 
Chinese,  a  fertile  soil  and  every  convenience  for  maritime  operations,  the 
country  grew  rich  and  prosperous  and  effeminacy  crept  into  the  empire. 
The  capital  of  Anam,  situated  about  ten  miles  from  the  China  Sea, 
on  a  small  river,  is,  perhaps,  the  most  skillfully  fortified  city  in  Asia, 
anil  is  a  standing  proof  of  the  empire's  former  power.  The  city  is 
built    within     two    high    walls,    the    outer     one    being    approached    by 

numerous  bridges  and  gates  and 
being  si\t\-  feet  in  height.  Within 
this  are  the  palaces  of  the  nobility, 
the  prisons,  magazines,  granaries, 
dwelling-houses,  etc.  The  inner  wall 
protects  the  palace  of  the  Em- 
peror and   his  mother,  his  seraelio 

o 

and  the  government  offices.  Hue 
is  a  naval  station,  has  several  ship 
yards,  its  streets  are  traversed  b}- 
na\  igable  canals  and  it  is,  in  fact, 

quite  a  cit_\'. 

THE  ca:\ibodlan.s. 

Near  the  center  of  th.-ir  coun- 
tr\-,  which  is  southwest  of  Cochin 
China  and  northwest  of  Erench 
Cochin  China,  was  formerly  situated 
the  capital  of  their  ancient  kingdom 
Almost  the  onl_\-  tradition  preserved  in 
the  countr)-  mentions  that  the  empire  had  twentv  tributarv  kino-s, 
an  army  of  five  million  soldiers,  and  that  the  buildings  of  its  royal 
treasury  covered  man)'  square  miles.  On  the  banks  of  the  Kekong, 
in  the  province  of  Ongcor  (which  still  bears  the  name  of  their  mighty 
caijital),  and  further  east  in  Cochin  China,  are  great  ruins  which 
are  the  admiration  of  archaeologists  and  witnesses  that  tradition  is 
not  entirely  mythical.  The  most  splendid  is  that  of  the  temple  of 
of  Ongcor,  which  the  Cambodians  say  is  either  the  work  of  Pra-Eun, 
the  king  of  the  angels;  or  of  the  giants;  or  it  made  itself  ,  or  was 
built   by  the    Eeprous    King.       This  is  a  temple  erected  to  Buddha,  and 


GIRL  FROM  .\NAM. 

of    Khmer,  or    Cambodia 


AISOKIGINAI.    TklliKS.  639 

even  in  its  ruins,  reseml)les  a  chain  of  lofty  hills,  made  up  of  huge  dome- 
like towers,  galleries,  porticoes,  gateways,  pavilions,  terraces,  staircases, 
columns,  etc.,  covered  with  bas  reliefs,  sculptures,  mouldings  and  statues. 
Among  the  most  striking  of  all  the  statues  of  lions  and  kings  is  that 
which  is  said  to  rcpresc-nt  the  great  monarch  called  the  I.eprous  King.  It 
is  on  a  sort  of  es])lanadc,  the  figure  seated  in  a  noble  and  dignified  atti- 
tude. I'rom  forehead  to  crown  the  long  hair  is  dressed  in  a  number  of 
rolls  and  falls  down  the  back.  The  head  is  grand  enough  to  have  con- 
ceived the  temple.  The  features  are  regular  and  possess  a  manly  b(_>auty 
seen  now  onl\'  among  the  Cambotlians  of  unmixed  race,  living  in  seclu- 
sion at  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  or  among  the  savage  mountaineers 
who  occupy  the  border  countr\'  between  Siam,  Cambodia  and  Cochin 
China.  The  Cambodians  of  to-day  are  ostensibly  under  the  protection 
of  I'Venc!"  Cochin  China  and  are  governed  b\-  two  kings,  but  are  gener- 
all)'  jonsidered  as  dependents  of  the  Anamese  monarch  anil  their  coun- 
tr)'  as  a  pro\ince  of  A  nam. 

ABORIGINAL  TRIBES. 

Bordering  on  Cambodia  is  the  country  of  a  m\-sterious  tribe  called 
the  Thiames.  The\'  are  descendants  of  tlic  ancient  Tsiampols,  who  are 
held,  b)'  tradition,  to  ha\'e  been  masters  of  most  of  I'urther  India  and  a 
portion  of  China.  But  when  the  .Anamese  came  down  from  the  north, 
after  the  Tartar  conquest  of  China,  the  Thiames  were  driven  south,  and 
finally  awa)-  from  the  coast,  toward  Camijodia.  .Surrounded  b\  their 
enemies,  and  separated  from  them  b\-  character,  religion  and  language, 
they  have  never  intermixed  with  other  races. 

They  seem  to  be  of  a  Mala)an  type  but  obser\e  manv  |ewish  cus- 
toms, such  as  circumcision  and  abstaining  from  the  Hesh  of  swine.  One 
of  their  traditions  teaches  that  the  founder  of  their  relieion  was  a  oreat 
man  and  famous  warrior,  who  worked  marvels  with  a  rod  which  is  care- 
fully preserved  among  them.  "It  is  about  ten  feet  long  and  is  covered 
with  a  kind  of  red  stuff,  studded  with  yellow  stars,  having  at  one  end  an 
iron  blade  about  an  inch  in  length.  With  this  rod  in  his  hand,  the 
founder  of  their  faith  controlled  the  elements,  divided  the  waters,  and 
calmed  the  tempests;  and  it  is  pretended  that  this  instrument  still  pre- 
serves its  virtue  of  working  miracles.  They  have,  they  saj-,  a  precious 
volume  left  them  by  their  great  chief.  They  scrupulously  observe  a 
seventh  day  of  rest  and  preserve  a  remembrance  of  certain  davs  on  which 
it  was  not  lawful  to  work,  or  even  to  leave  their  houses  before  sunset. 
Their  prajers  end  with  the  word  '  amin,'  much  the  same  as  the  amen 
of  the    Hebrews.     They  seem  to   have  lost  the   idea  of  a  Creator  of 


640  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

Heaven  and  Earth,  but  worship  the  sky  and  the  stars  ;  there  are,  how- 
ever, no  idols  in  their  temples.  The  priests  who  officiate  there  lic,dit 
candles  on  a  table,  burn  incense,  and.  at  certain  times  of  the  year,  as  in 
April  and  May,  pass  a  month  without  s^-oingout  of  doors." 

Thus  writes  a  Catholic  father  who  would  find  in  the  Thiames 
either  remnants  of  the  Ten  Tribes,  or  a  native  people  who  have  received 
fragments  of  the  faith  of  Israel  from  her  sons  who,  in  pursuit  of  their 
commercial  ventures,  have  placed  their  feet  and  set  their  religious  mark 
upon  nearly  every  known  country  of  the  world. 

In  the  forests  and  mountains  bordering  .Siam  and  Anam,  south  of 
the  Laos  country  and  north  of  Cambodia,  are  a  number  of  savage  tribes, 
known  collectively  as  Stiens.  Their  long  twisted  hair  is  fastened  with  a 
bamboo  comb,  in  which  is  often  inserted,  for  ornament,  a  piece  of  brass 
wire,  surmounted  by  the  crest  of  a  pheasant,  their  only  dress  being  a 
long  scarf  which  is  bound  around  the  loins  and  carried  over  one  shoulder. 
The  Stiens  are  above  the  middle  height,  well  proportioned  and  robust, 
with  regular  features,  thick  eyebrows,  and  heavy  beard  — when  they 
allow  it  to  remain.  The  forehead  is  well  developed  and  the  face  intelli- 
gent.    The  women  seem  as  powerful  as  the  men. 

Like  the  Thiames  the  Stiens  are  exclusive,  although  hospitable,  and 
their  personal  appearance,  their  customs  and  superstitions  point  to  them 
as  a  people  of  Indian  or  Malayan  blood  which  has  been  diluted  by 
slight  contact  with  the  Chinese.  They  pierce  their  ears,  which  they 
ornament  with  pieces  of  ivory;  they  go  into  ecstacies  over  bright  glass 
beads;  the  men  wear  bracelets  above  the  elbow  and  at  the  wrist,  and  the 
women  wear  them  on  leg  and  arm.  Every  Stien  of  any  substance  owns 
several  slaves  and  a  field,  some  distance  from  the  village,  in  which  are 
raised  rice,  maize,  tobacco,  vegetables,  bananas  and  oranges.  The  slaves 
are  usually  those  who  have  been  taken  in  crime  and  fined  by  the  village. 
Being  unable  to  pay,  the  fine  constantl\-  increases  until  the  offender  is 
finally  sold.  If  he  pays  his  fine  of  a  pig,  an  ox  or  several  jars  of  wine, 
the  whole  village  partake. 

The  Stien  hunts  with  across  bow  and  poisoned  arrows.  His  chief 
amusement  is  to  send  up  a  kite,  to  which  is  attached  an  /Eolian  harp  in 
the  shape  of  a  bow.  He  is  naturally  peaceable,  and  rather  than  fight 
retires  into  the  forest,  and  places  in  the  paths  sharp- pointed  stakes  of 
bamboo.  The  villages  sometimes  quarrel  among  themselves,  but  their 
conflicts  seldom  come  to  pitched  battles  ,  rather,  the  natives  lay  in  wait 
for  each  other  in  the  fields  and  pathways  of  the  forest  and  the  captor  is 
sold  as  a  slave  to  the  Laotians  or  Cambodians. 

Rice  is  the  staple  article  of  food  and  at  the  conclusion  of  every  har- 


RICHES    AND    SLUTU.  64I 

vest  the  Stiens  induls^e  in  a  series  of  feasts  and  festivities.  One  village 
will  often  entertain  another,  many  oxen  being  killed  to  grace  the  occa- 
sion. Rice,  wine,  vegetables,  pigs  and  fowls  add  to  the  interest  of  the 
feast  ;  as  it  is  etiquette  to  eat  everything  placed  before  them,  and  as  the 
natives  undergo  many  privations,  daily,  these  feasts  occasion  consider- 
able sickness,  especially  as  the  country  is  naturally  damp  and  unhealthful. 
Previous  to  the  rice  harvest,  for  several  months  they  are  often  reduced 
to  bamboo  shoots,  wild  roots,  serpents,  toads  and  bats,  the  latter  being 
found  in  great  numbers  in  the  hollows  of  the  old  bamboos.  If  this  style 
of  living  produces  any  internal  complaint,  the  invariable  remedy,  as  in 
Cambodia,  is  to  place  a  hot  iron  to  the  pit  of  the  stomach  ;  in  truth, 
there  are  few  Stiens  without  unsightly  scars  on  this  part  of  the  body. 
They  are  very  cleanly  in  their  personal  habits,  however,  and  there  are 
no  lepers  among  them. 

Like  the  Papuans,  and  some  Malayan  tribes,  the  Stiens  have  one 
Supreme  Being,  the  author  of  everything  both  good  and  evil ;  diseases 
they  attribute  to  an  evil  genius  whom  they  are  obliged  to  propitiate 
with  a  pig,  an  ox  or  even  a  slave.  The  dead  are  burned  near  their 
dwellings,  and  beneath  the  roof  of  branches  covering  the  tomb  they 
place  gourds  of  water  and  sow  grains  of  rice  for  the  sustenance  of  the 
deceased.  Before  each  meal  they  spill  a  little  rice  for  the  benefit  of 
their  ancestors,  and  in  the  fields  and  forests  they  make  offerings  to  them 
of  rice  and  tobacco,  which  are  placed  in  little  bamboo  frames.  They 
believe  in  the  transmigration  of  souls,  and  when  they  kill  an  elephant, 
ornament  its  head  with  crowns  of  leaves  and  flowers,  dance  and  sing, 
ask  pardon  for  the  deed,  and  when  seven  days  have  expired  the  whole 
villag-e  falls  to  with  a  vengeance. 

RICHES  AND  SLOTH. 

A  country  whose  rishes  lie  right  at  hand  is  as  much  a  disadvantage 
to  its  people  as  a  great  inheritance  to  an  individual  Indo-China  is 
wonderfulh'  productive,  by  nature,  but  the  Indo-Chinese  are  by  disposi- 
tion so  slothful  that  they  do  little  more  than  reach  out  their  hands  and 
eat  to  live.  Precious  fruits,  grains,  minerals  and  stones  are  deposited 
for  them,  but  they  are  found  in  such  profusion  that  their  value  can  not 
be  appreciated  ;  they  are  the  property  of  jealous  monarchs  who  will  nei- 
ther assist  nature  in  her  increase  nor  allow  others  to  do  so;  or  the  indus- 
trious Chinese  have  seized  upon  a  treasure  and  developed  it  according  to 
their  modest  ideas  of  growth. 

Of  the  three  political  divisions,  Burmah,  Siam  and  Anam,  the  first- 

41 


642  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

named  has  the  most  land  incapable  of  being  cultivated.  British  Bur- 
mah,  the  territory  acquired  by  Great  Britain,  monopolizes  the  sea-board 
and  the  most  fertile  tracts  of  the  former  kingdom.  The  valley  of  the 
Irrawaddy  is  one  continuous  rice  field,  while  the  streams  of  the  south- 
ern districts  contain  larger  quantities  of  minerals,  tin  being  actively 
mined.  The  immigration  from  China  and  Further  India  to  British  Bur- 
mah  is  continually  increasing  ;  for  the  government  is  stable  and  not 
oppressive.  The  land  and  fresh  water  fisheries  are  leased  directly  from 
the  government,  which  thereby  derives  considerable  revenue. 

Burmah  I'roper,  the  territory  held  by  the  native  ruler,  is  mountain- 
ous in  the  north,  the  valley  of  the  Irrawaddy  being  rough  and  the  hills 
covered  with  forests.  It  is  chiefly  a  pasturage  country,  the  great  rice 
crops  being  gathered  from  the  plains  of  the  south.  On  the  northern 
hills  the  tea  plant  is  raised  to  some  e.xtent,  the  leaf  being  eaten  with  oil 
and  garlic.  In  the  forests  are  found  great  trees,  each  of  which  stores 
forty  gallons  of  oil  annually,  and  on  the  banks  of  the  Irrawaddy,  in 
Southern  Burmah,  are  several  hundred  petroleum  wells,  from  which  the 
oil  is  drawn  in  buckets.  The  petroleum  is  used  for  lip-hting  purposes, 
and  is  rubbed  upon  the  body  as  a  protection  against  insects.  There 
are  ruby  and  sapphire  mines,  and  the.  waters  of  the  rivulets  sparkle  over 
the  topaz  and  amethyst.  The  precious  stones  are  monopolized  by  the 
Crown.  Iron  ore  is  found  in  abundance,  but  is  carelessly  mined  and 
smelted.  The  fruits  and  grains  of  the  tropics  grow  wild  by  a  mere 
coaxing  of  the  earth.  Sugar  cane  is  a  standard  crop,  but  little  sugar  is 
made.  Coal  is  spread  in  thick  strata  over  the  land,  but  it  lies  almost 
undisturbed.  Cotton  is  raised,  but  Britifh  cotton  cloths,  imported  from 
England,  are  generally  worn. 

The  same  state  of  affairs  is  found  in  Siam  and  Anam.  The  for- 
mer kingdom  is  well  watered  by  large  rivers,  which  annuall\-  overflow 
their  banks  and  fertilize  the  plains  and  broad  valleys.  Iron,  tin,  lead, 
copper,  gold  and  silver  exist,  most  of  them  nearly  pure,  and  in  laroe 
quantities  ;  but  on  account  of  government  greed  and  jealousy  of  for- 
eigners they  have  been  virtually  untouched  except  by  the  Chinese. 
Although  the  United  States  and  several  of  the  European  powers  have 
consuls  at  Bangkok,  the  trade  of  Siam  is  mostly  with  China,  conducted 
in  junks  built  and  navigated  by  the  Chinese. 

The  Cambodia  River,  which  is  the  Nile  of  Anam,  brings  sugar, 
rice,  spices  and  fruits,  ebony  and  other  valuable  woods  growing  in  her 
mountain  forests.  But  the  French  have  seized  her  largest  suear  and 
rice  plantations,  and  the  Chinese  carry  on  her  trade,  while  the  Anamese 
lie  around  in  their  cool  silken  and  cotton  garments,  laughing  or  asleep. 


THE  JAPANESE. 

HE  native  of  Japan  is  a  modification  of  the  Mongol  type  as 
seen  in  the  Chinese.  He  has  eyes  which  are  set  less  obliquely 
than  those  of  his  southern  cousin  ;  but  his  eyebrows  are  heavy, 
his  face  oval,  his  forehead  high  and  his  complexion  is  not  uni- 
form at  all.  He  has  even  been  classed  as  a  Malayan,  who  in 
his  bold  voyages  over  every  Asiatic  sea  settled  in  the  "  Land 
of  the  Rising  Sun  "  and  adopted  the  Mongol,  or  was  by  him 
adopted,  the  two  forming  the  Japanese  type. 

The  native  of  this  empire,  since  his  country  has  been  un- 
locked to  the  outside  world,  is  commencing  to  be  known  and 
appreciated  as  an  intelligent,  animated,  enterprising  gentleman  ;  but  it  has 
long  been  a  wonder  how  so  mild  and  good-humored  a  people  as  they 
evidently  are,  can  live  under  so  sanguinary  a  code  of  laws.  Death  is 
the  one  general  penalty.  They  are  a  proud  people,  though  they 
acknowledge  a  supreme  ruler,  a  spiritual  monarch,  the  Mikado,  who 
makes  their  laws.     There  is  no  middle  class. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  RELIGION. 


The  government  is  the  Mikado  and  the  hereditary  princes  who 
form  the  imperial  cabinet  and  govern  the  principalities  of  the  empire. 
Japan  allows  no  competitive  e.xamination  for  appointment  to  the  civil 
service  as  the  Chinese  do,  but  all  power  is  inherited.  And  not  alone  are 
the  lines  of  caste  so  strictly  drawn  that  it  is  only  lawful  for  men  of  rank 
to  enter  a  city  on  horseback  ;  but  so  proud  a  people  as  the  Japanese  sub- 
mit to  a  system  of  espionage  which  runs  through  every  grade  of  society. 
These  and  other  burdens  to  which  they  cheerfully  submit  are  perhaps 
borne  for  the  sake  of  their  religion,  which  is  so  woven  into  the  structure 
of  their  government  that  to  tear  at  the  fibres  of  one  would  be  to  injure 
the  other. 

The  Mikado  is  the  spiritual  head  of  .Shintoism,  or  their  ancient  and 
national  religion,  the  essence  of  their  worship  being  reverence  for  their 
ancestors  and  sacrifice  to  departed  heroes  ;  and  the  great  aim  of  their 


644 


PAXUKA.MA    (JK    .\ATIU.\S. 


religion  is  obedience  to  the  edicts  of  the  government.  The  three  great 
commandments  issued  by  the  Department  of  Religion  a  few  years  ago, 
and  intended  to  be  the  basis  of  a  reformed  Shinto,  are  as  follows  : — 
"  Thou  shalt  honor  the  gods  and  love  thy  country  ;  thou  shalt  clearly 
understand  the  principles  of  heaven  and  the  duty  of  man  ;  thou  shalt 
revere  the  Emperor  as  thy  sovereign  and  obey  the  will  for  his  court." 

The  Shinto  temples  are  made  of  pure  wood  called  "sunwood,"  and 
in  them  are  seen  mirrors  and  strips  of  white  paper,  emblems  of  self- 
examination  and  purity.  The  sun  and  moon  are  worshiped.  Cleanli- 
ness of  person  and    cheerfulness  of  heart  are  cardinal  virtues.      The 

heroes  of  the  country  are  canonized  and 
worshiped,  the  most  popular  of  the  minor 
deities  being  the  god  of  war,  one  of  their 
brave  emperors.  The  forms  of  worship 
are  simple:  "The  devotee  approaches 
under  the  gateways  until  within  a  short 
distance  of  the  door.  He  then  stops, 
flings  a  few  coins  in  the  box  or  on  the 
fioor,  folds  his  hands  in  a  posture  of  rev- 
■  erence,  mutters  his  prayers  and  departs." 
Buddhism, however,is  the  popular  religion 
of  Japan,  while  many  of  the  higher  classes 
reject  all  worship  of  idols  and  accept 
the  Confucian  philosophy  of  life  and  mo- 
rality. But  the  Mikado  cares  not  what 
religion  is  professed  so  long  as  they 
whence  has  come  about  the  persecution  of 
Christians — not  because  they  held  to  any  distasteful  religious  beliefs, 
but  because  their  creed  made  them  rebels  to  the  government. 


A  JAPANESE. 

acknowledge  his  divinity 


THE    CORNER-STONE    OF   SOCIETY. 

Among  the  Chinese,  politeness  is  inculcated  as  the  outward  mani- 
festation of  an  equable  and  moral  character;  with  the  Japanese  polite- 
ness Is  scarcely  distinguishable  from  morality  itself,  and  actions  are 
looked  upon  as  bad  if  they  grate  upon  their  keen  sensibilities.  Eti- 
quette is  the  study  of  rich  and  poor.  It  is  a  great  science,  clearly 
defined,  systematized  and  taught  in  the  school  from  divers  text  books. 
Five  years  of  study,  among  the  educated  classes,  are  devoted  to  it,  both 
theoretically  and  practically,  and  until  Japanese  scholars  and  the  Japan- 
ese o-overnment  brought  back  from  England  and  .America  a  knowledge 
of  modern  institutions  and  countries,  the  scope  of  the  higher  education 


THE    COK.XEK-STONE    OF    SOCIETY. 


645 


covered  the  ground  of  Confucian  classics,  social  and  court  forms  and  Jap- 
anese and  Chinese  history.  But,  although  the  scope  has  been  enlarged, 
etiquette  is  still  the  polished  corner-stone  of 
Japanese  society  and  the  japanning  is  carried  over 
the  lower  structure  itself,  so  that  even  the  servants 
and  coolies  bow  and  bend  to  one  another  and  use 
a  formal  and  courtly  language  which  would  even 
give  pleasure  to  a  Lord  Chesterfield.  The  contrast 
between  the  Eastern  forms  of  etiquette  and  those 
of  the  West  is  too  well  known  to  warrant  an  ex- 
pansion of  the  theme.  One  peculiar  form  of  Jap- 
anese table  etiquette,  however,  has  not  often  been 
exposed.  When  a  cup  of  rice,  beer  or  tea  has  been 
emptied  at  a  feast,  it  is  quite  a  delicate  mark  of 
attention  for  the  guest  who  desires  more  to  throw 
it  across  the  table  to  a  brother  guest,  who,  in  turn, 
hands  it  to  the  damsel  in  waiting.  If  one' desires  to 
introduce  himself  to  another  at  a  banquet  the  proper  ^  noble  lady. 

way  is  to  offer  his  cup  to  the  person  whom  he  wishes  to  know  ;  if  the  guest 
would  honor  him  with  his  acquaintance  he  drinks  and  returns  the  cup. 
The  Japanese  are  the  greatest  eaters  of    marine  animals  in   the 

world,  and  their  fish  markets 
are  found  everywhere.  Raw 
fish  is  even  a  favorite  article 
of  food.  River,  lake  and 
sea  are  frequented  by  thou- 
sands  of  fishermen  and 
women.  Many  of  the  latter 
are  expert  divers,  remaining 
in  the  water  for  hours  and 
swimmino-for  lonor  distances 

o  o 

with  heavy  bags  of  shell-fish 
on  their  shoulders.  No  meal 
would  be  complete  without 
fish. 

"  The  visitor  is  always 
served  with  tea,  sweetmeats 
laid  on  white  paper  on  a 
tray  and  a  little  bowl  with  a 
live  coal  in  it  to  light  his  pipe  with.  It  is  etiquette  to  carry  away  the 
remnants  of  the    cake  or  candy,   folded    up  in  the  paper  and  put    in 


SELLLNG  MARINE  ANIMALS. 


646  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

the  wide  sleeve.  Meat,  venison,  poultry,  game  and  large  vegetables 
are  cut  or  sliced  before  being  brought  on  the  table.  Food  is  eaten  out  of 
lacquered  wooden  bowls  and  porcelain  cups,  chop-sticks  taking  the  place 
of  the  knife  and  fork.  A  feast  is  accompanied  by  music  and  dancing 
and  the   last  of  the  merry  courses  is  rice  and  tea." 

MARRIAGE  AND  WOMEN'S  DUTIES. 

The  Japanese  do  not  approve  of  such  early  marriages  as  most  of 
the  Orients  —  twenty  years  for  the  man  and  sixteen  for  the  woman  are 
considered  proper  ages.  Betrothals  are  not  entirely  in  the  hands  of 
parents,  either.  The  young  man  himself,  when  he  desires  to  marry,  sends 
a  third  party,  it  is  true,  to  arrange  the  affair;  but  it  is  usually  one  of  his 
married  friends,  and  he  is  seldom  rushed  into  matrimony  without  having 
had  a  chance  to  meet  the  lady.  The  will  of  the  parents  has  its  weight, 
but  it  is  not  supreme  as  in  Corea  and  China.  When  the  wedding  day 
has  been  fixed,  the  trousseau  of  the  bride  and  her  wedding  gifts  are  sent 
to  the  house  of  the  groom.  They  are  followed  by  the  little  woman  her- 
self, dressed  in  white,  borne  in  a  palanquin  and  escorted  by  her  parents. 
The  gayly  attired  bridegroom  receives  her,  escorts  her  to  the  hall, 
where  before  the  altar  of  the  domestic  gods,  decorated  with  images  and 
symbolic  plants,  they  are  betrothed  and  married  by  the  same  ceremony. 
No  priest  is  in  attendance,  but  the  forms  are  simple  and  touching,  the 
final  one  consisting  in  the  young  couple  drinking  together  from  a  two- 
mouthed  bottle,  thereby  pledging  themselves  to  drain  the  waters  of  life 
together. 

The  above  is  a  mere  outline  of  the  formalities  required  by  Japanese 
society  to  unite  a  couple  in  marriage.  To  conscientiously  observe  them 
all  is  to  incur  a  greater  expense  than  many  of  the  people  can  bear.  It 
is  therefore  a  favorite  plan,  in  order  to  evade  these  responsibilities,  for 
the  youth  and  maiden  to  collude  with  the  parents  and  feign  a  runaway 
match  in  which  the  ceremony  is  necessarily  brief  and  inexpensive. 

The  education  of  women  in  all  the  walks  of  life  consists,  almost 
entirely,  in  forming  her  into  an  expert  housewife.  The  Woman's 
Great  Study  is  an  immense  volume,  which  may  be  said  to  contain  the 
national  standard  of  excellence  toward  which  all  females  are  instructed  to 
strive.  Obedience  to  parents,  husband,  and  if  a  widow,  to  the  eldest 
son,  is  the  grand  injunction.  The  study  of  etiquette,  which  is  such  an 
important  part  of  popular  education,  does  not  cease  during  the  lifetime 
of  the  Japanese  lady.  There  are  few  more  affectionate  mothers  than 
the  Japanese.  They  treat  their  children  as  infants  until  they  are  two 
years  of  age,  carrying  them  constantly  with  them. 


DRESS    AND    PERSONAL    ADORNMENT. 


647 


DRESS  AND   PERSONAL  ADORNMENT. 


A  very  short  time  ago  it  was  considered  the  height  of  temerity  for 
a  foreigner  to  travel  outside  of  the  five  open  ports  of  Yolcohama,  Naga- 
saki, Hiogo,  Niegati  and  Hokodadi.  The  danger  did  not  come  from 
the  hostihty  of  the  common  people  so  much  as  from  the  jealousies  of  the 
princes  and  nobles  of  the  empire.  Although  they  have  become  recon- 
ciled to  the  existence  of  another  order  of  civilization  than  their  own,  it 
is  still  best  to  engage  the  services  of  a  native  policeman,  especially  if 
one  is  about  to  venture  into  the  streets  of  a  large  city.  This  functionary, 
in  uniform,  resembles  a  gaunt  woman  with  a  gaudy  umbrella  tied  to  her 
head,  dressed  in  a  loose  jacket  and  skirt  and  armed  with  two  swords 
carried  underneath  the  outer  garment.  If  the 
yakonin  is  mounted,  in  masculine  fashion  of 
course,  his  appearance  is  all  the  more  ludicrous. 
Should  the  journey  be  a  long  one  he  would  be 
escorted  by  runners,  naked  except  for  a  cloth 
around  the  loins.  From  a  distance  this  latter 
statement  would  scarcely  be  credited,  for  the  en- 
tire bodies  of  the  escorts  are  tattooed,  being 
often  covered  with  figures  representing  jackets 
and  breeches,  seamed  and  checked,  with  buttons 
and  all.  So,  supposing  that  the  services  of  the 
yakonin  have  been  engaged,  the  stranger  pro- 
ceeds to  examine  the  costumes  and  personal  ap-j 
pearance  of  the  Japanese,  whether  old  or  young, 
high  or  low. 

Japanese  women  have  become  noted  for 
their  striking  and  coquettish  dress.  They  take 
especial  pride  in  arranging  their  glossy  hair,  it  being  usually  divided 
into  three  great  sections,  fastened  with  large  ornamental  pins  or  pretty 
ribbons.  Both  sexes  wear  a  large  open  dressing  gown,  the  women  cross- 
ing it  in  front  and  tying  it  behind  with  an  enormous  sash.  As  the  little 
women  trot  along  in  their  wooden  sandals,  they  are  truly  pleasing  objects 
to  contemplate.  A  lady  of  high  standing  is  often  attired  in  a  garment 
of  rich  silk,  beautifully  decorated  with  flowers  and  vines,  wearing  over 
her  shoulders  a  sack  or  shawl  of  plain  but  rich  material. 

That  hideous  practice,  which  was  formerly  well-nigh  universal,  by 
which  women  above  twenty  years  of  age,  and  all  who  were  married, 
shaved  off  their  eyebrows  and  blackened  their  teeth,  is  gradually  d\ing 
out.      The  reform  originated  at  court  twenty  years  ago  and  is  rapidly 


A  JAPANESE  GIRL. 


64S  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

spreading.  The  custom  was  rooted  in  the  Oriental  idea  tliat  a  married 
woman  belonged,  body  and  soul,  to  her  husband  ;  and  her  husband  chose 
to  make  her  unattractive,  to  the  outside  world  at  least.  The  Japanese 
maiden,  wife  and  widow,  are  now  distinguishable  in  society  by  the  style 
of  their  coiffure.  If  it  were  not  for  the  immoderate  use  of  paint  the 
women  would  be  as  attractive  as  those  of  any  country,  with  their  glossy 
dark  brown  hair,  oval  faces,  slender  graceful  forms,  and  elegant  manners. 
In  the  young,  the  natural  complexion  is  seen  to  be  fair,  and  when  a  lady 
of  the  upper  class  who  is  not  exposed  to  the  weather,  leaves  all  her 
paint  in  the  box,  she  often  appears  with  a  face  as  white  as  a  European's. 
Usually,  head  coverings  are  not  worn,  except  broad  screens  to  keep 

off  sun  and  rain,  and  a  simple  cloth 
cap  and  face  protector  in  winter. 
Oiled  paper  or  straw  overcoats  are 
worn  in  rainy  weather,  and  the  fan  is 
carried  by  men  and  women.  Loose 
trousers  are  the  distinguishing  mark 
of  the  nobility,  but  the  hideous  panta- 
loons formerly  worn  at  court,  which 
completely  covered  the  wearer's  feet 
and  spread  out  far  to  the  side,  and 
the  upper  garment  with  its  enormous, 
flapping  sleeves,  have  given  place  to 
European  attire.  The  higher  classes, 
however,  have  their  rank  indicated 
by  the  crest  of  the  family  or  clan, 
5  which  is  worked  upon  the  breast  and 
back  of  the  outer  robe.   The  carrving 

NOBLEMAN  AND  SERVANT  r  ,  ^  r         ,\     ' 

of  swords  —  two  or  more  tor  the  no- 
bility, and  one  for  the  common  people  is  —  a  custom  which  is  almost 
obsolete. 

The  higher  class  of  medical  practitioners,  such  as  the  court  physi- 
cians, shave  their  heads  completely,  as  do  the  priests  ;  but  the  common 
masculine  fashion  is  to  shave  off  the  hair  about  three  inches  in  front, 
comb  it  up  from  the  back  and  sides  and  glue  it  into  a  tuft  at  the  top  of 
the  head,  where  it  is  confined  by  pins  of  gold  or  tortoise  shell. 

AMUSEMENTS. 

The  Japanese  have  not  the  staid,  placid  dispositions  of  the  Chinese. 
They  are  more  light-hearted,  and  even  at  table  often  enliven  the  simple 
courses  with   music  upon  the  guitar.     Yeddo  has  a  permanent  fair,  and 


JUGGLERS  AND  ACROBATS.  D49 

here  may  be  witnessed  the  diverse  forms  of  amusement  \.'hich  tickle  the 
lively  minds  of  these  people.  In  the  center  is  an  immense  temple,  sur- 
rounded by  groves  and  tea  houses.  A  wide,  well-paved  road,  which 
passes  through  the  grounds,  is  planted  to  maples  and  covered  with  mer- 
chants who  squat  upon  their  mattresses  and  proclaim  the  virtues  of  their 
goods.  One  has  a  heap  of  dead  rats  beside  him  —  he  sells  rat  poison. 
Another  fondles  the  head  and  claws  of  a  bear  —  he  vends  bear  grease, 
for  the  skin.  Bank  lotteries,  stereoscopes  and  telescopes  are  temptingly 
displayed  for  trial.  The  astrologer  and  the  professional  story-teller  and 
news-agent  are  also  here.  The  latter  tells  about  the  last  murder  and  the 
Avay  in  which  the  villain  was  punished,  and  for  a  little  money  distributes 
leaflets  containing  the  account  to  his  auditors,  that  they  may  bear  the 
exciting  tale  to  absent  ones. 

JUGGLERS  AND  ACROBATS. 

The  uproar  of  the  crowd  is  pierced  with  the  cries,  songs  and  dis- 
sonance of  the  mountebanks,  players  and  jugglers  ;  they  are  balancing 
sticks,  swallowing  swords,  whirling  bottles  and  cups,  making  flowers 
grow  from  nothing,  crushing  birds  and  reviving  them,  breaking  eggs  and 
bringing  cart  loads  of  silks  from  them,  and  the  climax  of  every  wonder 
is  being  made  more  startling  by  the  shrill  note  of  fife,  the  clang  of  drum 
or  the  rattle  of  tambourine  in  the  hands  of  able  assistants.  The  music 
is  not  calculated  to  educate  one's  taste,  but  rather  to  distract  the  atten- 
tion of  the  lynx-eyed  native  at  critical  points. 

A  group  of  Japanese  acrobats,  who  perform  beneath  a  great  shed 
on  the  fair  grounds,  draw  an  immense  crowd  as  they  do  everywhere. 
Their  balancing  poles  are  very  long  false  noses,  upon  which  children 
may  perch  with  safety,  or  stand  thereon  upon  their  own  shorter  prodos- 
cides.  Another  difficult  trick  is  where  the  performer  places  an  ^^^ 
upright  on  his  forehead  and  upon  the  e^<g  balances  a  saucer.  Juggling 
tricks  as  performed  by  native  geniuses  are  simply  miraculous  —  until 
you  know  how  they  are  done.  The  common  manner  of  applause  is  to 
strike  the  palm  of  the  left  hand  with  the  closed  fan,  this  action  being 
accompanied  with  a  slight  cry  of  satisfaction. 

THE  NOBILITY  OF  GLADIATORS. 

This  subdued  applause  is  impossible,  however,  when  the  ponderous 
feats  of  the  Japanese  wrestlers  are  under  review.  The  contests  take 
place  in  circuses.  In  the  centre  is  the  ring,  a  platform  slightly  elevated 
and  surrounded  by  a  double  pile  of  straw  sacks.     The  wrestlers,  who  are 


650  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

usually  mountains  of  avoirdupois,  divide  into  companies  and  squat  around 
the  ring.  The  master  of  ceremonies,  armed  with  his  fan  of  command, 
calls  a  rival  from  each  company,  and  the  two  giants  are  loudly  applauded 
as  they  raise  their  arms  above  their  heads  to  salute  the  immense  audience. 
Then,  sprinkling  grains  of  rice  and  drops  of  water  about  the  arena,  which 
is  covered  with  gravel,  in  order  to  propitiate  the  god  of  gladiators,  they 
moisten  their  limbs,  rub  some  sand  between  their  hands  to  insure  a 
firm  grasp,  and  rush  at  each  other  like  mad  bulls.  The  object  of  the 
conflict  is,  by  blows  or  by  clinching,  to  expel  each  other  from  the  ring. 

From  the  middle  of  the  seventh  century,  when  Japan  was  favored 
with  its  first  Mikado,  these  gladiators  have  been  an  honored  class, 
proudly  tracing  their  descent  through  a  line  of  more  or  less  illustrious- 
ancestors.  The  nobility  of  Japan,  even,  do  not  disdain  their  acquaint- 
ance ;  in  fact,  the  leaders  of  the  wrestlers  wear  two  swords,  the  sitrn  of 
nobility.  The  wrestlers  themselves  are  members  of  a  great  organiza- 
tion, presided  over  by  their  king  or  acknowledged  champion.  Each 
province  furnishes  its  quota  of  athletes,  who  form  a  minor  society  whose 
head  is  the  champion  of  the  province.  Every  professional  must  be  in- 
corporated with  some  society  and  be  content  with  a  salary,  the  cham- 
pion, on  the  other  hand,  drawing  from  the  proceeds  of  the  entertain- 
ments and  being  responsible  to  the  king  only.  The  Mikado  fixes  the 
length  of  time  during  which  the  companies  shall  exhibit  at  the  principal 
towns. 

THE    THEATRE. 

Open-air  theatricals  and  exhibitions  of  puppets  are  favorite  forms  of 
amusement  with  the  poorer  classes,  the  more  wealthy  people  attending 
regular  theatres.  The  play  commences  at  sunrise,  crowds  of  tradesmen, 
clerks  and  prosperous  artisans  hastening  toward  the  doors  of  the  theatre, 
with  their  gaily  dressed  wives  and  children.  A  lady  of  the  nobility  occa- 
sionally slides  in  {incognito),  but  her  husband  can  not  attend  even  in 
disguise.  There  is  no  law  against  such  enjoyment,  but  he  would  thereby 
seriously  imperil  his  standing  in  society. 

The  wife  of  the  well-to-do  tradesman  appears,  however,  in  her  true 
colors.  She  even  commenced  to  prepare  for  this  enjoyable  event  the 
evening  before.  The  hair-dresser  built  a  tower  upon  her  head,  and 
during  the  night  she  could  not  even  turn  upon  her  block  of  wood.  Upon 
the  morrow  she  arose,  bathed,  washed  her  neck,  shoulders  and  arms  with 
milk-starch  ;  blackenetl  her  eyebrows  with  a  pencil  ;  coated  her  lips  with 
a  golden  pre|)aration  which  afterwards  turned  to  vermilion  ;  decked  her- 
self with  silken  robes,  confined  by  a  sash  which  was  twisted  around  the 
hips  and  tied  behind  in  a  great  bow — then  eating  a  light  breakfast  with 


TIIL;     IHF.ATKE. 


OSI 


her  husband  and  child,  and  j)rovidiny  them  with  other  refreshments  which 
might  be  required,  she  was  prepared  to  be  borne  away  to  the  theatre  in 
her  palanquin. 

The  performance  may  last  fifteen  hours,  or  forty-five,  but  after  hav- 
ing bought  their  tickets,  hired  their  cushions  and  procured  their  pro- 
grammes at  an  adjoining  teahouse,  the  family  are  prepared  to  give  them- 
selves up  entirely  to  pleasure,  notwithstanding  that  there  are  other  head- 
dresses in  all  portions  of  the  great  hall  as  obstructing  to  the  view  as  our 
lady's.  In  the  center  of  the  theatre  is  a  small  platform  occupied  by  a 
special  policeman.  The  stage  stretches  across  one  side  of  the  hall 
and  the  orchestra  of  drums,  flutes  and  three-stringed  guitars  is  in    front, 

to  the  left.  Galleries  run 
around  the  hall, the  ground 
floor  being  divided  into 
square  boxes  by  wooden 
partitions.  Two  boarded 
platforms  run  from  the 
stage  on  either  side  to  the 
opposite  end  of  the  hall, 
and  along  these  pathways 
the  actors  make  their  en- 
trances and  exits.  The 
1  play  of  several  hours  or 
1  several  days  is  almost  en- 
tirely pantomime,  a  choir 
of  singers  and  an  ear- 
splitting  orchestra  keep- 
ing up  a  constant  din. 
But  hour  after  hour  the  happy  natives  applaud  a  favorite  actor,  a  melo- 
dramatic representation  or  even  a  gesture,  partaking  of  refreshments 
which  are  handed  to  them  by  waiters  who  walk  along  the  ledges  of  the 
wooden  partitions,  the  men  constantly  lighting  their  small  copper  pipes  at 
the  little  brazier,  or  pan  of  live  coals,  whi«-h  stands  in  the  middle  of  each 
box. 

The  stage  turns  upon  a  pivot,  so  that  as  one  set  of  actors  passes  out 
of  sight  a  new  lot.  already  gesticulating,  posturing,  groaning,  laughing, 
scowling  and  otherwise  using  the  universal  language,  comes  before  the 
audience.  But  by  far  the  most  unique  feature  of  Japanese  theatricals  is 
embodied  in  the  "Shadow."  "  He  is  clothed  cntireU"  in  black,  wears  a 
black  cowl,  and  stands  close  behind  the  actor,  off  of  whom  he  never  takes 
his  eye  for  an  instant,  and  whose  every  movement  he  follows  as  though 


RlnlNG  IN   A  PALANQUIN. 


OS  2 


PANORAMA    OF     NATIONS. 


he  were  his  reflection.  He  hands  him  all  the  little  accessories  he  is  in 
need  of,  and  places  a  small  stool  at  the  rit;ht  moment  for  him  to  sit  upon 
and  prevent  the  inconvenient  posture  of  scjuatting.  The  eye  can  not  at 
first  accustom  itself  to  this  black  form  stalking  so  silently  about  the 
boards  ;  but  in  a  theat'-e  all  is  so  conventional  that  the  quaint  impression 
soon  wears  away,  and,  once  admitted,  this  shadow  certainly  tills  a  most 
useful  part.  Amongst  other  services,  when  the  day  wanes  he  holds  a 
lighted  candle  at  the  end  of  a  stick  under  the  nose  of  the  actor  to 
render  his  gestures  and  features  distinguishable." 


BATHING    AND    TEA    HOUSES. 

The  bath  in  Japan  is  what  it  was  in  Rome  in  the  ancient  days, 
with  this  difference  —  that  in  the  Eastern  Empire  both  sexes  formerly 
performetl    their  ablutions    in   common.       Of  late   years,    however,   the 

practice  has  been  prohibited. 
Although  contrary  to  all 
Western  ideas  of  propriety, 
the  subsequent  conduct  of 
maidens  who  daily  repaired 
to  the  public  house  was  mod- 
est and  ladylike.  The  cus- 
tom was  one  of  great  an- 
tiquity, and  as  whole  streets 
were  devoted  to  bathing 
houses  and  they  were  na- 
tional institutions,  supported 
b)-  father,  son,  mother  and 
daughter,  so  far  as  might  be 
judged  by  outsiders,  the  cus- 
tom was  not  productive  of 
lamentable  results. 

Nearly   each    house    of 
INTERIOR  OF  A  TEA  HOUSE.  ^j^g    Upper    classes    has    at- 

tached to  it,  also,  private  bathing  rooms,  but  they  are  often  unused. 
Hot-water  baths  are  considered  as  necessary  to  a  Japanese  as  eating 
or  sleeping  ;  so  that  besides  his  morning  bath  he  goes  through  a  course 
of  parboiling  later  in  the  day.  As  he  is  religiously  opposed  to  wetting 
his  head,  he  is  frec^uently  stricken  with  apoplexy  before  he  leaves  his 
little  leather  tub  and  the  gossiping  and  laughing  crowd  of  men  who 
frequent  the  bathing  hall. 

Next  to  the  bathing   hall   the  tea    house   is   the   most   popular   of 


EUROPEAN    HABITS.  655 

resorts.  In  the  cities,  in  the  suburbs,  far  out  into  the  country,  the  tea 
houses  spring  from  the  most  picturesque  locahties.  Upon  pubHc  road 
they  often  reacli  tlie  dignity  of  hotels;  in  retired  country  nooks  they 
descend  to  mere  huts  of  wood  and  paper,  covered  with  a  lliatchrd  roof, 
but  snug  and  inviting,  notwithstanding.  In  estabhshments  of  any  [)re- 
tensions  young  girls  wait  upon  customers,  who  sit  cross-legged  upon 
soft  mats  and  slowly  sip  their  bowls  of  tea.  By  calling  for  them  they 
also  will  be  served  with  rice,  brandy,  eggs  or  fish.  Tiie  saddest  phase 
of  Japanese  life  is  seen  in  another  class  of  tea  houses,  called  "  Joro-jas." 
They  are  frequented  by  night,  the  entrances  being  guarded  by  wooden 
gratings.  Beyond  are  halls  lightetl  sufficiently  with  paper  lanterns  for 
any  passer-by  to  discern  the  richly  attired  young  girls  squatting  together 
in  a  grou|)  for  inspection,  like  so  many  bedizened  wax  dummies.  They 
range  from  fourteen  to  twenty  years  of  age,  and  their  beautiful  jet 
black  hair  is  artistically  arranged  and  ornamented  with  yellow  tortoise 
shells.  Within  are  beautiful  gardens  and  pavilions,  and  Japanese 
musicians  and  dancers,  some  of  them  mere  children,  who  have  been  sold 
into  slavery  by  poor  parents. 

EUROPEAN   HABITS. 

The  rapid  changes  which  the  Japanese  are  undergoing  from  native 
to  European  civilization  are  best  illustrated  by  a  glance  at  Yeddo,  or  as 
it  has  been  known  for  many  years  Tokio,  the  capital  of  the  empire.  Its 
settled  districts,  with  beautiful  gardens  and  groves,  wide  streets  and 
canals,  cover  an  area  of  nearly  sixty  square  miles.  Tokio  lies  in  a  broad 
valley,  which  slopes  toward  the  waters  of  the  Bay  of  Yeddo.  All  around 
are  wooded  hills  and  the  cypress,  palm,  bamboo  and  evergreen  oaks 
spring  up  on  every  side.  Charming  suburbs,  with  snug  hedgerows  and 
shady  lanes,  nestle  around  the  bustling  city,  which  is  itself  broken  into 
magnificent  parks  adorned  with  artificial  lakes,  pavilions,  and  temples 
which  are  used  for  civil  as  well  as  religious  purposes.  The  very  heart 
of  the  city  is  a  bewildering  succession  of  these  temple  gardens,  and 
here  is  the  official  quarter,  which  comprises  an  area  of  five  square  miles 
surrounded  by  a  triple  line  of  fortifications  and  containing  the  former 
palaces  of  the  nobles.  These  great  structures,  as  well  as  the  castle  of 
the  Tycoon  (who  was  formerly  the  real  ruler  of  Japan),  are  built  on  the 
summit  of  a  range  of  hills.  Massive  walls  and  gateways,  macadamized 
roads,  deep  moats  in  which  are  myriads  of  wild  fowl,  with  groups  of 
buildings  standing  upon  bold  elevations,  green  slopes,  overhanging 
groves,  and  everything  which  the  fine  artistic  sense  of  the  Japanese 
mind,   aided  by  nature,  can  suggest,   combine  to  make  this  district   of 


654 


PANORAMA    OF   NATIONS. 


H 

w 
g 

r 
p) 

O 

> 

o 
w 
z 


O 


EUROPEAN    HABITS.  655 

the  city  one  of  the  most  alluring  spots  in  the  world.  The  residences  of 
the  daimios  surrounded  the  palace  of  the  Tycoon,  but  with  his  degrada- 
tion and  the  entrance  of  foreigners  to  the  empire  many  of  the  nobles 
deserted  their  homes  and  retired  in  disgust  to  the  country.  Space 
which  was  formerly  monopolized  by  such  useless  magnificence  is  now- 
covered  with  government  buildings,  cotton,  woolen  and  paper  mills, 
colleges,  schools,  arsenals  and  foundries.  In  the  imperial  university  are 
100  foreign  instructors,  and  the  schools  and  colleges  are  attended  by 
60,000  or  70,000  pupils.  The  youth  of  the  land  are  bright  and  ambi- 
tious, as  several  of  the  universities  of  America  know  full  well. 

Elementary  schools  are  being  established  throughout  the  empire ; 
the  law  of  1872  providing  for  53,000  of  them.  Forty  per  cent,  of  the  chil- 
dren of  school  age  are  receiving  instruction,  and  among  the  youth  and 
manhood  of  the  land  the  fever  to  imbibe  European  ideas  is  at  its 
height.  Not  only  are  the  higher  schools  and  colleges  thronged,  but 
private  tutors  of  standing  are  besieged  on  all  sides.  One  of  these  mas- 
ters at  Tokio  is  an  author  of  political  and  social  works  and  a  translator 
from  the  best  Western  writers.  His  students  already  fill  many  important 
government  offices,  and  others  have  established  a  newspaper  which 
vigorously  criticises  all  public  acts.  Throughout  Japan  there  are 
between  300  and  400  newspapers  and  periodicals,  and  school  books,  and 
works  on  political,  scientific,  ethical,  historical  and  poetical  subjects  are 
constantly  issuing  from  the  press. 

Outside  of  the  district  which  may  be  considered  as  under  the  im- 
mediate patronage  of  the  Mikado  and  the  government,  is  the  business 
and  residence  territory.  Within  this  are  miles  of  stone  and  brick  build- 
ings in  the  modern  style  of  architecture,  with  miles  more  of  open  booths. 
A  horse  vehicle  is  not  so  great  a  wonder  in  Tokio  as  in  other  portions 
of  the  empire,  and  carts  piled  high  with  goods  of  all  descriptions  are 
being  dragged  through  the  streets  in  endless  procession.  Bathhouses,  fire- 
proof warehouses,  mounted  policemen  ;  natives  In  black  coats  and  leather 
shoes  as  well  as  In  native  costume  ;  newspaper  offices  using  the  metal 
types  and  running  off  their  sheets  on  cylinder  presses  ;  telegraph  wires, 
connecting  not  only  the  police  districts,  but  the  other  chief  cities  of  the 
empire  with  the  capital ;  locomotives  running  to  Yokohama,  the  foreign 
mercantile  settlement  seventeen  miles  away,  and  others  nowbullding  to  run 
over  longer  lines  ;  sewing  and  knitting  machines  and  banks  are  thrown 
too-ether — the  old  and  the  new  brouijht  togrether  in  strlklno-  contrast. 
But  sufficient  Is  seen  to  place  the  Japanese  In  the  list  of  decidedly  pro- 
gressive and  remarkable  people. 

In  one  of  the  most  thickly  settled  districts  of  Tokio  is  a  massive 


656  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

wooden  bridge  spanning  the  river  Okawa.  It  is  not  a  remarkable  en- 
gineering acliievement  and  only  interesting  as  being  the  center  of  the 
empire  and  the  point  from  which  distances  are  reckoned — so  many  ri 
(two  and  one-half  miles)  from  the  "  Nipon-bas,"  as  the  bridge  is  called, 
north  or  south. 

Tokio  is  the  most  noteworthy  illustration  of  the  spread  of  European 
ideas ;  for  here  are  manufactured  from  foreign  models  such  articles  as 
watches,  clocks,  globes,  thermometers,  barometers,  microscopes,  tele- 
scopes, knives,  spoons,  looking-glasses,  rugs,  carpets,  clothing,  etc.;  but 
in  all  the  laree  cities  and  towms,  the  new  is  crowding  out  the  old,  and 
even  pickles,  condensed  milk,  fancy  soap,  patent  medicines,  wines  and 
brandies,  are  swinging  into  line. 

UNWORTHY   OF   JAPAN. 

Legalized  suicide  is  an  institution  peculiar  to  China  and  Japan.  It 
is  called  "  harri-kari "  in  the  latter  empire,  and  the  mode  of  legalized 
procedure  is  to  disembowel  one's  self  with  a  sharp  knife  ;  this  is  pecul- 
iarly Japanese.  Efforts  are  being  made  to  suppress  the  disgrace,  which 
is  still  a  hideous  instrument  employed  by  cruel  and  autocratic  daimios  to 
punish  those  who  have  offended  them  ;  the  unfortunates  are  ordered  to 
commit  harri-kari,  and  such  is  the  power  which  the  princes  often  have 
over  their  subjects,  that  the  self-murder  is  generally  committed.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is  often  considered  a  privilege  of  which  the  nobility  them- 
selves take  advantage. 

STYLE    OF   ARCHITECTURE. 

The  common  Japanese  houses  have  frameworks  of  wood,  to  which 
are  fastened  reeds  or  bamboo,  and  the  interstices  filled  with  mud,  with 
wooden  door  and  window  frames  covered  with  paper,  broad  eaves  and  a 
veranda  running  completely  around.  The  rain  doors,  or  outer  shut- 
ters, protect  the  inner  ones  during  stormy  weather.  Within  are  paper 
partitions,  which  can  be  slid  out  of  sight,  and  the  whole  house  thrown 
into  a  hall  to  accommodate  the  pleasure-seeking  people.  No  house  is 
without  its  gem  of  a  garden.  It  matters  not  how  tiny  it  is,  the  ground 
is  laid  out  in  beautiful  groves  of  dwarf  shrubs  which  surround  miniature 
lakes,  little  streams  over  which  green  arches  are  thrown  to  represent 
bridges,  or  leafy  bowers  which  would  scarcely  accommodate  a  company 
of  Lilliputians.  The  houses  are  often  loaded  with  blue  lilies  and  other 
flowers,  while  these  artificial  landscapes  are  enclosed  with  bamboo  fences 
over  which  creep  trailing  vines  and  plants. 


WITHIN    THE    HOUSE.  657 

The  palaces  of  the  nobility  are  simply  several  of  these  houses, 
united  by  corridors  of  stone  or  wood,  roofed  over  with  cement,  and  sur- 
rounded by  a  continuous  rampart  of  smaller  whitewashed  structures,  in 
which  the  domestics  reside.  The  Mikado's  palace  is  a  "  yashki "  of  larger 
dimensions,  comprising  many  courts  and  streets,  and  scores  of  houses,, 
pavilions  and  corridors,  with  beautifully  varnished,  gilded  and  sculptured 
roofs. 

When  the  sound  of  the  tocsin  is  heard  from  the  fire  tower  there  is 
naturally  great  alarm ;  for  fires  in  all  the  cities  of  Japan  are  destructive. 
It  is  estimated  that  Tokio  is  burned  all  over  once  every  seven  years. 
When  the  fiames  fairly  get  a  headway  the  most  that  can  be  done  is  to 
pull  down  a  great  area  of  buildings,  and  remove  the  goods  in  their  imme- 
diate pathway  to  the  nearest  fire-proof  warehouse.  This  is  shaped  like 
a  tower,  built  of  wood  and  encased  with  cement  or  mud,  sometimes  a 
foot  in  thickness.  The  doors  and  windows  are  built  of  the  same  mate- 
rial, are  closed  upon  the  approach  of  a  conflagration  and  the  cracks  plas- 
tered up  with  mud.  Candles  have  been  lighted  inside  to  convert  the 
oxygen  of  the  air  into  carbonic  acid  gas,  so  that  the  building  is  made 
absolutely  fire  proof.  These  warehouses,  or  low  towers,  are  also  used 
upon  the  approach  of  the  typhoon  or  hurricane. 

Fire,  wind  and  earthquake  are  the  three  forces  of  nature  with  which 
the  Japanese  are  obliged  to  contend,  and  their  houses,  which  are  seldom 
more  than  thirty  feet  in  height,  are  constructed  with  reference  to  the 
latter.  If  they  are  two  stories  high,  the  second  is  built  more  substan- 
tially than  the  first  (e.xperience  has  taught  them  that  this  is  the  safer 
plan) — the  upper  one  comprising  the  living  rooms  and  the  lower  the 
cellar  for  the  storage  of  provisions. 

WITHIN  THE  HOUSE. 

The  same  delicacy  of  taste  and  sense  of  propriety  are  noticed  in 
the  interior  as  in  the  exterior  arrangements.  Simplicity,  cleanliness, 
harmony  of  design  and  coloring,  and  comfort  are  the  uppermost  feat- 
ures. Thick  mats  of  rice  straw  cover  the  floor,  over  which  members 
of  the  family  walk  barefooted.  Writing  is  done  by  kneeling  before  a 
table  about  a  foot  high  When  the  letter  is  finished  the  table  is  put 
away  in  a  cupboard.  The  family  eat  sitting  on  their  heels  around  a 
small  table.  After  dinner  every  person  takes  a  nap  of  several  hours 
In  the  evening  comes  another  meal,  and  after  the  table  is  cleared  men, 
women  and  children  produce  their  pencils,  brushes,  paints  and  papers, 
and  give  exhibitions  of  their  skill.  The  height  of  the  artist's  ambition 
is  not  so  much  to  excel  in  delineating  Nature's  moods  as  to  draw  and 


658 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


paint  in  the  most  surprisingly  ingenious  methods.  He  will  put  in  ahead 
here,  a  tail  there,  a  tree  in  one  corner,  a  house  in  another,  a  leg  in  the 
air,  an  arm  beneath,  an  eye  glancing  out  of  space,  and  when  all  have 
tried  themselves  in  guessing  what  it  all  can  mean,  a  few  rapid  strokes  of 
pencil  and  brush  will  join  everything  together  and  form  a  tolerable 
picture. 

Other  games  succeed  the  artistic  efforts,  and  they  are  enjoyed  by 
son,  father,  grandfather,  even  to  the  fourth  generation  ;  and  the  same 
universal  love  of  diversion  is  witnessed  out  of  doors,  where  the  natives 
tly  kites  and  indulge  in  feats  of  skill,  everyone  entering  heartily  into  the 
sport,  from  the  infant  who  can  hardly  walk  to  the  sire  who  can  just 
totter  around.     When  night  comes,  they  envelop  themselves  in  large, 

warm  night  robes,  placing 
their  day  clothes  either  in 
an  open  cabinet  or  upon  a 
frame  which  stands  near,and 
repose  upon  a  straw  matting 
covered  with  a  quilt,  with  a 
wooden  block  stuffed  at  the 
top  for  a  pillow.  It  is  cus- 
tomary,also,to  have  a  teapot 
with  cups  beside  the  bed, 
with  conveniences  for  heat- 
ing, so  that  the  day  ma)-  be 
ushered  in  with  one  or  more 
cups  of  the  favorite  bever- 
age. Day  and  night  the 
brazier  is  kept  burning,  and 
if  the  Japanese  is  not  drink- 
A  JAPANESE  BEDROOM.  i^o-  tea,  he  is  usually  some- 

where  in  the  vicinity  of  the  teapot,  smoking  and  gossiping  with  his  friends. 

THE  LAST  RESTING  PLACE. 

Regard  for  the  dead  is  manifested  by  the  Japanese  in  the  same  way 
as  by  the  Chinese.  The  ancestral  tablet  is  placed  with  the  household 
gods,  and  the  familv  altar  is  their  most  sacred  shrine.  If  the  body  is 
fnterred,  it  is  buried  in  a  sitting  posture,  with  the  hands  folded.  The 
coffins  are  invariably  circular.  The  ceremonies  at  the  grave  are  con- 
ducted by  priests,  and  even  here  there  is  little  of  that  depressing  spirit 
of  mourning  manifested,  which,  with  some,  is  considered  a  religious  as 
well  as  a  social  dutv.    The  nearest  relatives  are  dressed  in  grayish  white, 


AGRICULTURE    AND    MANUFACTURES.  659 

the  men  wear  coarse  straw  hats,  and  the  women  discard  their  elaborate 
ornaments,  merely  wearing  a  comb  in  the  hair.  The  cemetery  is  bright 
with  tlowers,  and  each  family  has  its  own  enclosure,  marked  with  simple 
stones  or  massive  granite  monuments. 

If  the  deceased  has  expressed  a  desire  to  have  his  body  burned, 
after  the  ceremonies  have  been  performed  in  the  temple,  the  corpse  is 
carried  to  a  small  house,  placed  upon  a  stone  scaffold,  and  being  con- 
sumed in  the  presence  of  priests,  the  bones  are  carefully  drawn  from  the 
fire  by  men  armed  with  sticks.  The  remaining  ashes  are  placed  in  an 
urn,  and  carried  to  the  tomb  by  the  relatives. 

AGRICULTURE  AND  MANUFACTURES. 

Government  and  people  combine  to  make  Japan  a  garden,  and  to 
utilize  every  possible  acre  of  ground.  The  land  is  divided  into  small 
holdings,  irrigated,  enriched  and  cultivated  according  to  the  Chinese 
methods.  The  plough  generally  in  use  is  a  heavy  piece  of  wood  fastened 
obliquely  to  a  beam,  and  hollowed  out  so  as  to  receive  a  piece  of  iron 
which  serves  as  a  share.  When  the  land  has  been  inundated  from  the 
canals  in  early  spring,  it  is  broken  up  into  a  liquid  paste  and  the  rice  is 
cast  into  the  ground  by  hand.  It  is  then  harrowed;  when  the  young  rice 
begins  to  shoot  it  is  transplanted  and  reaches  maturity  in  October. 
The  transformation  of  the  tea  plant  into  commercial  forms  is  accom- 
plished through  the  same  processes  in  Japan  as  in  China.  When  you 
are  intimate  with  the  agriculture  of  either  country  you  can  "  farm  it"  in 
the  other. 

As  horticulturists,  however,  the  Japanese  stand  alone  in  certain 
specialities.  They  seem  even  to  carry  their  feats  of  legerdemain  into 
this  department.  They  will  grow  you  a  cedar  many  feet  in  circumfer- 
ence or  only  a  few  inches  ;  a  head  of  lettuce  larger  than  a  bushel  basket 
or  smaller  than  a  rose,  but  healthy  and  productive  in  either  case.  Among 
other  wonders  in  this  line  a  sight-seer  mentions  the  vigorous  appearance 
of  a  fir,  a  bamboo  and  a  cherry  tree,  which  were  growing  in  a  box  5x2 
inches.  It  is  by  the  application  of  this  remarkable  skill  that  the  Japanese 
are  enabled  to  delineate  upon  the  tiniest  pieces  of  ground,  the  boldest 
and  most  charming  landscapes. 

With  the  introduction  into  Japan  of  steam  power  and  modern 
machinery  the  native  manufactures  are  already  undergoing  many  changes, 
not  always  for  the  better.  It  is  an  open  question,  therefore,  whether  in 
certain  lines  of  work  the  Japanese  have  not  reached  their  greatest  per- 
fection. Their  lacquer  work  and  their  bronzes  are  '.he  finest  in  the 
•world.     For  the  former  they  have  become  so  noted  as  to  have  given  a 


66o  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

common  word  to  the  English  language — japanning.  The  varnish  which 
they  use  is  mixed  slowly  and  smoothly  upon  a  copper  palette  with  the 
coloring  matter,  and  after  being  applied  five  or  six  times,  being  allowed 
to  dry  after  each  application,  is  scraped  and  polished  with  a  stone  or 
bamboo  utensil.  The  mother-of-pearl  figures  are  cut  out  and  colored 
underneath,  placed  upon  the  varnish  and  undergo  the  same  process  as 
the  wood. 

The  bronzes  are  not  only  noted  for  the  fineness  of  the  metal  but 
for  the  beauty  of  the  finish.  They  are  richly  decorated  with  figures 
representing  national  heroes,  mythological  personages,  and  historical 
events,  as  well  as  birds,  animals  and  landscapes.  The  swords  of  Japan 
are  almost  as  famous  as  the  Damascus  blades.  In  short,  as  workers  in 
iron,  copper  and  brass  they  are  unexcelled. 

Their  paper,  which  they  make  from  the  mulberry  tree,  is  tough, 
glossy  and  fine,  and  is  used  for  napkins.  The  bark  of  the  tree  is  boiled 
in  an  alkaline  composition,  washed,  and  mixed  with  a  preparation  of 
rice  ;  being  thus  reduced  to  a  smooth  paste,  the  mixture  is  formed  into 
sheets  by  being  pressed  between  bamboo  laths. 

The  Japanese  tend  their  s  ilkworms  as  carefully  as  their  children. 
The  art  of  weaving  is,  by  legendary  account,  of  celestial  origin,  and  is  con- 
sidered as  of  as  royal  a  nature  as  it  is  in  China.  The  lovely  maiden  who 
brought  the  art  to  earth  returned  to  her  home  in  one  of  the  heavenly 
constellations,  and  upon  the  seventh  day  of  the  seventh  month,  as  the 
stars  appear,  Japanese  women  and  girls  spread  beneath  their  kindly  rays 
silken  threads  of  various  colors,  offering  fruits  and  flowers  to  the  divini- 
ties who  control  the  cunning  of  human  hands. 

THE  JAPANESE  AS  ARTISTS. 

In  the  decoration  of  their  fans,  houses,  metal  and  wood  work,  and 
the  arrangement  of  their  beautiful  parks,  the  Japanese  exhibit  their 
artistic  talents  to  the  best  advantage.  Birds,  flowers  and  fruit  are  their 
favorite  themes,  and  they  delineate  them  in  perfect  forms  and  exquisite 
colors.  But  when  they  come  to  the  representation  of  landscapes,  where 
perspective  is  required,  their  efforts  are  crude  in  the  extreme ;  in  fact, 
they  are  such  masters  of  detail  that  they  can  not  conceive  how  it  is 
that  every  feather  and  shade  of  color  should  not  be  distinctly  brought 
out  of  the  bird  upon  the  wing  in  the  far  distance  as  well  as  every  line 
of  the  palace  which  stands  in  the  foreground  The  Japanese  have  made 
a  close  study  of  anatomy,  but  Japanese  artists  slur  the  "human  form 
divine"  most  shamefully.      It  is  generally  draped  and  properly  attired  in 


THE    FIRST,    LAST. 


66  I 


native  costume,  when  appearing  in  their  pictures,  and  a  Japanese  sculp- 
tor would  be  a  curiosity  indeed. 

Like  the  Chinese  the  Japanese  are  persistent  musicians,  although 
they  produce  but  little 
music.  Music  is  part  of 
every  woman's  education, 
her  favorite  instruments 
being  a  three-stringed 
banjo  and  a  larger  instru- 
ment which  is  placed  up- 
on the  ground  and  played 
with  slender  strips  of 
bamboo. 


THE  FIRST,  LAST. 

Therj  is  one  entire 
race  of  people  who  en- 
gage in  fishing — the 
Ainos,  who  inhabit  the 
island  of  Yezo,  to  the 
north  of  Niphon.  They 
are  the  aborigines  of  the 
archipelago.  In  appear- 
ance they  are  small  and 
thick  set,  with  wide  fore- 
heads, black,  horizontal 
eyes  and  fair  skin.  The 
women  dress  in  zouave 
style,  wear  broad- 
brimmed  hats  w  i  t  h  a 
conical  center,  or  simply 
cloths  tied  over  the  head. 
The  men  have  tifrht-fit- 
ting  pantaloons,  with  a 
cloak  fastened  with  a 
sash,  the  cloth  for  which 
is  made  from  sea-weed. 
The    Ainos    have    no    traditions 


a 
< 


O 


of  their  origin,  but  they  believe 
they  came  from  the  west,  although  they  differ  from  all  the  tribes 
of    Eastern   Siberia.     They  worship  the  fish  and   the  wolf   and  make 


662  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

no  attempt  to  cultivate  their  land.  The  Ainos  were  formerly  masters 
of  the  archipelago,  north  of  Niphon,  and  after  being  driven  from  that 
island  fought  stubbornly  for  many  years  and  were  not  reduced  to  com- 
plete subjection  until  the  fourteenth  century.  They  are  rapidly  decreas- 
ino-  in  numbers  and  are  being  crowded  into  the  northern  districts  of  the 
only  island  which  remains  to  them  ;  so  that  before  long  it  is  probable 
that  they  will  be  extinct. 

THE    COREANS. 

It  seems  probable  that  the  Coreans  are  of  the  great  Tungoosic  stock 
to  which  the  Mantchoos  belong  and  which  has  spread  over  so  great  a 
portion  of  Northern  Asia.  Their  language  is  Mongolian,  and  they  are 
both  taller  and  stouter  than  either  the  Chinese  or  Japanese.  But 
although  they  have  been  conquered  by  the  Mantchoos,  the  Japanese 
and  the  Chinese,  the  latter  have  retained  the  supremacy,  and  they  render 
even  a  less  tribute  to  the  empire  than  does  Mongolia.  Their  religions, 
however,  are  borrowed  from  China  and  the  nature  of  the  government  is 
Confucian. 

Literary  attainment  is  the  basis  of  political  preferment.  The 
examinations  all  take  place  in  Saul,  the  capital  of  the  kingdom,  the 
preliminary  one  being  conducted  annually,  and  those  of  higher  grade 
when  His  Majesty  is  in  need  of  government  officers.  The  king  is  abso- 
lute, although  there  are  near  to  him  the  Counsellor  of  the  Right,  the 
Counsellor  of  the  Middle  and  the  Counsellor  of  the  Left.  The  six 
Chinese  departments  appear  in  Corea,  the  Interior,  the  Treasury,  the 
War,  the  Public  Works,  and  the  departments  of  Justice  and  Religious 
Rites.  Each  department  has  its  head,  whose  title,  translated,  is  "  deci- 
sive signature,"  and  he  is  assisted  by  several  "  helps-to-decide "  and 
"  helps-to-discuss." 

The  provinces  into  which  the  kingdom  is  divided  have  each  a  gover- 
nor, who  has  six  assistants ;  these  assistants,  who  are  rulers  of  districts, 
are  aided  by  six  other  officials  upon  whom,  in  turn,  depend  six  other 
functionaries.  Three  and  multiples  of  three  seem  to  be  considered 
magic  numbers. 

'  The  audience  hall  of  the  King's  palace,  which  is  of  the  Chinese 
form  of  architecture,  is  faced  by  three  gates ;  the  approach  from  the  gates 
to  the  first  flight  of  steps  is  flanked  on  either  side  by  eighteen  granite 
slabs  upon  which  are  engraved  the  different  ranks  of  His  Majesty's  sub- 
jects and  which  mark  also  the  precise  point  to  which  they  may  advance 
toward   his  divine  presence,  when  a  royal  reception  is  on  hand.     These 


COMING     FROM    THEIR    SHELL.  66:? 


J 


slabs  do  not  indicate  government  grades  of  honor,  particularh',  but  the 
social  ranks  of  Corean  society.  A  nd  here  we  stumble  against  the  magic 
number  again  —  thirty-six  ranks  or  castes. 

In  Saul,  the  capital  of  the  kingdom,  are  two  royal  palaces,  the  Old 
and  the  New.  The  former  was  erected  five  hundred  years  ago,  when 
the  capital  was  laid  out,  and  occupies  the  cardinal  point  of  honor,  facing 
south.  The  New  Palace  was  built  a  hundred  years  later  for  a  crown 
prince,  and  when  he  became  king  he  did  not  choose  to  abandon  it.  So 
the  old  one  was  deserted.  The  New  Palace  faces  the  north,  the  second 
cardinal  point  of  honor.  Upon  state  occasions  the  king  of  Corea  always 
faces  toward  the  sunny  so.uth  and  his  most  honored  subjects  are  placed 
opposite  him. 

COMING  FROM  THEIR   SHELL. 

After  the  Japanese  opened  the  gates  of  their  sea  ports  the  Coreans 
were  the  most  secluded  people  in  the  world.  Until  brought  to  it  by 
force  of  arms  they  refused  even  to  have  commercial  communication  with 
China  and  Japan.  For  many  years  maritime  intercourse  was  not  allowed 
between  Corea  and  China,  but  communication  was  by  way  of  a  narrow 
road  along  the  sea  coast,  which  was  given  up  principally  to  wild  beasts. 
Until  quite  recently  there  was  little  intercourse  save  on  occasion  of  the 
annual  embassy  and  of  the  periodical  fairs  in  Mantchuria. 

The  dread  of  Russian  invasion  and  annexation,  however,  has,  of 
late  years,  induced  Corea  to  rather  encourage  friendly  relations  with 
Western  Powers,  that  she  may  have  friends  to  protect  her  in  a  possible 
hour  of  need.  In  1876  Japan  relinquished  her  traditional  claim  to  trib- 
ute and  was  granted  commercial  privileges.  Corea  was  thrown  open  to 
American  and  Chinese  commerce  in  1882,  and  the  result  of  such  action 
by  the  progressive  party  was  the  massacre  of  the  Queen,  the  heir  appar- 
ent and  his  bride,  and  thirteen  ministers  who  favored  foreis^n  intercourse. 
The  Japanese  legation  barely  escaped  a  like  fate  and  fled  from  the  wrath 
of  the  Corean  conservatives.  A  month  afterwards,  however,  they 
returned  to  Saul,  under  the  protection  of  a  military  escort,  and  Japan 
made  preparations  for  war.  The  usurper  who  had  overturned  the  gov- 
ernment surrendered  to  a  Chinese  force,  the  king  was  restored  to 
authority,  and  Corea  can  no  longer  be  called  the  Hermit  Nation,  although 
she  can  more  fittingly  lay  claim  to  the  title  than  any  other.  Soon  after 
the  success  which  attended  the  efforts  of  America  and  China  to  enter 
her  doors,  Great  Britain  and  Germany  were  favored  with  commercial 
treaties. 


664  PANORAMA    OK    NATIONS. 

WHY  THEY  FEAR  THE  PRIESTS. 

A  singularity  of  this  very  singular  people  is  that  religion,  in  the 
cities,  has  no  hold  upon  them.  Not  a  single  temple  or  church  spire 
points  tlie  way  to  heaven  in  Saul  or  any  other  walled  city.  For  this 
wonderful  absence  of  sacred  edifices  two  explanations  have  been  criven 
One  is  that  three  centuries  ago  a  body  of  Japanese  soldiers  gained 
admittance  to  several  important  Corean  strongholds,  disguised  as  Bud- 
dhist priests,  which  was  the  important  step  toward  the  subjugation  of  the 
country,  and  that  when  the  invaders  withdrew,  after  having  ruled  for 
many  years,  the  Coreans  passed  a  law  that  hereafter  no  priest  should  set 
foot  within  the  gates  of  a  walled  city  ;  the  second  theory,  or  native  state- 
ment, being  that  the  Buddhists  had  become  so  corrupt  in  the  cities  that 
they  were  expelled  b}'  the  Confucians  and  relegated  to  their  monasteries 
in  the  country  districts,  which  still  exist.  .So  that  although  Buddhism, 
Taouisni  and  Confucianism  have  their  votaries,  and  nearly  all  the  state 
gods  of  China  are  worshiped,  the  uniform  and  dreary  appearance  of 
the  low  Corean  buildings  is  not  broken  by  the  graceful  lines  of  temoles 
and  pagodas  which  relieve  the  monotony  in  neighboring  lands. 

THEIR    SUPERSTITIONS. 

The  Coreans  are  honey-combed  with  Shamanism,  although  their 
exclusive  disposition  keeps  out  the  Shamans.  Below  the  gables  of 
stately  royal  palaces,  may  be  observed  a  row  of  bronze  figures,  resem- 
bling nothing,  and  everything  hideous,  which  are  placed  there  to  scare 
away  evil  spirits.  This  mode  of  frightening  them  is  patented  by  the 
King.  His  humbler  but  still  prominent  subjects  are  allowed  to  post 
upon  their  outer  doors  colored  placards  representing  the  figures  of  two 
famous  generals,  who  are  reported  to  have  had  great  success  in  captur- 
ing and  destroying  demons  of  disease.  The  common  people  rest  satis- 
fied with  fastening  a  wisp  of  rice-straw  to  their  doors,  or  a  piece  of  cloth, 
thereby  deluding  the  demon  into  the  belief  that  he  has  got  satisfaction 
when  he  seizes  upon  these  articles.  Upon  New  Year's  day,  the  good 
spirits  are  supposed  by  the  Coreans  to  call  upon  the  Lord  of  Heaven, 
and  to  so  engage  His  attention,  that  the  evil  spirits  come  to  earth  to  see 
what  damage  they  can  accomplish  there  ;  to  keep  them  away  from  their 
homes,  the  people  take  the  cuttings  of  hair  which  they  have  collected 
during  the  year,  and  burn  them  in  front  of  their  houses.  The  Coreans 
have  their  household  spirits  and  a  deity,  who  is  sent  by  the  .Supreme 
One  to  bless  little  children,  and  keep  them  out  of  the  clutches  of  the 
demons. 


MEN    AND    WOMEN.  665 

The  people  accredit  the  naming  of  their  country — the  land  of  the 
Morning  Calm — to  a  great  spirit,  and  claim  that  their  first  king  was  de- 
scended from  a  dragon  who  changed  Jiimself  into  a  man,  ascended  to 
heaven  and  married  the  daughter  of  a  god.  Afterward  they  came  down 
to  Corea  where  the  king  was  born. 

MEN  AND  WOMEN. 

The  woman  of  Corea  is  simply  the  property  of  either  her  father  or 
her  husband.  Her  seclusion  before  marriage,  the  negotiations  preced- 
ing marriage,  the  marriage  feast  and  the  closely  veiled  bride  whose  beau 
ties  are  unknown  to  the  bridegroom,  are  true  Oriental  features.  The 
separation  of  man  and  wife  after  marriage  is  Turkish.  The  man  is 
everything  in  Corea,  even  to  the  point  of  being  made  to  legally  suffer 
for  his  wife's  faults. 

The  prevailing  color  of  the  Corean  costume,  whether  of  man  or 
woman,  is  a  bluish  white.  Short  jackets,  loose  trousers  and  tunics  are 
the  chief  garments,  the  number  of  the  latter  being  proportionate  to  the 
rank  of  the  wearer.  "  It  is  perhaps  unfortunate,"  says  a  traveler,  "to 
have  fixed  upon  so  delicate  a  hue,  as  it  would  require  more  than  human- 
ity to  preserve  it.  The  faint  blue  of  the  land  of  the  Morning  Calm  soon 
fades,  by  contact  with  the  dirt  of  the  world,  into  the  the  gray  of  com- 
mon day."  Officials  wear  the  same  style  of  garments,  but  throw  into 
them  the  brightest  colors  of  the  rainbow  with  the  most  reckless  extrava- 
gance. Soldiers  have  dark  blue  uniforms,  dashed  with  crimson,  decked 
Avith  ribbons,  and  over  the  breasts  are  their  badges  of  valor. 

The  men's  tunic  is  confined  at  the  breast  and  the  women's  petticoat 
is  also  fastened  at  that  point.  The  sleeves  are  about  two  feet  wide, 
partially  sewed  up  at  the  ends,  so  that  they  serve  as  pockets  and  travel- 
ing bags.  A  tobacco  pouch  always  hangs  at  the  waist  of  both  man  and 
woman.  On  the  inner  side  of  the  tunic  around  the  neck  is  a  white  band 
of  cotton,  which  stands  in  place  of  our  collar.  The  materials  of  dress 
are  silk,  cotton  and  grasscloth,  the  latter  being  made  of  hemp.  Grass- 
cloth  is  used  for  every-day  wear  by  the  lower  classes  and  as  a  badge  of 
mourning  by  all,  as  it  is  in  China— a  kind  of  sackcloth  of  the  Hebrews. 

The  mourning  costume  is  also  distinctive  in  cut  from  the  reoular 
one,  that  of  the  man  consisting  among  other  things  of  a  hat  which  cur\'es 
down  like  an  umbrella  around  his  face  and  of  a  cloth  screen  before  his 
face.  With  this  species  of  blinders  the  poor  man  wanders  around  society, 
it  being  incumbent  upon  the  members  thereof  to  let  him  alone.  For 
three  years  he  is  shut  out  of  all  communion  with  his  fellows,  if  he  is  in 
mourning  for  his  father,  and  for  two  j^ears  should  he  grieve  over  the 


666  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

loss  of  a  mother.  If  the  man  is  a  love-sick  swain  it  sometimes  happens 
that  he  pines  away  for  a  dozen  years,  one  death  of  a  relative  following 
another  and  keeping  him  from  iTiarriage. 

As  the  upper  classes  dress  in  the  grasscloth  of  the  lower  when  they 
go  into  mourning,  so  all  classes  are  privileged  under  the  burden  of  grief 
to  assume  the  face  screen  which,  ordinarily,  is  the  badge  of  office,  or  the 
mark  of  distinction  of  the  government  official. 

Corean  shoes  resemble  those  worn  in  China,  except  the  soles  are 
studded  with  nails.  The  men's  hats  consist  of  the  skull  covering  and 
the  superstructure  of  silk  woven  upon  a  bamboo  frame  ;  so  that  a  Corean 
with  his  hat  on — and  he  wears  it  every  moment  except  when  he  is 
sleeping  —  resembles  a  man  who  has  turned  the  lining  of  a  modern  hat 
down  over  his  forehead.  The  betrothal  hat  is  made  of  yellow  straw  and 
usually  appears  on  the  Corean's  head  when  he  is  seven  or  eight  years  of 
age.  The  court  hat  has  a  high  oval  crown,  fits  tightly  over  the  forehead 
and  has  two  wings  which  extend  from  the  sides.  They  are  said  to  signify 
that  the  wearers  are  "all  ears"  for  the  royal  commands.  Rank  is 
measured  by  the  thickness  of  these  artificial  ears,  the  Emperor  being 
particularly  honored  by  having  his  placed  upon  the  top  of  the  hat 
—  he  is  supposed  to  listen  to  nobody.  There  are  also  special  in-door 
hats,  but  underneath  them  all  are  the  tails  of  the  men  twisted  around  a 
stick  of  coral  or  amber. 

There  is  no  great  variety  of  female  hats,  as  the  Corean  woman  is 
debarred  from  the  privilege  of  showing  off  her  fashions,  but  those  of  the 
higher  classes  occasionally  appear  on  the  street  or  borne  along  in  a 
palanquin  with  a  low  structure  upon  the  head  which  resembles  a  parasol, 
beautifully  and  deeply  fringed. 


V 

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K^ 

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-i4 

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^  •  1 

rJ>' 

THE  GREEKS. 

H ETHER  the  first  Grecians  were  Asiatic  Hellenas,  or  Phoe- 
nicians who  founded  a  colony  across  the  sea  as  many  years 
before  Christ  as  we  are  Hving  after,  does  not  much  concern  us. 
We  know  that  the  Greelcs  were  for  centuries  the  nucleus  of 
the  world's  best  thought,  and  that  they  have  passed  down  to 
us  a  grand  literature  and  a  beautiful  architecture.  We  know 
that  they  are  Aryans,  and  that  they  were  the  first  of  the  Indo- 
European  stock  to  found  a  state  ;  that  they  were  subject  to 
Rome,  to  Venice,  and  to  Turkey,  and  for  half  a  century  or 
more  have  been  independent.  They  even  objected  to  be 
directed  in  the  establishment  of  their  modern  kingdom  by  England, 
France  and  Russia,  the  Powers  which  had  assisted  them  to  throw  off  the 
Turkish  chains.  Foreign  princes,  however,  were  appointed  to  direct 
Hellenic  affairs,  and  revolt  followed  revolt,  until  the  son  of  the  King  of 
Denmark  was  chosen  to  take  the  helm  of  state.  That  was  a  quarter  of 
a  century  ago,  and  more  than  twenty-five  years  after  Greece  had  revolted 
from  Turkey,  and  had  seen  her  olive  and  fig  trees  cut  down  and  burned 
and  her  territory  devastated. 

THE  ACROPOLIS. 


Athens,  anciently  decorated  with  innumerable  master-pieces  of  arch- 
itecture and  sculpture,  still  retains  in  ruins  some  traces  of  her  former 
splendor.  Ragged  outlines  exist  of  that  ancient  citadel,  the  Acropolis, 
from  which  the  people  could  see  magnificent  evidences  of  their  genius 
spread  over  the  plains  below  ;  temple  upon  temple  arose  in  sublimity, 
and  their  ruins  are  still  grouped  around  that  square,  craggy  rock,  i,ooo 
feet  long,  500  feet  broad  and  150  feet  high,  upon  which  stood  the  Acrop- 
olis in  all  its  majesty.  Within  its  great  walls  are  the  remains  of  the  Par- 
thenon, or  the  temple  of  Minerva,  a  pile  which  even  now  stands  among 
the  wonders  of  the  world. 

Forming  the  entrance  to  the  Parthenon  was  a  wonderful  temple  of 

white  marble  ;  all  that  remains  of  this  are  six  columns  with  lofty  arches. 

667 


668 


PANURAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


S 

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z 


TEMPLES    OF   JUPITER  AND    THESEUS.  669 

Of  the  Parthenon  itself,  the  interior  of  which  was  for  some  time  used  as 
a  Turkish  mosque,  there  remain  eight  cohimns  in  front,  with  several 
colonnades  at  the  side,  and  the  mutilated  figures  of  magnificent  groups 
of  statuary  representing  conflicts  between  the  gods  and  other  mytho- 
logical tales.  But  ruined  as  it  is,  the  general  aspect  of  the  temple  is 
sublime. 

The  Temple  of  Neptune,  another  theatre  belonging  to  the  Acrop- 
olis, is  in  a  better  state  of  preservation  than  the  Parthenon,  and  though 
grain  is  now  growing  in  its  broad  arena,  enough  of  the  structure  is  still 
in  sicrht  to  give  the  observer  a  grand  idea  of  what  it  once  was.  North 
of  the  Acropolis  are  the  ruins  of  the  Erechtheum,  the  most  venerable 
of  all  the  religious  temples  of  Athens. 

TEMPLES  OF  JUPITER  AND  THESEUS. 

Sixteen  grand  columns  still  stand  of  the  Temple  of  Jupiter,  which 
was  seven  hundred  years  in  building,  and  at  the  time  of  its  completion 
one  of  the  most  magnificent  structures  in  the  world.  The  exterior 
was  decorated  by  about  120  fluted  columns,  sixty-one  feet  in  height,  and 
more  than  six  feet  in  diameter.  It  was  354  feet  long,  171  feet  broad, 
and  contained  the  celebrated  statue  of  Olympian  Jupiter,  in  ivory  and 
gold.  This  great  temple  stood  southeast  of  the  Acropolis  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  Ilissus. 

Northwest  of  the  city  is  the  Temple  of  Theseus,  the  best  preserved 
of  all  these  architectural  monuments.  It  was  the  tomb  of  the  King ;  to 
its  walls  the  slave  fled  for  refuge,  and  once  within  was  safe  from  harm. 
The  large  plot  of  ground  in  its  center  was  worn  smooth  by  the  feet  of 
thousands  of  Athenian  soldiers,  called  to  muster. 

LAW   AND    PHILOSOPHY. 

But  a  Turkish  burial  place  occupies  the  hill  of  the  Areopagus  where 
the  Athenian  court  expounded  the  laws,  and  from  which  Paul  preached 
the  new  doctrine.  The  Lyceum,  in  which  the  learned  Aristotle  lectured 
and  taught  his  philosophy,  consists  of  a  few  broken  walls  ;  and  a  modern 
house  and  garden  occupy  a  portion  of  Plato's  and  Socrates'  Academy. 

THE    ACADEMY. 

The  simplest  and  most  affecting  pieces  of  Greek  art  are  to  be  found 
among  the  graves  of  the  old  heroes  and  philosophers,  statesmen  and 
politicians,  which  are  reached  b}-  passing  through  a  squalid  district  of 
modern  Athens,  westward  toward  this  famous  Academy,  or  public  pleas- 


670  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

ure  grounds  and  groves  in  which  Socrates  and  Plato  taught.  It  became 
in  time  a  suburb  of  Athens,  and  along  one  of  its  most  beautiful  avenues 
the  famous  dead  were  laid. 

The  collection  of  dense  poplar,  olive  and  elm  groves  from  a  moun- 
tain to  the  north  of  Athens,  sweeps  down  the  plain  of  Attica  a  few  miles 
to  the  west  of  the  city  until  it  reaches  the  insignificant  remains  of  the 
foundations  of  the  vast  walls  of  the  Piraeus.  This  cool  band,  watered 
by  a  narrow  river  which  throws  out  numbers  of  refreshing  branches,  is 
ten  miles  long,  by  two  in  width,  and  it  must  have  been  a  great  relief  for 
the  perplexed  philosophers  and  agitated  statesmen  to  have  escaped  from 
the  bustle  and  plots  of  the  city  and  the  dust  of  the  plain  to  its  shades 
and  accompanying  songs  of  birds.  The  brooding  of  its  calm  beauties 
upon  a  great  reflective  spirit,  might  reasonably  have  produced  a  broadt 
unimpassioned  philosophy.  Here  also  the  athletic  youth  of  Athens  run 
their  races,  along  the  public  thoroughfares  strolled  the  beauty  and  nobility 
of  the  city,  and,  as  if  to  further  impress  the  fact  that  the  w'orld  is  deter- 
mined to  obtrude  itself  upon  the  most  godlike  thoughts,  the  majestic 
Acropolis,  in  the  distance,  speaks  of  wordly  glories  from  its  framework 
of  green  as  one  looks  toward  the  capitol  down  a  vista  of  mighty  trunks. 

To  reach  the  tombs  and  the  groves  you  are  obliged  in  these  days  to 
encounter  tilth  and  rags,  a  smoky  railway  station  resonant  with  disagree- 
able sounds,  and  the  pleasanter  sights  of  classic  faces,  with,  now  and 
then,  the  graceful  figure  of  a  peasant,  clad  in  the  national  costume  of  red, 
white  and  blue  colors. 

The  ruins  lie  far  below  the  present  surface  of  the  ground,  and 
where  an  excavation  has  been  made  are  covered  with  a  wooden  door  to 
protect  the  sculptured  faces  of  the  monuments.  When  we  say  that  the 
parting  scenes  between  father  and  mother,  mother  and  son,  at  the  bed 
of  death,  or  the  heroic  suffering  of  the  warrior,  breathing  out  his  soul  in 
the  field  of  battle,  are  treated  with  classic  simplicity,  the  general  reader 
will  recognize  the  fact  that  Greek  art  speaks  to  the  world  in  noble  and 
unexaggerated  forms  and  does  not  attempt  by  bold  strokes  to  depict 
heart-rending  griefs  and  stormy  passions. 

Over  an  abrupt  hill,  a  few  minutes'  walk  from  this  hallowed  spot,  is 
a  long  deep  gorge  running  parallel  with  the  road  which  leads  to  Athens. 
This  was  the  Barathrum,  where  criminals  were  executed,  refused  the 
rites  of  burial,  and  whose  bodies  were  watched  by  their  grim  sentry  until 
they  fell  into  decay.  A  late  visitor  to  this  spot  draws  the  following 
striking  sketch  :  "  In  the  present  day,  all  traces  of  this  hideous  history 
have  long  passed  away  and  I  found  a  little  field  of  corn  waving  upon  the 
level  ground  beneath.     But  even  now  there  seemed  a  certain  loneliness 


A    GRAND    STAND.  67 1 

and  weirdness  about  the  place — silent  and  deserted  in  the  midst  of 
thoroughfares,  hidden  from  the  haunts  of  men  and  hiding  them  from 
view  by  its  massive  walls.  Nay,  as  if  to  bring  back  the  dark  memories 
of  the  past,  hawks  and  ravens  were  still  circling  about  as  their  ancestors 
did  in  the  days  of  blood  attached,  I  supposed,  by  hereditary  instinct  to 
this  fatal  place,  '  for  where  the  carcass  is,  there  shall  the  eagles  be  gath- 
ered together.'" 

A  GRAND  STAND. 

A  short  distance  to  the  west  of  the  Acropolis  is  a  low  hill,  at  the 
base  of  which  is  a  limestone  wall,  from  which  projects  a  pedestal  carved 
out  of  the  rock  and  ascended  by  steps.  "  This  interesting  place  has  been 
preserved  almost  in  its  integrity,  and,  as  we  look  around,"  says  a  late 
visitor,  "we  are  carried  back  to  the  times  when  some  six  thousand 
Athenian  citizens  were  here  assembled  ;  when  the  orator,  standing  upon 
the  pedestal,  could  survey  the  Acropolis  with  all  its  temples,  the  venera- 
ble Areopagus  and  beyond  the  city  the  extended  plains  and  villages  of 
Attica  with  corn  fields,  olive  grounds  and  vineyards." 

A  LINK  BETWEEN  OLD  AND  NEW. 

As  might  be  expected,  the  museums  of  Athens  are  rich  in  antiqui- 
ties, but  that  care  is  not  observed  in  their  arrangement  and  the  restora- 
tion of  fragmentary  works  of  art  which  makes  the  museums  of  Italy  of 
such  satisfactory  interest ;  so  that  if  one  is  not  an  expert  himself,  or 
can  not  obtain  the  services  of  some  member  of  the  University  or  other 
learned  Greek,  he  will  wander  about  bewildered  and  dissatisfied.  There 
is  one  class  of  figures  which  have  been  excavated  from  cemeteries  in 
Megara,  Gyrene,  Tanagra  and  other  localities  west  and  north  of  Athens, 
viz.:  —  terra-cotta  figures,  often  delicate  in  form  and  color,  averaging 
nine  or  ten  inches  in  height.  They  represent  ladies  and  shepherds, 
usually  gracefully  draped,  but  some  of  them  are  badly  modeled,  as  if 
the  work  of  inexperienced  hands.  The  old  Greeks  mention  a  class  of 
tradesmen  who  made  toys  for  children,  and  scholars  have  compared 
their  descriptions  with  these  figures  and  conclude  that  they  fit  one 
another.  The  dresses  of  the  ladies  are  often  pink  and  blue,  with  golden 
fringes,  the  hair  is  fair  and  drawn  back  from  the  forehead,  while  the 
styles  of  costumes  might  have  been  copied  from  the  Greek  ladies  and 
peasants  of  to-day.  This  terra-cotta  work,  which,  in  its  coloring  resem- 
bles the  modern  Bisque  ware,  is  chiefly  found  on  cupboards  and  in 
cabinets  of  private  houses  at  Athens,  although  the  museums  are  not 
without  them.      In  one  particular  the  collection  of  antiquities  is  remark. 


6-72  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

ably  complete.  Attic  vases,  lamps  and  inscriptions  have  been  indus- 
triously collected,  studied,  deciphered  and  classified,  and  much  precise 
historical  information  has  been  thereby  gained. 

MODERN  ATHENS. 

Such  ruins  and  evidences  of  ancient  life  as  these,  with  a  few  new 
wooden  houses,  one  or  two  solid  structures,  and  two  lines  of  planked 
sheds  which  formed  a  bazaar,  is  a  sketch  of  Athens  as  it  was  several 
years  after  Greece  had  become  independent  of  the  Turks.  Her  great 
harbor  of  Piraeus,  once  connected  with  the  city  by  broad  walls  five 
miles  in  length,  was  a  piece  of  deal  boarding  projecting  a  few  feet  into 
the  sea,  to  serve  as  a  landing  stage  for  small  boats,  and  a  wooden  hut 
for  a  guard.  The  walls  have  not  been  rebuilt ;  but  Athens  contains  a 
population  of  over  85,000  people,  and  Piraeus  is  a  flourishing  manu- 
facturing suburb,  containing  an  imposing  array  of  steam  factories.  The 
miserable  wooden  buildings  and  crooked  streets,  which  at  first  disgraced 
the  city,  have  given  place  to  broad  and  clean  thoroughfares,  and  impos- 
ing edifices  devoted  to  learning  —  the  University,  whose  faculty  con- 
sists of  about  fifty  professors  and  tutors  ;  the  Academia,  the  observa- 
tory, the  school  of  Technology,  the  Museum,  the  Zappeion  and  the 
Arsakeion  (a  college  for  the  higher  education  of  women). 

In  point  of  beauty  the  institutions  of  learning  take  the  lead.  The 
University  stands  out  in  classic  outlines,  its  white  columns  contrasting 
strangely  and  strikingly  with  its  deep  red  interior  wall.  The  Arsakeion 
is  a  great  structure  of  white  stucco,  with  marble  portal  separated  from 
the  boulevard  by  a  handsome  iron  railing.  The  Greek  and  French 
academies  are  superbly  constructed  of  Pentelic  marble,  the  latter  costing 
over  a  million  dollars.  Other  institutions,  which  have  been  named  and 
which  show  the  tendency  of  the  modern  Greek,  are  equally  grand  and 
durable.  A  plain,  square  palace  for  the  King;  a  splendid  edifice  for  the 
Young  Ladies'  Institute  —  that  tells  the  story.  And  "not  one  of  the 
least  interesting  of  street  sights  in  Athens  are  the  long  files  of  children 
of  both  sexes  from  the  public  schools  and  orphan  asylums,  as  they  take 
their  afternoon  walk  through  the  boulevards  —  the  boys  in  gray  or  blue 
uniforms,  and  the  girls  in  homespun  frocks  and  spotless  white  pinafores. 
They  are  the  ever  moving  sign  of  the  ever  progressive  educational  life 
in  Greece." 

The  zeal  which  is  observed  in  all  classes  of  the  Greeks  must  be 
genuine  ;  there  is  nothing  like  a  hot-house  growth  about  it.  Education 
is  not  compulsory,  and  yet  the  state  expends  more,  proportionately,  in 
the  cause  than  any  other  nation  in  the  viorkl.     The  very  children  are  said 


MODERN    ATHENS.  673 

to  cry  for  books  and  run  away,  later,  from  their  country  homes,  and  heroic- 
ally deny  themselves  almost  the  necessities  of  life,  that  they  may  enter 
the  gymnasia  or  University  of  Athens.  The  ambition  to  enter  the  latter 
may  be  also  tainted  with  aspirations  of  a  political  nature,  for  the  Univer- 
sity has  had  many  eminent  men  connected  with  it,  patriots  and  states- 
men as  well  as  scholars,  and  its  wide-awake  professors  do  not  allow  any 
national  movement  to  pass  by  without  having  a  voice  and  taking  a  hand 
in  it. 

The  popular  .system  of  education  nas  four  grand  divisions.  First 
come  the  communal,  or  elementary  schools,  in  which  are  taught  the  com- 
mon branches,  the  history  and  geography  being  trimmed  to  Grecian 
tastes.  The  Hellenic  schools  are  devoted  to  French,  Latin  and  Greek 
and  the  gymnasium  to  Latin,  Greek,  French,  English,  German,  the  nat- 
ural, mental  and  moral  sciences.  The  University  is  expected  to  cover 
the  ground  of  colleges  in  other  countries.  A  Virginia  gentleman,  who 
sees  certain  weaknesses  in  these  eager,  ambitious  Greeks,  thus  relieves 
himself:  "At  present  one  sees  a  nation  of  school  children,  satchel  in 
hand,  going  to  the  newest  sciences  to  be  fed  with  the  latest  develop- 
ments—  hearty,  winsome,  eloquent  and  obliging  children  withal,  but 
entirely  too  much  given  to  gongs  and  pancakes.  A  sound  castigation 
now  and  then  from  reasonable  people,  a  decided  set-down  of  national 
conceit,  some  glimmering  intuitions  of  the  geographical  proportions  and 
importance  of  other  countries,  a  little  logic  of  events,  and  economy  both 
political  and  private,  both  in  word  and  in  deed  ;  these  are  elements 
toward  the  realization  of  that  pining  for  nationality  which  has  become 
a  malady  with  the  Greeks." 

Modern  Athens  lies  on  a  plain,  spreading  out  from  the  Acrop- 
olis like  a  fan.  Around  it  are  the  other  historic  elevations  which  have 
been  mentioned,  overlooking  the  new  city  with  an  air  of  boldness  and 
dignity.  The  famous  olive  groves  near  the  city,  in  which  the  old  phi- 
losophers walked,  and  the  Queen's  garden,  which  half  encircles  the 
King's  palace,  and  which  has  not  inaptly  been  called  "the  city's  leafy 
crown,"  are  welcome  reliefs  to  the  gray  old  hills  and  ruins  and  the 
houses  of  yellow  stucco.  South  of  the  garden  rise  the  ruined  columns 
of  the  Temple  of  Jupiter.  The  King's  palace  is  in  need  of  the  beauties 
of  the  flowers,  lakes  and  winding  walks  of  ,the  lady's  garden,  for  it  is  a 
plain  building  of  white  marble,  without  any  pretensions  to  architectural 
comeliness.  A  broad  boulevard  passes  in  front  of  the  palace,  garden, 
square  of  Olympium  (where  Jupiter's  Temple  is),  the  Acropolis,  and  the 
Temple  of  Theseus,  after  which  it  swings  around  Athens  entire.     The 

principal  hotels  of  the  city  are  in  the  Square  of  the  Constitution,  sepa- 

43 


674  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

rated  from  the  Kings  palace  by  a  small  grove  of  orange  trees.  The 
street  of  Hermes  extends  from  this  square  toward  the  Pira;us  road, 
over  a  mile  away.  Other  streets  which  cross  the  square  penetrate  this 
busy  quarter  of  the  city,  with  its  hotels,  coffee  houses,  politicians,  tobacco 
shops,  book  stores,  cheap  jewelry  booths,  and  gaudily  dressed  citizens. 
The  Cathedral  or  Metropolitan  Church  is  large,  and  colored  outside  with 
red  and  yellow  stripes  ;  there  is  no  other  religious  edifice  in  Athens  so 
imposing,  although  several  small  Byzantine  churches  hold  the  attention 
because  of  their  quaint  style  of  architecture. 

THE  GREEK  AND   HIS  COSTUMES. 

In  Athens  and  other  large  towns  the  jacket  and  white  skirt  of  the 
old-fashioned  Greek,  with  leather  pistol  pouch,  are  giving  place  to  Anglo- 
Saxon  and  French  costumes.  1  he  blue  trousers  and  crimson  sash  of 
the  Cretan,  however,  are  being  more  slowly  discarded.  They  are  quite 
becoming  and  constant  attention  to  cleanliness  is  not  so  necessary  as 
when  a  man  is  wearing  the  short  white  petticoats  which  were  character- 
istic of  the  national  dress.  The  peasant  woman  in  the  national  costume 
is  now  seldom  seen  in  the  streets  of  Athens,  even  in  the  vicinity  of  her 
busy  market  place,  but  the  shepherd  often  wends  his  way  to  that  point, 
dressed  in  his  hooded  cloak  of  sheepskin,  and  driving  before  him  his 
goats  or  turkeys.  From  shepherd  to  lady  is  not  so  great  a  stride  as  it 
would  be  in  many  other  countries  ;  for  even  in  the  highest  society  her 
dress  and  deportment  is  quiet — classically  quiet — and  there  is  little  of 
that  ostentation  which  in  many  countries  makes  the  gulf  so  wide  between 
the  rich  and  poor. 

PORTERS  AND  MERCHANTS. 

Here,  in  fact,  will  be  gathered  representatives  of  most  of  the  clear- 
cut  Grecian  types  of  the  humbler  people.  The  peddler  pushing  his  cart 
before  him,  or  the  prouder  proprietor  of  the  little  stall,  are  both  crying 
up  their  goods  and  apparently  attempting  to  drown  the  newsboy's  shout. 
They  may  all  be  incipient  samples  of  the  coming  Greek  merchant,  who 
has  in  his  nature  the  cunning  and  enterprise  of  his  ancient  forefathers, 
but  finds  his  country  too  small  a  field  for  his  talents.  It  may  be  best 
that  they  remain  in  Athens,  as  many  of  their  countrymen  in  Asia  Minor, 
in  Africa,  in  Arabia,  India  and  the  islands  of  all  the  Eastern  seas,  who 
have  engaged  in  larger  ventures  have  spread  the  impression  over  the 
world  that  Greek  merchants  are  personifications  of  shrewd  unscrupulous- 
ness.    The  most  earnest  of  the  street  characters,  after  these  small  trades- 


THE    GREEK    AT    HOME.  675 

men,  are  the  Maltese  porters,  who  with  coils  of  rope  over  their  shoulders 
are  on  the  look-out  for  travelers,  or  purchasers  ot  heavy  goods  who  may 
wisn  to  have  them  transported.  "  If  the  purchaser  is  furnishing  a  house," 
says  one  who  knows,  "  the  scene  becomes  amusing;  for  unless  the  shop- 
keeper knows  his  customer's  residence  and  an  agreement  is  made  with 
him  to  send  the  articles  home,  the  stranger  as  he  passes  through  the 
fashionable  quarter  of  the  town  may  be  surprised  to  find  himself  followed 
by  a  procession  of  Maltese  porters,  in  single  file,  the  first  shouldering 
a  bedstead,  the  second  a  wardrobe,  the  third  a  washstand,  the  fourth  a 
centre-table,  while  chairs,  pots  and  frying  pans  bring  up  the  rear." 

The  sight-seer  notices  that  even  in  the  hubbub  of  the  market-place 
every  one  is  polite.  Men  take  off  their  hats  to  each  other  when  they 
meet  and  when  they  part.  The  customer  even  observes  the  same  courtesy 
in  entering  and  leaving  the  shop  of  the  tradesman  who,  he  knows,  will 
swindle  him  if  he  can.  Bearded  friends  are  even  more  demonstrative. 
They  kiss  each  other  on  the  cheeks,  pressing  each  other's  hand  the  while, 
as  if  they  had  not  met  for  half  a  lifetime.  When  finally  they  are  free  of 
each  other  it  is  observed  that  they  commence  to  finger  strings  of  beads, 
and  this  they  do,  not  that  they  are  saying  their  prayers,  but  merely  for 
want  of  somethintr  to  do  with  their  hands. 

There  are  dishonest  Greek  merchants  as  there  are  dishonest  commer- 
cial gentlemen  in  England  and  America,  but  the  wholesale  slaughter  of 
their  characters,  in  which  crime  many  Europeans  indulge,  is  quite  unjust. 
Their  ways  of  dealing  are  often  not  as  direct,  as  blunt,  as  those  of 
Western  nations,  and  their  shrewdness  —  often  merely  employed  as  a 
chess  or  a  checker  player  would  his  nimblest  wit  —  has  gained  the  advan- 
tage of  many  members  of  the  commercial  world.  Their  ideas  are  also 
offensively  republican,  and  in  all  territories  where  Turkish  influence  is 
felt  it  is  useless  to  expect  anything  but  the  blackness  of  the  foulest  char- 
acter to  fall  upon  the  Greek. 

THE  GREEK  AT  HOME. 

What  they  are  at  home,  what  the  Greeks  are  in  Athens  and  in 
other  large  towns  ought  to  be  an  assurance  that,  abroad,  they  are  not 
entirely  delivered  to  the  Evil  One.  Classical  scholars,  who  are  also 
historical  students,  find  that  the  Greeks  of  2,000  years  ago  are  the  Greeks 
of  to-day — ^oftentimes  with  the  same  features,  virtually  speaking  the 
same  language,  subtle,  vain  of  dress  and  of  martial  bearing,  proud, 
ambitious,  intellectual,  inquisitive,  restless  and  patriotic  —  both  man 
and  woman,  priest  and  layman.      The  family  relation  is  sacred.      Fathers 


676  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

sacrifice  themselves  to  give  their  children  good  educations.  Brothers 
will  not  marry  until  their  sisters  are  provided  for;  and  the  daucditer  or 
sister  is  expected  to  "listen  to  reason,"  and,  if  she  does  not  find  the 
gentleman  really  distasteful,  to  abide  by  the  judgment  of  her  elders. 
The  Greeks  are  emphatically  a  chaste  people — so  say  they  who  have 
lived  among  them.  They  are  a  temperate  people;  for  though  they 
drink  wine  made  from  pure  grape  juice,  fermented  in  barrels,  they  leave 
rum  and  brandy  to  foreigners  and  sailors.  Of  the  foreigners,  Eno-Hsh- 
men  and  Americans  are  reported  to  be  the  hardest  drinkers.  The 
Greeks  are  hospitable  as  in  the  ancient  days  —  they  feed  a  beggar  before 
they  listen  to  his  story. 

The  majority  of  the  dwelling  houses  are  found  in  the  newer  por- 
tion of  Athens,  as  compared  to  the  district  whose  nucleus  is  the  Kino-'s 
palace  and  the  Square  of  the  Constitution.  They  are  generally  built  of 
cobble  stones,  with  an  entrance  through  a  gate  and  courtyard  for  the 
first  flat  family  and  another  front  door  for  the  second  flat  people. 
Each  house  has  its  balcony,  which  is  generally  occupied  by  the  lady  of 
the  house  and  her  friends,  who,  during  pleasant  weather,  visit  each  other 
out-of-doors  and  enjoy  the  sights.  Inside,  the  furnishings  are  so  plain 
as  to  make  the  rooms  seem  almost  bare.  A  few  rugs  on  the  floor,  chairs 
and  sofas,  with  gaily  colored  ceilings,  however  comprise  the  chief  addi- 
tions to  plain  boards. 

Behind  the  house,  again,  is  the  garden,  where  the  average  Greek 
lives  when  at  home,  if  he  is  not  smoking  or  gossiping  in  his  balcony. 
"  In  very  many  of  the  gardens,  or  in  the  court  yards  of  private  dwell- 
ings, the  visitor  notices  small  fragments  of  ancient  sculi)ture  set  up 
against  the  wall  or  inserted  in  it  ;  portions  of  vases,  bas-reliefs,  a  trunk- 
less  head,  or  a  headless  trunk,  inscriptions,  etc.,  which  were  discovered 
for  the  most  part  on  the  spot  where  they  are  now  seen,  having  been 
turned  up  in  the  excavations  during  the  progress  of  the  buiklino-.  The 
removal  of  antiquities  from  the  countr)-  is  now  forbidden  by  law,  but 
the  discoverer  is  permitted  to  retain  them  as  his  personal  property." 

LIFE  AND  DEATH. 

It  will  be  during  the  winter  and  earl)-  spring  months  that  the  aver- 
age Athenian  will  most  revel  in  the  charms  of  his  climate.  The  rains 
of  autumn  are  followed  by  a  soft,  glorious  sunlight,  and  though  a  brisk 
northern  zephyr  may  occasionally  stray  into  the  city  and  snow  may 
whiten  the  summits  of  neighboring  mountains,  all  in  all  Old  Probs  is 
a  god  who  rules  with  wonderful  discretion.  During  the  late  sprino", 
summer  and  fall,   hot   blasts   sweep   over   the   plains   of  Attica  and  the 


THE    FAMOUS    LAURIUM    MINES.  677 

Athenian  is  covered  and  choked  with  dust  without,  or  driven  to  his 
house  by  swarms  of  insects  to  undergo  partial  suffocation,  to  the  baths 
near  the  city,  to  his  country  estate,  or  to  the  islands  of  the  seas. 

Necessarily,  the  social  season  of  Athens  is  confined  to  the  winter 
and  spring  months.  Society  is  exclusive,  although  its  entertainments 
are  on  a  small  scale.  The  royal  dinners  and  balls,  enjoyed  several  times 
monthly,  are  given  in  the  palace  —  in  one  of  the  finest  halls  of  Europe  — 
and  at  these  gatherings  the  men  and  women  of  the  best  society  reveal 
the  fact  that  the  former  are  the  lovers  of  dress  ;  for  no  gentleman  who 
can  appear  in  a  gaudy  uniform  with  a  decoration  neglects  to  make  him- 
self prominent.  The  season  is  closed  with  the  carnival,  the  upper  classes 
maintaining  the  same  good  breeding  which  marks  their  conduct  in  sea- 
sons of  unlicensed  conviviality  ;  the  mass  of  people,  however,  throng 
the  streets  attired  in  fantastic  costumes,  and  act  as  common  mortals 
always  do  during  the  carnival  season. 

Toward  this  scene  of  boisterous, gayety  comes  a  Greek  funeral  pro- 
cession, the  priests,  or  it  may  be,  a  single  priest,  in  front,  chanting  his 
service.  Loud  voices  are  hushed,  grotesque  head  pieces  are  removed 
and  the  sign  of  the  cross  is  upon  every  breast.  The  corpse  is  borne  in  a 
light,  open  casket,  and  is  attired  in  every-day  garments;  the  head  is  ele- 
vated as  if  the  shut  eyes  were  gazing  in  adoration  at  the  picture  of  the 
Virgin,  which  is  placed  upon  the  breast.  Should  the  deceased  be  a 
female,  her  cheeks  and  lips  are  painted  red.  A  peculiarity  of  th^  Greek 
procession  is  that  the  mourners  do  not  follow  the  coffin  in  solemn 
couples  but  group  around  it,  as  if  loth  to  leave  the  side  of  their  dear 
one.  "  When  a  person  of  distinguished  position  dies,"  says  a  late  U.  S. 
Minister  to  Greece,  "  the  funeral  procession  becomes  an  imposing  spec- 
tacle, with  the  bishop  and  priests  in  their  gorgeous  sacerdotal  robes, 
numerous  lighted  candles  and  martial  music.  I  once  saw  the  body  of  a 
venerable  bishop  of  the- Greek  Church  carried  in  procession  through  the 
streets  of  Athens.  He  was  seated  in  his  bishop's  chair,  elevated  above 
the  people,  and  was  clothed  in  his  canonical  robes  with  mitre  on  head 
and  the  crosier  uplifted  in  his  hand.  A  cloth  around  the  forehead 
bound  it  to  the  back  of  the  chair,  but  not  sufficiently  close  to  prevent 
the  head  from  bobbing  up  and  down,  as  if  the  dead  man's  pale  and  rigid 
features  were  saluting,  for  the  last  time,  the  people  among  whom  he  had 
exercised  his  holy  office  for  over  three  score  years.  In  this  position  he 
was  placed  in  the  grave,  a  peculiar  honor  to  his  ecclesiastical  rank." 

THE  FAMOUS  LAURIUM   MINES. 

The  district  south  of  Athens,  in  Southeastern  Attica,  is  a  collection 
of  mountains  with  a  few  villages,  the  only  one  of  historic  interest  being 


6/8  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

Ergasteria ;  and  that  village  is  only  famous  for  the  mines  near  it.  To 
the  left  of  Athens  is  Salamis,  to  the  right,  but  further  north,  the  plain 
of  Marathon,  and  to  the  south  the  mines  of  Laurium.  Silver,  lead,  zinc 
and  antimony  have  been  taken  from  the  rocky  promontory  from  remote 
antiquity.  They  are  known  to  have  been  successfully  worked  inThemis- 
tocles'  time  up  to  the  commencement  of  the  Christian  era,  and  tradi- 
tion even  makes  the  founders  of  the  industry  to  be  the  ancient  Phoeni- 
cians. They  were  a  very  important  source  of  Athens'  wealth,  supplying 
her  with  money  with  which  to  build  her  fleets  and  maintain  her  power; 
in  fact,  there  is  reason  to  suspect  that  many  vessels  were  constructed  by 
the  Athenians  as  much  to  obtain  a  firm  possession  of  the  mines,  which 
were  more  than  a  score  of  mountainous  miles  away,  as  to  maintain  her 
political  freedom. 

Nicias,  the  Athenian  general  —  the  cautious,  the  pious,  the  super- 
stitious Nicias,  who,  with  Demosthenes,  was  put  to  death  because  his 
fleet  was  destroyed  by  the  enemy,  the  gods  through  an  eclipse  of  the 
moon  having  ordered  him  to  risk  an  engagement —  Nicias,  the  pious  cap- 
italist, worked  the  mines  of  Laurium,  and  drove  his  thousand  slaves  under 
ground  into  the  stifling  atmosphere  laden  with  the  poisonous  smoke  from 
the  lead  furnaces.  This  was  the  fifth  century  B.  C.  During  the  Pelo- 
ponnesian  War  there  appear  to  have  been  some  interruptions  in  the 
workings,  and  in  the  first  century  of  our  era,  Strabo  says  that  these 
once  celebrated  mines  were  exhausted  ;  that  new  mining  did  not  pay, 
and  that  people  were  smelting  the  poorer  ore  and  the  scorict  from  which 
the  ancients  had  imperfectly  separated  the  metal.  From  that  time  until 
the  latter  portion  of  the  present  century  operations  were  conducted  in  a 
heartless  fashion.  In  1S63  Marseilles  capitalists  purchased  the  mines, 
with  the  privilege  of  working  them  or  using  the  scoriae  from  which  the 
ancients  had  not  completely  separated  the  ore.  The  modern  enterprise 
was  so  successful  that  the  Greek  government  repented  of  its  bargain  and 
complications  arose  which  overturned  several  ministries  and  caused 
France  and  Italy  to  interfere  to  protect  the  interests  of  the  Marseilles 
capitalists.  The  government  claimed  that  they  attempted  to  evade  pay- 
ment of  ground  rent.  The  chasm  was  bridged,  however,  by  the  sale  of 
the  mines  to  a  Greek  company. 

The  town  which  modern  companies  have  built  is  occupied  by  about 
3,000  operatives.  The  refuse  which  the  ancient  miners  threw  from  the 
bowels  of  the  mountains  and  piled  near  the  openings  of  the  pits  in  im- 
mense hillocks,  is  much  of  it  covered  with  earth  and  vegetation  ;  but 
neither  French  nor  Greek  company  has  found  it  profitable  to  open  up 
new  veins  of  ore,  but  continues  to  excavate  the  refuse  and  truck  it  down 


marathon's  plain.  679 

to  the  port  of  Ergasteria,  where  it  is  smelted.  The  result  is  much  lead 
and  little  silver.  Many  of  the  old  pits — centuries  old — are  still  open, 
and  entrance  into  the  earth  is  effected  by  means  of  good  steps,  the 
passages  being  two  or  three  miles  in  length  ;  tliey  are  on  a  colossal 
scale,  well  arched  and  carefully  supported  according  to  the  strict  injunc- 
tions of  Athenian  law.  It  is  said  that  in  some  of  these  vast  passage- 
ways are  many  inscriptions,  in  which  the  name  of  Nicias  appears. 

MARATHON'S    PLAIN. 

A  crescent-shaped  strip  of  land  by  the  sea-shore,  looking  toward  the 
east  and  surrounded  by  hills,  on  the  direct  line  of  travel  across  a  bold 
peninsula  to  Athens — this  is  the  famous  plain  of  Marathon.  When  the 
Athenians  marched  through  a  broad  valley  to  the  southwest  and  came 
upon  the  plain,  the  Persians  had  landed  at  its  northern  extremity,  where 
the  water  was  deep,  and  there  was  no  swamp  land  along  the  shore.  The 
Grecian  army  marched  out  to  meet  them,  for  had  the  Persians  been 
allowed  to  gain  the  village  of  Marathona,  they  would  have  rounded  a 
mountain  spur,  descended  into  the  plain  of  Attica,  and  put  themselves 
between  the  Greeks  and  their  capital.  But  marching  along  the  crest  of 
a  chain  of  hills,  the  Greeks  covered  Marathona,  and  ventured  out  into 
the  plain  to  give  the  host  of  invaders  battle.  The  central  point  of  the 
conflict  is  fi.xed  by  a  mound  of  clay,  thirty  feet  high,  upon  which  formerly 
stood  a  lion  of  victor)^;  but  the  lion  has  mysteriously  disappeared  and 
the  mound  has  been  honey-combed  by  antiquarians.  It  is  half  a  mile 
from  the  sea,  and  a  mile  from  the  steep  slope  of  one  of  the  hills.  The 
plain  is  treeless,  but  a  few  small  fields  of  grain,  in  season,  cluster  around 
the  battle  mound,  and  herds  of  cattle  wander  along  the  peaceful  shore 
which  was  once  alive  with  hosts  of  proud  and  then  affrighted  Persians. 
There  are  a  few  silent  herdsmen  about,  either  sleepily  watching  their 
charges,  or  bathing  in  the  blue  waters  ;  but,  it  may  be,  that  there  is  no 
other  sign  of  life  on  land  or  sea.  The  Italian  beesfar,  though  he  has 
penetrated  to  most  historical  spots,  does  not  disturb  the  serenity  of  the 
picture.  The  plain  is  six  miles  by  two,  and  Lord  Byron  tells  us  that  the 
Greek  government  offered  him  this  entire  tract  of  land  for  a  sum  which 
would  be  equivalent  to  less  than  five  thousand  dollars. 

ROCKY  SALAMIS. 

Ten  miles  west  of  Athens  is  "  Rocky  Salamis,"  with  its  lofty  moun- 
tains and  rocky  hills.  It  was  the  key  to  the  harbor  of  Piraeus,  which, 
in  turn,  covered  glorious  Athens.  I.i  the  seventh  century  B.C.  it  became 


68()  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

a  portion  of  Attica,  for  although  it  contains  only  thirty  square  miles  it 
had  been  made  a  kingdom  by  the  father  of  the  mighty  Ajax.  Solon 
was  born  within  its  barren  limits  and  so  was  Euripides,  but  most  of  all 
is  the  stanch  isle  famous  for  the  victory  which  Themistocles  eained  over 
the  fleet  of  Xerxes,  near  its  rocky  shores.  In  modern  times  it  has  been 
a  place  of  refuge  to  which  the  people  of  Attica  have  retreated  when 
pressed  by  the  Turks. 

On  the  bay  of  Salamis,  north  of  the  island,  is  a  wretched  village  con- 
taining a  great  marble  pavement  and  around  whose  huts  lie  vast  frag- 
ments of  pillars  and  capitals.  To  this  wretched  village  of  Eleusis  cling 
the  most  .sacred  memories  of  ancient  Greece,  and  these  fragments  of 
ruins  mark  the  sites  of  the  grand  temples  in  which  were  celebrated  the 
religious  mysteries  in  honor  of  Ceres,  the  goddess  of  agriculture  and  the 
representative  of  the  procreative  power  in  nature.  From  gross  mytho- 
logical representations  the  festivals  were  gradually  so  refined  that  they 
were  believed  to  be  symbolic  of  the  unity  of  God  and  the  immortality  of 
the  soul.  The  religious  exercises  were  free  to  all,  but  in  the  secret  alle- 
gorical representations  no  one  participated  except  the  initiated  ;  we  say 
free  to  all,  but  an  exception  was  made  in  the  cases  of  murderers,  bar- 
barians, slaves,  epicureans  and,  later,  of  Christians.  But  notwithstanding 
these  e.xclusions,  the  broadest  minds  of  Greece  and  Rome,  from  Plato 
to  Cicero,  were  enthusiastic  in  praise  of  the  purifying  influences  of  the 
Mysteries.  Cicero,  who  was  one  of  the  initiated,  has  this  to  say  of  them  : 
"  Much  that  is  excellent  and  divine  does  Athens  seem  to  me  to  have 
produced  and  added  to  our  life,  but  nothing  better  than  those  Mysteries, 
by  which  we  are  formed  and  moulded  from  a  rude  and  savage  life  to 
humanity;  and  indeed  in  the  Mysteries  we  perceive  the  real  principles  of 
life,  and  learn  not  only  to  live  happily  but  to  die  with  a  fairer  hope." 

FROM  ATHENS  TO  THEBES. 

If  the  Athenians  retain  any  of  their  ancient  animosities  toward  the 
Thebans,  they  must  take  a  grim  satisfaction  in  the  low  estate  to  which  their 
city  is  fallen.  The  road  between  the  two  places  is  good,  and  although  a 
great  semi-circular  fort,  built  of  square  hewn  stones  with  its  massive  towers, 
still  commands  the  passes  of  the  mountains  which  separate  Boetiafrom 
Attica,  it  merely  frowns  upon  the  traveler,  but  is  harmless.  It  is  a  relic  of 
the  time  when  Attica  was  obliged  to  protect  every  approach  to  Athens, 
and  especially  when  Sparta  and  Thebes  were  banded  against  her.  This 
fort  was  a  garrison,  capable  of  accommodating  not  merely  an  army,  but, 
in  case  of  a  sudden  invasion,  many  shepherds  with  their  ilocks  and 
herds.     The  straight  wall  is  perfect,  the  curved  side  having  fallen   to 


FROM    THEBES    TO    MOUNT    PARNASSUS.  68 1 

pieces  in  many  places.  The  chief  point  of  defense  must  have  been 
where  the  fort  passes  over  a  huge  rock  which  bars  the  one  path  toward 
which  the  roads  from  Boetia  converge  to  pass  the  crest  of  a  mountain 
on  theirway  toward  Athens.  From  the  fort,  two  or  three  miles  distant, 
can  be  seen  the  mountain  pass  which  commands  a  complete  view  of  the 
"plain  of  Thebes  and  the  whole  of  Boetia,  the  scene  of  so  many  great 
battles, — P!ata;a,  Leuctra,  Coronea,  Chseronela  and  others,  the  latter 
being  the  battle  ground  upon  which  Philip  of  Macedon  crushed  the 
liberties  of  Greece.  After  the  death  of  Philip,  the  Thebans  attempted 
to  reo-ain  their  freedom,  but  the  son,  Alexander,  was  even  to  be  more 
feared  than  the  father,  for  he  took  their  city,  leveled  it  to  the  ground 
and  sold  its  inhabitants  into  slavery.  It  was  rebuilt,  destroyed  by  the 
Romans,  and,  as  if  man  were  not  stern  enough,  nature  has  opened  its 
jaws  to  swallow  it  and  has  many  times  shaken  down  its  walls.  So  that 
there  is,  perhaps,  no  city  which  stands  upon  its  ancient  site  having  so 
few  fragments  to  show  of  its  past  life.  With  the  exception  of  a  few 
foundations  in  the  ground  and  several  inscribed  slabs  stowed  away  in  a 
rough  shed,  ancient  Thebes  has  disappeared  from  the  face  of  the  earth, 
architecturally  speaking,  and  is  known  principally  as  a  city  which 
furnished  many  bold  warriors  the  poet  Pindar  and  the  brave  and  virtu- 
ous Epaminondas. 

Modern  Thebes  contains  a  few  thousand  people,  and  near  by  is 
pointed  out  what  purports  to  be  the  tomb  of  St.  Luke.  Its  water  sup- 
ply is  excellent,  being  led  from  adjacent  springs  through  conduits  of 
marble,  which  are,  by  the  way,  one  other  remnant  of  ancient  days. 

FROM  THEBES  TO  MOUNT  PARNASSUS. 

From  Thebes,  toward  the  west,  toward  Mount  Parnassus  and  Del- 
phi, is  through  a  rich  country,  in  many  places  marshy.  The  famous 
battle  sites  in  this  region  are  passed  by,  some  of  the  towns  surrounded 
by  faint  outlines  of  ancient  walls.  Skirting  around  the  shores  of  Lake 
Copias  splendid  specimens  of  the  hill  forts  are  seen,  the  walls,  as  were 
those  of  Athens'  maritime  port,  being  constructed  of  square  hewn 
stones,  clamped  with  iron  and  lead.  In  fact,  remains  of  these  wonderful 
fortifications  are  so  common  among  the  mountains  which  separated  for- 
mer rival  states  that  they  have  often  escaped  particular  mention.  From 
the  lake  toward  the  three-peaked  mount,  covered  with  the  snows  of 
heaven  and  sacred  to  Bacchus,  Apollo  and  the  Muses,  the  journey  lies 
through  Ch?eroneia,  which  has  its  grand  acropolis,  a  huge  fort  upon 
a   rock   which    commands    the    country   around   the    lake   and    toward 


682  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

the  northwest  —  toward  Thessaly  and  ancient  Macedonia,  from  whence 
marched  the  great  conqueror  of  Greece.  Although  the  fort  wall  is  but 
a  few  feet  in  height,  it  is  placed  upon  the  edges  of  sheer  descents  or 
natural  fortifications,  and  even  now  shows  an  outline  of  fully  a  mile 
running  over  the  rock.  A  curiosity  which  no  traveler  misses,  albeit 
there  is  nothing  historical  about  it,  is  the  little  open-air  theatre  cut  out 
of  solid  rock,  a  copy  of  the  enormous  structures  in  other  parts  of 
Greece  and  Italy.  But  from  Chaeroneia  came  the  industrious  and  wise 
Plutarch,  and  the  great  historian  and  biographer  was  wont  to  sit  in  this 
little  rocky  theatre  and  enjoy  what  hours  of  leisure  he  had.  Near  the 
theatre  is  a  beautiful  Greek  fountain  ;  beautiful  maidens,  wearing  neck- 
laces of  gold  and  silver  coins  and  garments  of  rich  embroidered  wool, 
are  working  in  the  gardens  of  the  houses,  a  marble  lion,  in  whose 
upturned  face  as  he  crouches  upon  a  mound  of  earth  is  expressed  the 
heroic  grief  of  fallen  Thebes  and  conquered  Greece,  are  a  few  contrast- 
ing pictures  which  meet  the  tourist  who  lingers  at  Chseroneia. 

But  sooner  or  later,  every  traveler  in  Greece,  as  every  native  did  in 
the  olden  times,  reaches  the  oracle  of  Delphi.  The  scenery  along  the 
different  routes  which  lead  to  Mount  Parnassus  (or  as  modern  geog- 
raphers have  it  Mount  Liakura),  is  calculated  to  draw  one  away  from 
himself  into  the  region  of  the  gods — and  the  shepherds  and  mountaineers 
have  a  firm  faith  in  their  existence,  especially  if  their  native  town  has 
rocked  and  heaved,  or  a  milder  earthquake  has  sent  a  boulder  into  their 
midst  from  an  insecure  height.  Many  of  their  songs  and  ballads  bear 
witness  to  the  honesty  of  their  beliefs.  They  are  a  vigorous  and  long- 
lived  people  and  bear  the  greatest  animosity  toward  Charon,  their  god 
of  death,  when  he  claims  the  life  of  the  young. 

The  story  goes  —  where  it  comes  from  no  one  knows  - —  that  one  of 
these  simple  shepherds  was  in  the  habit  of  feeding  his  ilocks  near  the 
base  of  Mount  Parnassus,  where  two  of  its  peaks  come  so  closely 
together  as  to  form  a  dark,  mysterious  gorge  ;  from  the  fissure  burst 
forth  a  mighty  fountain,  or  stream.  Near  by  was  a  small  opening  in  the 
ground  from  which  arose  a  cool  vapor.  It  was  a  charming  place  for  the 
shepherd's  goats,  and  they  quietly  browsed  and  nibbled,  unless  by 
chance  they  approached  too  near  the  issuing  vapor.  Then  they  sprang 
about  as  if  they  were  mad.  The  shepherd  investigated,  breathed  the 
divine  vapor  and  immediately  commenced  to  prophesy.  The  wonder 
spread  from  shepherd  to  shepherd,  from  hamlet  to  hamlet,  until  the 
oracle  of  Apollo  became  established  and  the  inhabitants  of  a  neighboring 
town,  upon  one  of  the  slopes  of  the  mountain,  united  to  form  the  town 
of  Delphi.      Nobility  joined  with  peasantry,  and  the  next  we  notice  is 


FROM    THEBES    TO    MOUNT    PARNASSUS.  683 

that  the  fame  of  the  oracle  has  extended  over  Greece,  and  that  the 
fountain  which  issued  from  the  cavern  between  the  sacred  peaks  was 
confined  in  a  great  square  basin  cut  from  the  rock,  and  the  vaporous 
fissure  was  surrounded  by  a  grand  temple  of  marble.  Within  the  tem- 
ple was  a  golden  statue  of  Apollo  and  3,000  exquisite  works  in  bronze 
and  marble.  Over  the  chasm  from  which  arose  the  inspiring  vapor  was 
a  three-legged  seat  —  a  bronze  tripod,  formed  of  three  intertwined  ser- 
pents. Upon  the  tripod  was  an  awe-stricken  woman,  and  before  her 
were  gravely  attentive  priests,  and  men  and  women  whose  heads  were 
bound  with  olive  garlands  or  fillets  of  wool.  The  vast  temple  was 
thronged  with  silent  spectators  and  worshipers  at  the  shrine  of  the  god. 
Those  whose  heads  were  bound  had  come  to  consult  the  oracle  upon 
matters  of  state,  war,  adventure,  or  private  moment.  The  priestess  was 
of  low  birth  ;  the  priests,  or  interpreters,  were  nobles.  As  the  woman 
breathed  the  ascending  vapor  she  began  to  writhe  and  at  last  to  rave 
incoherently  to  the  multitude.  Herwords,  however,  were  interpreted  by 
the  attending  priests,  the  oracle  being  immediately  delivered  in  verse, 
or  handed  over  by  them  to  the  poet  of  the  temple. 

The  fame  of  the  oracle  spread  from  Greece  over  the  civilized  world, 
and  pilgrims  from  many  lands  were  attracted  to  Delphi.  The  priests 
were  thus  able  to  collect  information  of  a  truly  cosmopolitan  range,  and 
the  responses  which  issued  from  the  shrine  in  answer  to  the  inquiries  of 
warriors,  statesmen,  and  even  kings,  were  to  the  world  divinely  wise  and 
prophetic.  The  fame  of  the  oracle  made  Delphi  a  wealthy  city,  but  in 
the  many  subsequent  wars  through  which  she  passed,  her  people  were 
obliged  to  witness  the  destruction  of  their  own  town,  and  the  denuding 
of  the  famous  temple.  With  the  rise  of  Christianity,  also,  the  power  of 
the  oracle  decayed,  and  the  priestess  of  the  temple,  through  her  far-seeing 
attendants,  thus  confessed  it  when  the  Emperor  Julian,  in  362  A.  D., 
came  to  receive  divine  instruction:  "Tell  the  King  the  fair-wrought 
dwellinor  has  sunk  into  the  dust ;  Phoebus  has  no  longrer  a  shelter  or  a 
prophetic  laurel,  neither  has  he  a  speaking  fountain  ;  the  fair  water  is 
dried  up." 

A  few  years  thereafter,  the  Emperor  Theodosius  closed  the  pagan 
oracle.  The  marble  temple  fell  into  ruins,  the  cleft  from  which  issued 
the  inspiring  vapors  was  filled  up  by  Christians,  and  after  time  and  piety 
had  done  their  work,  the  huge  hand  of  the  earthquake  fell  upon  the 
scene,  tumbled  the  ruins  down  the  cliffs,  and  cast  a  mighty  boulder  into 
the  basin  of  the  fountain  in  whose  sacred  waters  the  pilgrims  purified 
themselves  before  approaching  the  shrine  of  Apollo.  But  the  spring 
still  gushes  from  between  Parnassus'  peaks,  and  upon  a  small  plateau 


684  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

far  above  the  modern  town  of  Castri,  are  marks  of  a  race  course  where 
the  public  games  were  celebrated  as  early  as  the  sixth  century  B.  C. 

ON    SACRED    GROUND. 

Climbing  one  of  the  off-shoots  of  Parnassus  by  a  steep,  rocky  path, 
a  table-land,  usually  covered  with  green,  is  reached ;  on  one  side  towers 
the  gray,  round  peak  of  Apollo  and  the  Muses  and  the  smaller  white  peak 
sacred  to  Bacchus.  The  word  sacred  is  used  with  a  reservation,  for  the 
orgies  which  were  held  in  his  name  near  this  peak  were  so  shameful  that 
they  were  celebrated  by  the  women  of  Attica  and  Delphi  at  night.  They 
were  clad  in  fawn-skins,  danced  about  with  wildly  streaming  hair  and 
swung  about  the  thyrsus,  the  staff  entwined  with  ivy  and  surmounted  by 
a  pine  cone,  or  a  bunch  of  vine  leaves,  which  was  Bacchus'  godlike  wand 
of  office.  The  ox,  which  was  sacred  to  the  god,  was,  by  some  illogical 
freak,  always  torn  to  pieces,  and  in  very  ancient  times  human  sacrifices 
"were  not  uncommon. 

In  a  hill  opposite  to  Parnassus  is  an  immense  cavern  ;  its  roof  thick 
•with  stalactites  and  its  floor  with  huge,  snowy  stalagmites.  It  was  a 
favorite  place  of  refuge  in  both  the  Persian  and  Turkish  wars,  but  its 
classical  interest  lies  in  the  story  which  makes  it  the  birthplace  of  Hero- 
phila,  the  first  sibyl  who  prophesied  at  Delphi. 

CORINTH  AND  THE  PELOPONNESUS. 

As  Corinth  was  the  key  to  the  Peloponnesus,  in  a  military  sense,  so 
it  is  the  natural  starting  point  for  the  tourist  in  his  travels.  No  great 
masters  of  literature  lent  their  names  toward  its  adornment,  but  it  ever 
maintained  the  commercial  character  with  which  it  was  endowed  when 
the  Phoenicians,  or  some  other  mercantile  colonists,  gave  it  birth.  Its 
wealth  furnished  the  means  by  which  Athens  was  so  harassed  during 
the  Peloponnesian  war,  and  until  it  became  jealous  of  the  growing 
power  of  Sparta,  its  sympathies  and  fleets  were  with  the  latter  as  against 
both  Thebes  and  Athens.  Corinth  was  the  center  of  the  league  formed 
against  the  Romans,  who,  in  revenge,  during  the  second  century  B.  C, 
utterly  destroyed  it.  A  century  thereafter,  it  was  rebuilt  b}-  Julius  Csesar, 
and  for  1800  years  was  alternately  in  the  hands  of  Romans,  Venetians 
and  Turks.  During  the  Greek  revolution  the  latter  burned  it  to  the 
ground  and  in  1838  the  straggling  efforts  of  a  new  city  were  swallowed 
by  an  earthquake.  The  most  of  modern  Corinth  is  built  around  the 
ruins  of  the  ancient  city,  and  is  already  a  busy  town. 

Old  Corinth  exists  only  in  a  few  broken  walls  and  seven  giant  pil- 


Agamemnon's  city.  685 

lars,  each  formed  of  a  single  stone.  But  the  supreme  attraction  is  the  great 
citadel  or  acropolis,  called  the  Acrocorinthus.  It  is  an  isolated  hill,  2,000 
feet  high,  separated  from  the  mountain  range  on  the  north  by  a  wide 
plain.  At  its  foot  lie  the  ruins  of  Old  Corinth  and  the  new  town. 
Ancientl)-,  tlie  city  was  surrounded  by  walls  which  included  her  gigantic 
watch-tower.  She  had  two  harbors,  one  on  the  yEgean  coast,  the  other 
on  the  Gulf  of  Lepanto,  which  opens  into  the  Adriatic  sea,  the  latter 
being  connected  with  the  city  by  two  strong  walls.  The  approach  of  an 
enemy  from  Rome  or  Persia,  from  Athens,  Thebes  or  Sparta,  could  be 
discerned  miles  away;  Grecian  foes,  in  fact,  could  scarcely  have  vent- 
ured out  from  their  cities  before  they  would  have  been  discerned  by  the 
watchman  upon  the  acropolis.  According  to  military  authorities  the 
Acrocorinthus  is  the  most  gigantic  natural  citadel  in  Europe,  not  except- 
ing Athens  or  Gibraltar. 

The  surface  of  the  rock  is  a  mile  square,  and  inside  the  wall  which 
bounds  it  are  the  ruins  of  a  large  Turkish  town,  its  poor  deserted 
houses  having  been  built  almost  entirely  from  the  marbles  and  stones  of 
Old  Corinth.  About  the  middle  of  the  plateau,  where  it  descends  quite 
abruptly,  is  the  famous  well  of  Pirene,  which  Grecian  mythology  makes 
out  to  have  formerly  been  a  broken-hearted  mother,  weeping  crystal  tears 
at  the  death  of  her  son.  The  water  averages  twelve  feet  in  depth  and 
is  absolutely  colorless,  or  so  nearly  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  discover 
where  its  surface  touches  the  marble  steps  by  which  one  descends.  A 
ruined  marble  structure  stands  over  the  fountain,  covered  with  Greek 
inscriptions.  Tlie  well  of  Pegasus  is  also  worth  drinking  from,  although 
the  statue  of  the  famous  steed,  which  formerly  surmounted  it,  is  gone. 

AGAMEMNON'S  CITY. 

South  from  Corinth,  passing  between  chalky  hills,  with  goats  and 
bees  on  every  side,  one  comes  upon  the  ruins  of  Mycenae,  the  city  of 
King  Agamemnon,  the  stately  king  who  led  the  Grecian  forces  against 
Troy  to  avenge  his  brother's  insult.  The  walls  of  the  city  may  be 
traced  running  along  the  backbone  of  a  ridge  which  rises  from  a  plain, 
beyond  which  are  a  deep  ravine  and  a  chain  of  high  mountains.  They 
are  built  of  enormous  blocks  of  stone,  and  the  principal  gate  is  of  a  like 
style  of  architecture,  over  it  being  two  stone  lions  who  seem  about  to 
dispute  the  passage  of  any  one  beneath  them. 

Outside  of  the  city  walls,  or  the  citadel,  is  a  hill,  within  which  are 
situated  two  chambers,  circular  in  form  and  constructed  in  the  titanic 
style,  which  has  given  rise  to  the  story  that  Mycenae's  walls  were  built 
by  the  Cyclops.     The  largest  of  them  is  40  feet  high  and  50  feet  broad 


686 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


The  lintel-stone  of  the  entrance  is  27  feet  long,  and  from  above  it 
grows  a  fig  tree,  which  throws  a  soft  shade  over  the  blackness  of  the 
doorway.  The  chambers,  or  structure,  have  been  called  "  the  treasury 
of  Atreus"  —  Atreus  being  the  father  of  Agamemnon  and  Menelaus. 
But  the  position  of  the  subterranean  chambers,  outside  the  walls  of  the 
city  and  separated  from  it  also  by  a  ravine,  has  led  thoughtful  investi- 
gators to  consider  it  as  a  tomb  —  as  the  tomb  of  Agamemnon. 

THE   MOST  ANCIENT  GREECE. 


Beyond  Mycenae,  nearer  the  sea,  is  Tiryns,  and  Argos  lies  upon  the 
shore.  These  three  cities,  Tiryns  being  surrounded  by  a  fortress  of 
more  primitive  construction    than  that  of   Mycena;,  were  the  scenes  of 

the  very  earliest  Greek  settlements.  Per- 
seus, the  son  of  Jupiter,  is,  in  fact,  said 
to  have  lived  at  Artros,  to  have  ruled 
over  Tiryns  and  to  have  founded  My- 
cena?.  The  walls  of  Tiryns,  which  are 
covered  with  thistles,  are  built  of  rude 
stones  and  occupy  a  low  hill.  The  ruins 
seem  to  consist  of  a  small  fort  with  an 
outer  wall,  several  towers  and  a  remark- 
able covered  gallery. 

Unlike  Mycenre  and  Tiryns,  Argos 
is  a  modern  town,  exhibitmg  many  marks 
of  prosperity.  Its  manufactures  of  silks 
and  carpets  are  not  unimportant,  and,  in 
promise  and  performance,  it  ranks  perhaps 
next  to  Athens.  Ancient  Argos,  upon 
whose  site  it  is  built,  has  always  been 
considered  the  oldest  settlement  in 
EMBOSSED  SHOULDER  STRAP.  Qreece,  its  history  stretching  so  far  back 

into  mythology  that  its  early  portion  is  valueless.  In  the  peninsular  of 
Argolis,  if  not  near  Argos,  Hercules  himself  is  believed  to  have 
been  born.  Argos  was  at  one  time  the  head  of  a  powerful  Doric  league, 
and  was  a  city  of  famous  musicians,  of  artists  and  of  priests.  Latterly, 
Sparta  robbed  it  of  its  supremacy,  as  Argos  crushed  Mycena;.  The 
most  noteworthy  remains  of  its  former  magnificence  are  those  of  its  vast 
open-air  theatre,  cut  from  the  rock,  and  overlooking  the  blue  bay  of 
Argolis,  with  lofty  mountains  all  around.  Some  seventy  tiers  of  seats 
are  still  to  be  counted,  and  there  are  doubtless  many  more  at  the  foot  of 


SPARTA    AND    MESSENIA.  687 

the  hill  covered  with  rubbish.  The  town's  little  museum  has  several 
striking  pieces  of  statuary  illustrative  of  ancient  Greek  art.  A  relief  of 
the  head  of  Medusa,  on  a  square  block  of  white  marble,  is  a  memento  of 
the  adventures  of  the  mighty  Perseus. 

Near  Argos,  where  the  plain  opens  upon  the  sea,  is  the  Lernean 
marsh  where  Hercules  obtained  his  victory  over  the  hydra-headed  mon- 
ster, and  not  many  miles  away  is  where  he  conquered  the  Nemean  lion. 
The  entire  plain  of  Argos,  in  fact,  is  so  famous,  and  the  natives  were  of 
so  heroic  and  adventurous  a  spirit,  that  other  nations  often  spoke  of  the 
Greeks  themselves  as  Argives. 

SPARTA   AND    MESSENIA. 

The  next  point  of  great  interest,  going  south  from  Argos,  is  Sparta, 
and  on  the  road  between  the  two  places,  a  rugged  hill  is  passed,  where 
Epaminondas,  the  great  man  and  general  of  Thebes,  received  his  death- 
wound  and  died  in  the  moment  of  victory,  with  the  names  of  his  two 
daughters  upon  his  lips.  There  is  also  an  ancient  town  called  Tegea, 
containing  a  church  with  five  domes,  which  is  erected  upon  the  site  of 
the  temple  of  Minerva  ;  in  this  latter  structure  was  long  preserved  the 
skin  of  the  Calydonian  boar — another  of  Hercules'  victims. 

Modern  Sparta  is  a  fresh-looking  town,  with  broad  streets,  sur- 
rounded by  groves  of  olive  trees  and  fields  of  corn,  and  beyond  are 
clayey  hills  and  snowy  mountains,  flecked  with  patches  of  bright  green. 
The  substantial  looking  houses,  with  their  bright  gardens  and  orchards  of 
orange  trees,  are  enclosed  by  white-washed  walls.  Naturally,  the  old 
acropolis  stands  near  the  site  of  old  Sparta,  of  which  virtually  nothing 
remains.  The  museum  contains  among  its  small  array  of  antiquities  a 
head,  found  in  the  neighborhood,  and  supposed  to  represent  Lycurgus. 

Still  swinging  in  an  irregular  circle  around  Peloponnesus,  and 
leaving  Sparta  for  the  west,  another  locality  must  be  noticed,  for  it  was 
made  famous  by  the  battle  of  Leuctra  in  which  Epaminondas  broke  the 
power  of  the  tyrannic  Spartans  and  founded  a  city  as  a  place  of  refuge 
for  all  who  were  oppressed.  The  modern  town  of  Sinano,  built  upon  a 
plain  fringed  with  high  hills,  occupies  the  site  of  ancient  Megalopolis, 
into  which  were  drawn  the  people  from  forty  towns  of  Arcadia,  but 
which  was  finally  burned  by  the  Spartans  and  its  inhabitants  slaughtered. 
A  few  miles  west  of  Sinano  is  the  rude  village  of  Leondari,  which  lies 
UDon  the  edge  of  the  old  battle-ground. 

Beyond,  toward  the  Adriatic  Sea,  are  the  fertile  plains  of  Messenia, 
whose  beautiful  cities  and  bounteous  harvests  of  wheat,  the  Spartans 
coveted  and  conquered.      For  three    centuries   the  Messenians  exiled 


688 


I'ANOKAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


themselves  to  Sicily,  where  they  founded  Messina,  but  at  the  end  of  that 
period  the  descendants  of  the  conquered  people  joyfully  responded  to 
the  invitation  of  Epaminondas  (369  B.C.),  returned  to  possess  their 
native  land  and  built  the  new  city  of  Messene.      Here  it  is,  or  at  the 

foot  of  a  mountain  peak  near  their 
city,  that  the  ancient  jNIessinians  made 
their  last  stand  for  their  country,  un- 
der the  brave  Aristomenes,  and  whose 
shield,  three  centuries  later,  Epaminon- 
das set  up  as  a  standard  on  the  battle- 
field of  Leuctra.  The  ruins  of  the  second 
Messene,  built  under  the  direction  of^the 
Theban  patriot  to  the  sound  of  the  flute, 
are  still  visible  on  the  plain  and  over  sev- 
eral bold  ridges  of  land.  "The  walls 
must  have  been  thirty  feet  high.  Their 
huge  stones  are  fitted  together  without 
mortar.  One  of  the  high  towers  still  stands, 
and  you  can  trace  portions  of  others  and 
mark  the  course  of  the  walls  over  the  crest 
of  several  hills,  l^ut  most  surprising  is 
the  central  gate,  called  the  gate  of  Arcadia. 
It  is  double,  containing  a  circular  court 
sixty-two  feet  in  diameter.  This  court  is 
all  lined  with  masonry  of  gigantic  stones, 
and  has  niches  which  once  contained 
statues." 

From  the  summits  of  the  surrounding 
hills,  the  monks  and  villagers  of  the  plain 
saw  the  mighty  flames  which  announced 
the  destruction  of  the   Turkish   navy  by 
that   of   the  allied    powers,   at    Navarino. 
VENUS  OF  MILD.  fhe  Same  bay  of  Navarino,  over  twenty- 

two  centuries  ago,  witnessed  the  great  sea-fight  between  the  Athenians, 
under  Cleon,  and  the  Spartans,  in  which  the  latter  were  defeated. 

A  FAMOUS  STATUE. 

At  this  point  we  leave  the  Peloponnesus,  for  a  short  time,  to  visit 
an  island  of  the  sea,  some  seventy  miles  east  of  Laceda^monia,  of  which 
Sparta  was  the  capital.  Milo,  one  of  the  Cyclades,  was  early  colonized 
by  the  Lacedaemonians,  and,  at  the   time  of  the   Peloponnesian  war,  its 


TEACEFUL    OLVMl'IA    AND    IIEK    OAMES.  689 

capital,  which  was  called  by  that  name,  was  a  great  city.  But  It  was  cap- 
tured and  ruined  by  the  Athenians,  its  adult  males  put  to  death  and  the 
balance  of  the  populace  sold  into  slavery.  The  works  of  art,  which, 
within  the  past  century  have  been  found  in  and  about  Milo,  indicate 
that  the  city  partook  largely  of  the  enthusiasm  which  Phidias  and  his 
school  inspired  for  both  the  sublime  and  the  beautiful.  The  great  mas- 
ter was  in  the  height  of  his  fame  a  few  years  before  Milo  was  destroyed, 
and  among  other  works  of  art  which  were  discovered  near  the  city,  dur- 
ing the  early  part  of  the  present  century,  the  Venus — the  Venus  of  Milo, 
in  the  palace  of  the  Louvre,  Paris  —  is  believed  to  be  at  least,  the  work 
of  one  of  his  imitators. 

PEACEFUL  OLYMPIA  AND  HER  GAMES. 

We  now  travel  north  toward  a  beautiful  valley,  into  which  the 
fierce  wars  between  the  states  of  Greece  did  not  enter  for  several  cent- 
uries more  than  a  thousand  years  —  Olympia,  the  scene  of  the  great 
games  celebrated  in  honor  of  the  father  of  the  gods.  Their  origin 
antedates  history.  The  first  firm  step  upon  which  one  can  stand  is  the 
recorded  fact  that  they  were  revived  by  the  King  of  Elis  in  776  B. 
C.  At  first  the  contestants  were  confined  to  Peloponnesus,  but  the 
favor  was  afterward  extended  to  the  whole  of  Greece  and  to  Rome.  For 
ten  months  previous  to  the  celebration  of  the  games  the  combatants 
trained  in  the  great  gymnasium,  and  when  the  month  of  July  came 
around  heralds  started  out  to  traverse  every  state  of  Greece  and  pro- 
claim the  cessation  of  hostilities;  and  whether  in  peace  or  war  the  ter- 
ritory of  Olympia  was  held  inviolable. 

The  most  sanctified  spot  of  the  sacred  valley  was  the  grove,  which 
enclosed  a  level  space  about  4,000  by  2,000  feet,  in  which  were  the  tem- 
ples, monuments,  altars,  theatres  and  grounds  for  the  celebration  of  the 
games.  On  two  sides  the  sacred  grove  was  bounded  by  clear  streams 
of  water,  on  the  north  by  rocky  hills  and  westward  it  looked  toward 
the  Ionian  sea;  a  broad  way  crossed  the  grounds  from  east  to  west, 
along  which  the  processions  passed  in  honor  of  the  proud  victors.  The 
two  most  magnificent  buildings  were  the  "Olympium,"  which  contained  a 
colossal  statue  of  Zeus  by  the  renowned  Phidias,  as  well  as  other  splen- 
did figures  and  paintings,  and  the  Hera;um,  dedicated  to  Hera,  the  wife 
of  the  god,  and  the  queen  of  Heaven.  In  the  latter  temple  was  the 
table  on  which  w^ere  placed  the  garlands  of  wild  olive  twigs  cut  from  a 
sacred  tree  of  the  sacred  grove  for  the  brows  of  the  Olympic  victors. 
There  were  also  great  buildings  erected  to  preserve  the  thousands  of 
offerings  which  poured  in  from  wealth  and  genius  throughout  Greece. 


690  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

At  the  eastern  end  of  the  grove  were  the  stadium  and  hippodrome, 
where  the  contests  took  place. 

The  stadium  was  the  foot-race  course  arid  measured  606  feet  9 
inches  ;  and  from  tliis  circumstance  was  established  the  Greek  unit  of 
measure,  a  stadium.  Upon  the  games  themselves,  which  were  celebrated 
every  fifth  year,  the  Greeks  founded  a  system  of  chronology  which  con- 
tinued in  force  from  776  B.  C.  until  394  A.  I).  The  Roman  emperors 
commenced  the  "  New  Olympic  Era"  in  131  A.  D. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  for  nearly  twelve  centuries,  at  least,  the 
Grecians  indulged  in  these  contests  of  strength  and  skill,  the  victors 
being  as  much  honored  as  if  they  had  carried  a  great  battle  for  their 
countr)-.  They  were  generally  exempt  from  public  taxation,  statues 
were  erected  to  them,  poets  of  the  land  celebrated  them  in  song,  and 
they  became,  in  fact,  not  only  the  favorite  children  of  their  native  states, 
but  the  heroes  of  Greece.  Emperors,  even,  entered  the  lists,  that  their 
names  might  shine  with  a  greater  lustre. 

With  the  exception  of  the  priestess  of  Ceres,  women  were  excluded 
from  the  games.  They  were  even  forbidden  to  be  present,  on  pain  of 
being  thrown  headlong  from  the  Typa;an  rock.  Several  of  the  priest- 
esses came  off  victors  in  the  games,  but  the  women,  as  a  rule,  when  they 
had  aspirations  beyond  the  household,  devoted  themselves  to  politics^ 
art  or  poetry.  One  of  the  most  noted  of  these  women  flourished 
nearly  a  century  before  Pindar,  the  Theban,  arose  to  celebrate  in  verse 
the  glories  and  triumphs  of  the  national  games  and  victors.  Sappho, 
although  born  in  Lesbos,  off  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor,  formed  a  school  of 
poetry,  gave  birth  to  the  Sapphic  metre,  and  gathered  around  her  the 
bright  minds  of  her  own  sex  from  many  distant  islands,  and  from  Greece 
itself. 

OLYMPIA'S  RUINS. 

A  faint  reflection  of  the  glory  of  the  games  shines  through  history, 
and  only  a  few  traces  of  the  great  temples  have  been  brought  from  the 
ruins  of  an  earthquake.  Broken  segments  of  columns  mark  the  site  of 
the  Temple  of  Zeus,  and  several  blocks  of  stone  tell  where  was  his  altar 
in  the  central  part  of  the  Olympic  grounds.  Opposite  Zeus'  Temple  was 
that  of  Hera,  his  wife,  standing  in  the  corners  of  the  grove  ;  her  temple 
is  likewise  buried  almost  from  view.  Phidias'  great  statue  of  Zeus  in 
ivory  and  gold  has  disappeared,  but  the  grand  creation  of  Hermes  (Mer- 
cury) by  Praxiteles,  which  was  placed  in  the  Temple  of  Hera,  has  been 
partially  recovered,  and,  with  other  broken  fragments  so  incompletely 
illustrating  the  magnificence  of  the  past,  is  stored  away  in  an  unworthy 


ARCAUIAX  SIMPLICITY.  69  I 

museum.  The  temples  which  protected  the  votive  offerings  to  the  gods 
are  yet  to  be  explored.  The  gymnasium  and  the  stadium  are  partially 
excavated,  and  the  hippodrome  hides  its  curiosities.  The  river  Alpheus, 
upon  whose  banks  Mercury  is  said  to  have  slaughtered  the  sacred  cattle 
which  he  stole  from  Apollo,  has  somewhat  changed  its  course  since  the 
sacred  grove  was  abandoned  and  is  eating  its  way  toward  the  hippo- 
drome, which  is  immediately  above  the  stadium. 

ARCADIAN  SIMPLICITY. 

In  order  to  reach  the  gulf  of  Lepanto,  after  viewing  the  ruins  of 
Olympia,  you  journe)-  in  a  northeasterly  direction  through  a  country 
bordering  upon  the  far-famed  Arcadia.  This  country  is  believed  to  have 
given  birth  to  the  Grecian  Hermes  ;  more  particularly,  Mount  Cyllene 
is  said  to  have  had  the  honor  of  being  his  birthplace  ;  four  hours  there- 
after he  invented  the  lyre,  at  nightfall  filched  the  sacred  cattle  from 
Apollo,  and  thus  commenced  his  wonderful  career  in  the  fields  of  ad- 
venture, music,  letters,  gymnastics,  agriculture  and  general  ingenuity, 
generosity  and  rascality.  The  mountain  is  in  the  northeastern  part  of 
Arcadia  and  is  the  highest  in  the  Peloponnesus. 

Arcadia  was  an  elevated  tract  of  country,  girt  and  intersected  with 
mountains,  and  almost  isolated  from  the  rest  of  Greece.  So  that  when 
civilization  had  advanced  to  high  and  complex  forms  in  the  remainder 
of  the  country,  the  people  of  Arcadia  were  dancing  and  singing,  tending 
their  cattle  and  flocks  in  the  fertile  valleys  of  the  east  and  hunting  in  the 
dense  forests  of  the  west.  It  is  believed  these  "Arcadian"  customs  were 
accompanied  by  human  sacrifices  as  late  as  the  time  of  Alexander  the 
Great.  Although  poets  of  all  ages  have  grown  rapturous  over  the  beau- 
tiful simplicities  of  life  which  ruled  in  fair  Arcadia,  its  inhabitants  were 
rather  so  notorious  for  their  ignorance  that  the  Greek  synonym  for  a 
blockhead  was,  for  ages,  an  Arcadian  youth. 

SOLDIER  MONKS. 

In  the  mountainous  region  between  Arcadia,  Elis  and  Achaia  in 
Northern  Peloponnesus,  was  originated  the  revolution  of  182 1  against 
tlie  Turkish  government.  From  the  Convent  of  St.  Laura,  upon  a 
wooded  hill,  the  Archbishop  Germanos,  of  the  Greek  Church,  first  raised 
the  standard  of  revolt  which  was  productive  of  so  much  ill  and  so  much 
good  to  the  people  of  his  country. 

Further  north  is  the  great  Convent  of  Megaspelion,  which  is  built 
against  the  mouth  of  a  great  cave,  and  above  it  towers  a  high  hill,  upon 


692  PANORAMA    OF     NATIONS. 

whose  rocky  face  are  stamped  three  crosses  by  nature  and  by  God; 
within  the  cave  is  a  church  and  a  number  of  cells.  The  convent  itself 
is  built  solidly  beneath,  the  upper  portion  of  the  massive  pile  consisting 
of  several  square  towers,  toward  which  many  terraces  of  lighter  buildings 
seem  endeavoring  to  reach  their  summits.  The  monks  of  Megaspelion 
endeavor  to  prove  that  St.  Luke  wrote  his  gospel  in  Achaia  and  that 
the  Virgin  Mary  appeared  to  two  of  their  brothers,  directing  them  to 
seek  for  her  portrait  in  the  Peloponnesus.  By  Divine  guidance  a  goat 
was  led  to  the  cave  and  back  again  to  its  shepherdess.  The  animal 
bleated  pathetically  in  the  face  of  the  maid,  and  appeared,  furthermore, 
with  its  beard  dripping  with  cool  water;  so  she  returned  with  it  finally  to 
the  miraculous  cave,  where,  beside  the  crystal  spring,  she  found  a  radi- 
ant image  of  Mary,  modeled  in  wa.x  and  resin.  The  shepherdess  was 
guided  to  the  two  brothers,  and  together  they  took  possession  of  the 
treasure,  which  is  still  exhibited,  dirty  but  entire,  as  the  handiwork  of 
St.  Luke. 

But  superstitions  are  not  all  which  give  interest  to  the  convent. 
Its  monks  not  only  have  furnished  Grecian  refugees  with  shelter  but 
have  fought  the  Turks  in  at  least  one  pitched  battle,  upon  a  terrace  named 
the  Great  Cross  beyond  the  monastery.  Here  the  holy  men  will  point 
out,  with  open  pride,  a  ruined  building  and  portion  of  a  tower,  the 
remains  of  the  Turkish  garrison  ;  and  among  the  treasures  of  the  con- 
vent are  two  badges  of  the  Order  of  the  Saviour  conferred  by  the  King 
upon  soldier  monks. 

THE  GREEK  CHURCH. 

Since  the  revolution  the  Greek  Church  has  been  a  national  institu- 
tion, incorporated  into  the  constitution  of  the  kingdom.  In  fact,  so 
important  a  feature  of  its  composition  is  it  that  the  first  article  of  the 
Hellenic  constitution  proclaims  the  "Orthodox  Oriental  Church  of 
Christ"  to-be  the  dominant  religion,  and  that  "  proselytism  and  all  other 
interferences  prejudicial  to  the  dominant  religion  are  forbidden."  During 
Turkish  dominion  the  Greek  Church  was  left  untouched,  as  something 
which  it  was  policy  to  leave  untouched.  Perhaps  this  policy  of  non- 
interference would  not  have  been  followed  could  the  Porte  have  seen  a 
Greek  bishop  blessing  the  banner  of  revolt,  and  Greek  priests  opposing 
their  own  good  swords  and  guns  to  Turkish  and  Egyptian  soldiers. 

The  Greek  Church,  therefore,  which  split  off  from  the  Church  of 
Rome,  on  both  doctrinal  and  ceremonial  points,  is  itself  split  into  three 
sections  on  the  sharpl)-divid(;d  lines  of  race  conflicts.  Russia,  Turkey 
and  Greece  has  each  her  separate  religious  head.     The  supreme  tribu- 


THE    STVX. 


69: 


(^y^^ 


.\^ 


00  afx--r 


nal  in  Greece,  as  in  Russia,  is  the  Holy  Synod,  consisting  of  archbishops, 
bishops  and  one  or  two  priests,  appointed  by  the  Crown.  Two  officers 
of  the  government  have  also  the  right  of  assisting,  although  they  do  not 
vote  at  its  deliberations.  The  synod  elects  the  bishops,  but  the  Crown 
confirms  and  invests  them  with  the  powers  of  ofifice. 

So  interwoven  is  the  power  of  the  Church  with  the  structure  of  the 
state  that  the  Greeks  can  not 
understand  how  one  can  fall 
without  the  other.  Each 
priest,  therefore,  is  a  warrior, 
each  bishop  a  general,  and 
each  monastery  a  castle,  not 
to  be  taken  without  a  fierce 
assault. 

The  above  being  a  diver- 
sion from  the  mountains  of 
Achaia  into  the  by-paths  of 
history,  w  e  continue  our 
classical  and  historical  jour- 
ney. 

THE  STYX. 

From  Megaspelion  to 
the  Styx  is  a  ride  of  a  few 
miles  through  deep  valleys 
and  over  pine-clad  hills,  un- 
til you  come  to  Mount  Chel- 
mos,  with  its  three  peaks. 
From  the  eastern  one,  over 
lofty  and  precipitous  rocks, 
often  covered  with  snow,  fall 
the  waters  of  the  Styx  to  the 
depths  below ;  they  issue 
from    a    frowning  clitY,  the  ^  greek  cross. 

scenery  around  is  weird  and  desolate,  and  it  is  no  wonder  that  the 
Greeks  associated  them  with  the  waters  of  the  infernal  river  over  which 
Charon  presided.  "By  the  Styx  !"  was  their  oath  of  most  terrible 
earnestness.  The  waters  of  the  Styx  were  believed  to  be  poisonous  and 
destructive  to  all  metals,  gold  not  excepted.  Alexander  the  Great  was 
reported  to  ha-  e  been  poisoned  by  them.     The  waterfall  has  lost  its 


694 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


name  of  the  Styx,  but  the  ancient  horrors  are  reflected  in  the  modern 
appellations  —  the  "  Black  Waters,"  the  "Terrible  Waters." 

THE  WATERS  OF  LEPANTO. 

From  the  summit  of  any  of  the  hills  in  this  reorion  one  may  look 
over  the  Gulf  of  Corinth,  or  Gulf  of  Lepanto,  and  see  on  the  opposite 
side  the  snowy  peaks  of  I^arnassus.  We  have  visited  Parnassus  but 
must  linger  long  enough  on  the  southern  shores  of  the  gulf  to  call  to 
mind  one  of  the  greatest  naval  conflicts  ever  fought;  blocking  the  Gulf 
of  Lepanto,  and  spreading  out  for  three  miles,  was  the  Christian  fleet 
commanded  by  Don  John  of  Austria  —  Spaniards  and  Italians  loaded 
into  300  vessels,  80,000  strong,  while  majestically  moving  over  its  blue 
waters  was  the  Turkish  armada,  with  120,000  men  who  believed  them- 


BAS  RELIEF-GREEK  OF  FIFTH  CENTURY, 

selves  to  be  invincible.  Among  the  allies,  after  Don  John,  if  not  before 
him,  the  person  in  whom  we  take  most  interest  was  Cervantes,  who  Avas 
nothing  then  but  a  common  soldier.  He  lived,  however,  to  see  the 
Turkish  fleet  destroyed  and  to  write  himself  one  of  the  kindest-hearted 
satirists  who  ever  became  famous.  Don  John  lived  to  have  the  Pope 
weep  for  him  and  to  say  of  him,  "  There  was  a  man  sent  from  God  and 
his  name  was  John." 

BEYOND  THE  HISTORIC  WATERS. 

The  Island  of  Corfu,  or  ancient  Corcyra,  lies  off  the  coast  of 
Albania,  Turkey,  formerly  the  Epiius  of  old  Greece.  It  is  a  moun- 
tainous country,  cut  up  by  fertile  valleys,  and  blessed  with  a  mild  cli- 
mate, the  favorite  summer  resort  of  the  King  and  Queen  of  Greece,  and 
hallowed  by  many  associations.  Corfu  was  colonized  by  the  Corinthians 
twenty-five  centuries  aeo,  and  a  few  short  years  thereafter  became  so 


A    l-'AMUUS    SUUTHEKN    I.SLE.  695 

powerful  that  she  vanquished  her  parents  in  the  first  naval  engagement 
which  history  records.  It  has  been  a  kingdom  ;  the  property  of  the 
Romans,  Normans,  Venetians,  French,  Russians  and  Turks;  finally  fell 
by  treaty  under  the  protectorate  of  Great  Britain,  and  was  ceded  to 
Greece,  its  rightful  owner.  Ulysses  is  said  to  have  been  cast  upon  the 
island  when  tossed  about  b)'  the  gods  on  the  stormy  ocean,  and  from 
which  he  sailed  home  to  his  faithful  Penelope,  who  had  been  so  beset 
with  suitors  during  his  absence.  Here  Themistocles  and  Aristotle  spent 
a  portion  of  their  exile,  and  Octavia  and  Antony  were  married.  "^Fitus 
after  the  conquest  of  Jerusalem  ;  Helena  on  her  way  to  Palestine  in 
search  of  the  true  cross ;  Augustus  Ca;sar,  who  gave  peace  to  the 
worKl  :  Diocletian,  the  persecutor  of  the  Christians;  and  poor  blind  Beli- 
sarius  "  are  some  of  the  illustrious  persons  who  are  said  to  have  landed 
or  sojourned  on  this  island.  It  was  near  here,  also,  that  the  allied 
powers  met  to  form  their  armada  in  battle  array  and  move  on  toward 
the  Gulf  of  Lepanto  and  the  death  of  Turkish  supremacy  on  the  waters 
of  the  Southern  seas. 

The  city  of  Corfu  and  capital  of  the  Greek  monarchy  is  on  the 
eastern  coast  of  the  island,  only  five  miles  from  the  opposite  shores  of 
Turkey,  toward  which  its  citadel  boldly  opposes  itself,  firmly  planted 
upon  a  rocky  point  which  projects  out  into  the  sea.  At  the  west  end  of 
the  town  is  another  fortress,  and  still  another  on  a  small  island  one  mile 
distant.  It  is  the  residence  of  a  Greek  archbishop,  a  town  of  tall,  white 
houses  and  beautiful  bays.  "  Less  stately  than  Malta,  and  without  the 
majesty  of  Gibraltar,  Corfu  surpasses  both  in  its  union  of  strength  with 
softness  of  repose." 

Opposite  Corfu  are  what  were  once  the  Epirus,  Thessalia  and 
Macedonia  of  ancient  Greece,  now  Turkish  territory 

A  FAMOUS  SOUTHERN   ISLE. 

Far  to  the  south — to  the  southern  limit  of  the  Grecian  archipelago 
and  the  southernmost  point  of  European  land — is  the  Island  of  Candia, 
or  Crete,  in  whose  mountains  which  line  the  coasts  was  the  famous 
labyrinth,  or  cave,  of  the  Minotaur.  Minos,  the  King  of  the  island,  is 
said  to  have  been  instructed  by  Jupiter,  his  father,  in  the  government  of 
his  kingdom,  and  Lycurgus,  again,  to  have  founded  the  .Spartan  laws 
upon  those  of  Crete.  To  Crete  and  the  Minotaur  came  the  tribute  of 
seven  youths  and  seven  maidens  from  Athens,  whom  the  Minotaur  de- 
voured in  his  labyrinthine  grotto  until  he  was  killed  by  Theseus.  Even 
then  the  Grecian  hero  would  have  fared  badly  had  he  not  in  his  posses- 
sion the  clew  of  thread  given  him  by  Ariadne,  the  King's  daughter,  who 


696 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


> 

in 

W 

o 

1) 

H 
> 
H 
C 

w 

o 

1] 


T    had  fallen  in  love  with  him,  and  who 

••'  thus  furnished  him  with  the  means  by 

which  he  found  his  way  out  of  the 

j  {    labyrinth. 

i  j  The  Pelasgians,  who  were  abo- 

~^MM  rigines  of  Italy  and  Greece,  and  the 
™1  Phoenicians  settled  Candia,  which, 
M\  1000  B.C.,  was  conquered  by  the 
Dorians.  Afterwards  a  number  of 
democracies  arose  upon  the  ruins  of 
the  Dorian  government,  and  in  the 
first  century  B.  C.  it  was  conquered 
bythe  Romans.  When  the  crusaders 
conquered  Constantinople,  in  the 
thirteenth  century,  Candia  fell  under 

P  the  able  sovereignty  of  the  Vene- 
tians, who  held  it  against  Turkish 
invasions  for  over  four  centuries. 
Since  then  some  portion  of  the  Chris- 
tian population  has  been  in  rebellion 
against  Turkish  rule,  although  the 
island  forms  a  pro\Mnce,  or  vilayet,  of 
the  Ottoman  Empire,  which  is  gov- 
erned by  a  pacha  and  two  counselors — • 
one  Turk  and  one  Christian.  There 
are  eight  dilapidated  forts  on  Candia 
built  by  the  Venetians.  An  arch- 
bishop and  six  bishops  of  the  Greek 
Church  have  their  residence  on  the 
island,  this  being  the  prevailing  reli- 
gion. 

AMONG  THE  VINEYARDS. 

In  ancient  times  Greece  was 
famous  almost  as  much  for  her  vine- 
\  ards  as  her  battle-fields,  but  her 
wine-producing  territory  has  contin- 
ually been  contracted  under  the  deso- 
latine  ravages  of  war.  From  the 
neighborhood  of  Athens  comes  a  del- 
icate  wine,  but  there  are  few  famous 


HU.ME    LIFE    I\    CUUNTRV    AND    TOWX.  697 

vineyards  on  the  main  land  until  you  reach  the  Peloponnesus.  The 
vineyards  on  the  slopes  of  the  Gulf  of  Arcadia,  in  the  western  portion 
of  the  peninsula,  and  on  the  Gulf  of  Argolis,  in  the  east,  although  they 
suffered  greatly  in  the  Greek  war  of  independence,  produce  several 
brands  of  wine  which  connoisseurs  esteem  ;  from  the  latter  locality 
come  the  malmsey  wines. 

But  it  is  upon  the  islands  of  Greece,  as  in  the  days  when  Bacchus 
was  so  popular  a  god,  that  the  most  luscious  grapes  are  gathered  and 
thrown  into  rough  vats  to  be  trodden  under  foot  by  men  and  women. 
The  Island  of  Santorin,  among  those  farthest  distant  from  the  mother 
country  of  the  archipelago,  is  the  most  noted  for  its  vineyards  and  wines. 
It  is  of  a  curious  formation,  consisting  of  a  circle  of  land  surrounding  a 
volcanic  crater  wliich  is  filled  by  the  sea.  The  external  slopes  furnish 
the  wine  lands,  and  every  available  piece  of  soil  is  under  cultivation. 
The  yields  are  so  highly  esteemed  as  to  be  branded,  metaphorically 
speaking,  with  such  stamps  as  "  Wine  of  Bacchus,"  and  "  Wine  of  the 
Night."  Byron  has  celebrated  the  wine  produced  in  the  Isle  of  -Samos, 
and  that  which  Tenedos  yields  is  the  common  table  wine  of  the  Orient. 
The  Ionian  isles  are  rich  in  vineyards,  Cyprus  being  still  a  leader.  The 
wine  of  the  commandery  of  the  Knights  Templars  has  a  bitter-almond 
flavor,  being  made  in  the  vicinity  of  Paphos  —  that  ancient  Phoenician 
city  near  which  Venus  is  said  to  have  risen  from  the  sea,  and  in  which  a 
famous  temple  long  stood  erected  to  the  memory  of  the  foam-sprung 
goddess.  There  are  other  varieties  of  wine,  but  the)'  are  all  fermented 
and  matured  in  earthen  vessels,  which  are  of  exactly  the  same  shape  as 
those  used  by  the  ancient  Greeks,  being  long,  with  two  handles  near  the 
top,  and  tapering  almost  to  a  point  at  the  bottom. 

HOME  LIFE  IN  COUNTRY  AND  TOWN. 

In  making  a  tour  of  the  historical  spots  which  stud  the  stanch, 
rocky  little  kingdom,  one  finds  everywhere  around  him  the  same  strik- 
insf  mixture  of  the  ancient  with  the  modern  ;  or,  rather,  it  mitjht  more 
truthfully  be  said,  outside  of  the  larger  towns  is  ancient  Greece  herself. 
The  shepherd  wanders  over  the  hills  with  his  Bocks,  carrying  his  crook 
and  playing  upon  his  lute.  Ugly  dogs  are  as  anxious  to  tear  a  stranger 
in  pieces  as  to  assist  him  in  keeping  his  sheep  and  goats  together.  The 
peasant  is  there  in  his  feminine  dress,  and  perchance  he  has  graduated 
into  the  proprietor,  not  only  of  a  vineyard,  but  of  a  house  for  the  accom- 
modation of  travelers.  This  latter  building  is  two  or  three  stories  in 
height,  with  balconies  on  every  side,  from  which  the  most  glorious  views 
of  the  classical  land  can  be  obtained ;  for  there  are  few  inns,  on  the  line 


698 


PANORAMA    UF    NATIONS. 


of  travel,  which  do  not  stand  on  high  ground.  On  the  first  floor  of  the 
house  is  a  great  array  of  wine  barrels,  standing  in  a  cool  room.  There 
is  also  a  spacious  kitchen,  whither  the  dozen  or  more  sunburnt  laborers, 
with  their  picturesque  red  caps,  short  skirts  and  straight-cut  features 
repair  for  their  noon-day  meal.  A  table  cloth  is  spread  for  them  in  the 
middle  of  the  floor,  upon  which  are  placed  simple  food  and  a  jug  of 
wine.  Each  man  is  entitled  to  as  much  as  he  can  eat  and  drink,  besides 
about  a  dollar  a  day. 

The  huts  of  the  village  in  which  they  reside  are  grouped  near  the 
inn  of  their  master.  Having  finished  their  generous  repast  they  repair 
to  the  vineyard  on  the  sunny  slope  of  a  hill  and  continue  their  work  of 

dressinor  the  vines. 
I*  irst,  however,  they 
must  stop  to  have  a 
chat  with  their 
wi\es,  sisters  and 
friends,  v,ho,  in  a 
clear,  deep  spring, 
'»\'  h  i  c  h  h  as  b  e  e  n 
gathered  into  a  great 
i)asin  or  trough,  are 
washing  their  linen 
and  beating  it  with 
lieavy  wooden  clubs, 
r  h  e  women  wear 
head-kerchiefs  of 
yellow  or  some  light 
color,  and  are  coarse- 
ly but  neatly  dressed. 
Some  of  them  have  acquired  Turkish  customs,  and  will  retreat  at  sight 
of  a  man,  or  cover  their  mouth  and  eyes  with  a  handkerchief.  A  favorite 
occupation  of  the  Greek  peasant  women  is  the  rearing  of  silkworms 
and  the  making  of  embroidery. 

Hospitality  and  health  beam  from  every  eye,  and  it  is  truly  a  pretty 
sight,  after  having  viewed  old  ruins  and  gray  and  snowy  mountains,  to 
suddenly  come  upon  a  little  village  roofed  with  red  tiles  and  a  group  of 
fresh-looking  women  and  girls,  attired  in  scarlet  flannel  aprons,  holding 
their  distaff's  in  their  hands  with  the  bunches  of  wool  upon  the  ends,  who 
pleasantly  wish  you  health,  or  present  you  w^ith  roses  "  for  luck."'  The 
married  women  are  recognized  by  the  black  trimmings  to  their  scarlet 
aprons  ;  the  unmarried  ones  wear  red  trimmings  as  well  as  aprons. 


MODERN  GREEK  PEASANTS. 


GREEK    WEDDINGS.  699 

When  a  feast  of  the  saints  comes  around  their  simple  attires  are 
discarded  for  gold-embroidered  red  aprons,  white  dresses,  silk  chemise 
fronts,  and  glittering  necklaces  and  girdles.  If  the  weather  is  fair  a 
dance  takes  place  out-of-doors,  upon  a  gras.sy  plot  or  even  slope.  The 
men  seldom  dance.  The  girls  generally  dance  before  an  admiring  rustic 
crowd,  the  leader  being  distinguished  by  an  apron  of  delicate  silk. 
They  are  often  ranged  according  to  their  height,  a  dozen  mere  infants 
bringing  up  the  line.  They  move  slowly  in  a  circle,  with  gliding 
motions,  some  of  the  graceful  steps  and  figures  having  descended  to 
them  for  centuries  ;  one  of  the  dances,  "  trata,"  has  obtained  a  national 
character,  for  to  its  measure  eighty  women  of  Greece,  with  their  chil- 
dren, once  glided  over  a  steep  cliff  to  avoid  being  captured  by  the  Turks. 
To  see  these  beautiful  peasant  girls  in  their  national  dances,  the  v'alleys 
below,  the  mountains  around,  and  health  and  grace  proclaiming  them- 
selves in  every  motion,  one  can  imagine  Terpsichore  herself  looking 
down  from  old  Parnassus  in  admiration.  The  fact  is  not  recorded,  how- 
ever, that  the  goddess  of  the  song  and  dance  was  a  patron  of  false 
tresses  ,  for  Greek  peasant  girls  nearly  all  wear  them,  and  always  of  the 
opposite  color  from  the  natural  hair. 

GREEK  WEDDINGS. 

Religious  feasts  and  wedding  feasts  have  their  special  dances, 
although  at  the  latter,  of  course,  men,  married  women  and  girls  all  par- 
ticipate in  the  festivities.  The  married  women  dance  in  groups  near 
the  men  and  the  girls  also  ring  all  around.  The  wedding,  guests  are, 
some  of  them,  attired  in  handsome  costumes,  and  it  is  not  unusual  for 
the  husband  and  his  trroomsman  to  be  dressed  accordinsj  to  the  latest 
PZuropean  styles.  The  elders  usually  wear  blue  or  red  jackets,  snowy 
fustanellas,  lefrgrincrs  and  shoes. 

The  marriage,  which  takes  place  in  a  church,  is  attended  by  the  whole 
country.  The  chief  priest  of  the  monastery,  the  archimandrite,  dressed 
in  black  with  a  high  cap,  is  assisted  by  several  brothers,  especially  if  the 
parties  are  of  some  prominence.  In  these  quiet  Greek  towns,  every  one, 
from  priest  to  peasant,  makes  the  most  of  any  event  out  of  the  ordinary 
course  of  placidity.  The  assistants  appear  in  gorgeous  robes  of  blue, 
"yellow  and  red,  or  any  other  color  which  strikes  their  fancy.  \"ery  often 
their  dresses  are  donated  by  pious  ladies  of  the  church,  who  have  no 
further  use  for  them. 

The  marriage  ceremony  is  simple,  and  includes  the  blessing  of  the 
couple  by   the  archimandrite,  who  touches   their  foreheads  and  cheeks 


700 


PANORAMA   OF    NATIONS. 


with  his  official  ring.  He  then  takes  a  ring  from  the  finger  of  each  and 
places  it  on  that  of  the  other.  He  solemnly  consecrates  two  large 
wreaths  of  orange  blossoms,  lifting  them  to  his  lips  and  placing  one  on 
the  head  of  the  bride,  the  other  on  that  of  the  bridegroom.  Several 
times  the  bridal  procession,  consisting  of  the  priests,  boys  with  lighted 
candles  and  the  wedded  couple,  marches  around  the  communion  table, 
the  bride  and  bridegroom  bowing  to  their  friends  in  the  church.  Three 
times  the  bridal  couple  receive  the  communion  cup  from  the  archimandrite, 
who  presents  it  once  to  their  near  relatives.     He  then  gives  the  bride  and 


GREEK  BRIGANDS. 

bridegroom  the  kiss  of  benediction  and  is  himself  saluted  on  the  hand. 
The  usual  kissing  succeeds,  after  which  the  procession  marches  to  the 
scene  of  the  feast  and  dance,  showers  of  rose  leaves  falling  upon  all  heads. 
In  the  small  hamlets  the  marriage  services  and  subsequent  proceedings 
are  devoid  of  any  of  the  above  metropolitan  accompaniments,  they 
being  a  specimen  of  what  might  be  expected  in  a  large  town. 

BRIGAND  AND  PEASANT. 

The  most  corroding  spot  upon  the  modern  body  politic  of  Greece 
is  brigandage.      Reckless  and  adventurous  bands,  at  first  formed  to  resist 


ANCIENT    GREECE    IN    TURKEY,  JOI 

Turkish  rule,  are  now  robbers  by  trade  and  make  the  lives  of  travelers  a 
constant  uncertainty.  Adventurers,  vagrants,  outlaws  from  justice,  and 
deserters,  swell  the  roll  continually.  The  brigands  may  have  friends 
and  relatives  among  the  peasants  and  villagers,  or  may  overawe  peaceful 
communities  so  that  they  will  be  fed  and  protected.  The  chiefs  of  bands 
are  even  said  to  have  their  friends  among  statesmen  and  politicians  who 
use  them  as  agents  and  ropers-in.  It  frequently  happens  that  prominent 
citizens  and  leaders  of  the  peoi)le  keep  on  good  terms  with  these  out- 
laws that  th(Mr  own  relatives  and  friends  will  be  safe  from  capture  and 
molestation.  Thus  the  brigands  are  protected  by  the  high  and  the  low. 
When  an  atrocity  has  been  committed  which  the  government  can  not 
possibly  overlook,  troops  are  sent  into  the  region  where  the  robbers 
were  last  seen.  For  their  own  safety  the  shepherds  and  peasants  are 
obliged  to  warn  their  predatory  associates  of  the  approach  of  law  and 
order.  This  they  accomplish  by  many  ingenious  methods.  They  have 
agreed  with  the  brigands  upon  certain  marks  which  may  be  cut  upon 
sticks  or  marked  upon  rocks  which  are  left  in  secret  places.  If  the 
peasantry  do  not  have  an  opportunity  to  repair  to  these  places  of  deposit 
before  the  military  detachment  enters  their  village,  they  take  their  sticks 
and  begin  cutting  marks  upon  them,  both  to  remember  the  conversation 
and  to  enable  the  brigands  —  some  of  whom  are  generally  posted  on  a 
hill  in  the  vicinity  with  excellent  field-glasses — to  observe  what  is 
going  on. 

There  is  one  other  cause  for  the  continued  existence  of  this  disgrace, 
and  that  is  the  protection  afforded  it  in  the  districts  bordering  upon 
Turkey  ;  or  at  least  the  indifference  evinced  by  the  Porte  in  bringing  to 
justice  those  who  commit  crimes  in  Greek  territory. 

ANCIENT  GREECE   IN  TURKEY. 

Ancient  Epirus  and  Thessaly  include  the  Turkish  districts  now 
bordering  upon  Greece  ;  and  to  the  northeast  was  the  great  Macedonian 
monarchy.  The  northern  boundary  of  Ancient  Greece  was  in  the  same 
latitude  as  is  Constantinople,  but  its  eastern  limits  did  not  reach  to  its 
present  longitude  by  about  one  hundred  miles.  It  is  also  somewhat  of  a 
coincidence  that  those  provinces  which  fell  first  to  Rome  and  then  to 
Turkey  were  inhabited  by  a  mixed  race  of  Pelasgians  (aborigines  of 
Greece)  Grecian  immigrants.  Illyrians  and  Thracians — the  latter  two 
tribes  springing  from  the  same  stock —  which  were  never  considered  as 
Hellenes,  or  pure  Greeks,  but  rather  as  a  mongrel  and  an  alien  race. 

Yet  these  countries  gave  birth  to  some  of  the  strongest  states  and 


702  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

characters  which  figure  in  ancient  history.  King  Pyrrhus,  monarch  of 
this  country,  was  one  of  the  early  giant  kings  of  the  barbaric  world  with 
whom  the  Roman  Empire  contended  and  the  mother  of  Alexander  the 
Great  was  a  princess  of  Epirus. 

Thessaly  was  the  most  fertile  province  in  Greece,  consisting  chiefly 
of  two  plains  between  lofty  mountains  with  two  clear,  beautiful  lakes  set 
into  their  green  surfaces.  But  the  people  were  not  as  peaceable  as  in 
its  physical  appearance  the  country  seemed  to  be.  Rich  families  de- 
scended from  the  original  conquerors  of  the  soil,  held  the  land,  which 
was  cultivated  by  serfs. 

Besides  the  slaves  of  the  soil,  who  preserved  no  rights,  there  were 
several  subject  tribes  which  had  votes  in  the  Amphictyonic  council. 
This  was  an  association  of  tribes  for  mutual  protection  and  for  the 
worship  of  one  deity,  which  originally  inhabited  Thessaly  or  the  neigh- 
boring country.  It  was  the  special  patron  of  the  Delphic  oracle,  and  as 
the  fame  and  the  power  of  the  oracle  spread  the  influence  of  the  council 
likewise  extended.  Philip  of  Macedon  used  the  league  as  a  weapon 
with  which  to  murder  the  liberties  of  Greece,  and,  althouo-h  organized 
for  peace,  it  was  the  cause  of  many  conflicts,  even  between  the  tribes 
and  cities  which  were  members  of  the  council.  In  one  of  these  wars, 
which  the  league  called  sacred,  many  cities  of  Phocis,  a  province  of  the 
association  south  of  Thessaly,  were  entirely  destroyed.  The  council 
had  two  places  of  meeting,  one  being  at  Delphi  and  the  other  at  Anthela, 
near  Thermopyla?,  in  the  temple  dedicated  to  Ceres.  This  latter  was 
in  the  Phocians'  country,  and  the)' were  charged  with  various  sacreligious 
acts  against  property  dedicated  to  the  gods  and  visitors  to  the  oracle. 
How  long  this  council  endured  is  uncertain,  but  the  two  principal  wars 
in  which  it  engaged  were  separated  by  two  centuries  and  a  half. 

Notwithstanding  the  league  the  Phocians  built  a  wall  from  the 
western  gate  of  Thermopylae  pass  to  keep  out  the  Thessalians,  the 
remains  of  which  may  be  traced  from  near  the  Polj-andrium  (a  monu- 
ment to  the  Greeks  who  fell  before  the  Persians)  to  the  Gulf  of  Corinth 
on  the  western  coast.  This  was  in  ruins  when  the  Spartans  defended 
Thermopylae.  The  eastern  gate  of  the  pass  was  formed  b)-  a  mountain 
and  the  shores  of  the  Maliac  Gulf,  the  ground  between  being  impassable 
because  of  the  morass  on  the  edge  of  the  bay  and  the  hot  springs  which 
had  been  led  to  the  soil,  which  might  otherwise  furnish  a  footing.  This 
gate  of  the  pass  is  now  a  broad  swamp)'  plain. 


THE   ITALIANS. 

HIS  people  is  a  famil)-  of  the  great  Graeco-Roman  group, 
which  comprises  the  natives  of  Greece,  Italy,  France  and  Spain. 
The  Latin  branch,  or  tribe  of  the  Italian  race,  early  attained 
the  sovereignty  over  their  own  people,  over  the  Gauls  in  the 
north,  the  Greeks  in  the  south  and  the  aborigines  (Etruscans 
U  and  lapygians)  in  the  east  and  extreme  southeast.  On  the 
y\  Palatine  Hill,  probably  as  a  frontier  defense  against  the  Etrus- 
cans, commenced  to  rise  the  first  crude  buildings  which  were 
to  form  the  nucleus  of  the  great  City  of  the  Seven  Hills  and 
the  mightiest  empire  of  the  ancient  times.  When  this  infant 
Rome  was  finished,  it  is  said  to  have  consisted  of  about  a  thousand 
dwellings,  irregularly  arranged.  Strangers  were  invited  to  the  new 
settlement,  and  the  next  we  hear  of  it,  it  is  the  city  of  the  Latin 
confederacy,  or  of  Latinum,  where  the  Senate  meets  and  metropolitan 
life  is  at  its  best. 

MODERN   ROME. 

After  some  twenty-six  hundred  years  we  find  a  city  inclosed  by  some 
twelve  miles  of  walls,  one-third  of  which  area  onl)-  is  inhabited.  One- 
half  is  strewn  with  ancient  ruins,  and  the  balance  is  laid  out  in  eardens 
or  vineyards.  The  city  occupies  a  marsh  on  each  side  of  the  Tiber  and 
the  slopes  of  the  seven  hills,  the  greater  portion  of  Rome  being  on  the 
left  bank. 

CAPITOLINE   HILL. 


The  center  of  interest  is  the  Capitoline  Hill,  the  smallest  but  most 
famous  of  the  group.  On  the  summit  of  this  rock)-  mountain  were  built 
three  magnificent  capitols,  which  were  destrojed  by  fire,  the  modern 
structure  being  erected  partly  on  the  foundation  of  the  ancient  temple. 
From  the  Capitoline  Hill,  or  that  portion  of  it  called  the  Tarpeian  Rock, 
state  criminals  were  thrown.  The  remains  of  the  ancient  capitol,  in  whose 
spacious  portico  the  people  feasted  when  their  Emperor  returned  to 
celebrate  a  triumph,  are  confined  to  a  small  section  of  the  superstructure 


704  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

and  wall,  and  a  portion  of  the  great  flight  of  steps  leading  to  the  temple. 
Besides  the  capitol,  or  the  great  Temple  o(  Jupiter,  were  tlie  Temple  of 
Jupiter  Tonans  and  the  magnificent  Tabularium,  wherein  were  stored 
the  public  records  of  the  empire,  which  contained  its  treasury  and  served 
as  a  library  and  lecture  building.  The  remains  of  the  latter  structure 
still  have  an  imposing  appearance. 

From  the  south  of  the  capitol  to  the  city  walls  are  cultivated  land, 
beautiful  gardens  and  vineyards.  F"rom  the  great  northern  entrance  of 
Rome  to  the  foot  of  the  hill  runs  the  Corso,  a  street  about  a  mile  longf, 
passing  through  the  site  of  the  ancient  Campus  Martius,  an  open  space 
of  many  acres,  where  the  ancient  Romans  were  wont  to  assemble  and 
indulge  in  games  and  other  amusements ;  this  is  now  the  most  densely 
populated  portion  of  Rome  and  given  up  to  trade.  On  each  side  of  the 
Corso  are  palaces  and  churches,  while  to  the  right,  about  half  way  up, 
branches  off  a  noble  street  leading  to  the  immense  Jesuit  convent  and 
church. 

THE  PANTHEON. 

The  strip  between  the  Corso  and  the  Tiber,  is  densely  populated  by 
the  smaller  classes  of  traders,  the  poor  and  the  beggars  of  Rome  ; 
market  places  and  shops  are  there  galore.  In  this  quarter,  however, 
stands  the  Pantheon,  one  of  the  grandest  remains  of  all  Rome's  ereat- 
ness.  It  is  also  the  best  preserved.  Standing  near  the  center  of  the 
ancient  Campus,  and  erected  nineteen  centuries  ago  as  a  temple  to  all 
the  heathen  gods,  it  was  consecrated  twelve  centuries  ago  as  a  Christian 
church,  under  the  name  of  Sancta  Maria  ad  Martyres.  But  the  name 
of  Pantheon  yet  clings  to  it,  and  the  huge  rotunda  with  its  lofty  dome 
rises  above  the  surrounding  squalor  in  all  the  impressiveness  of  Roman 
architecture.  Its  portico,  over  a  hundred  feet  in  length,  with  triple  rows 
of  mighty  granite  columns,  the  capitals  and  bases  of  which  are  marble, 
is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  productions  of  artistic  genius  to  be  seen 
in  Rome.  Much  of  the  bronze  roof,  which  these  pillars  support,  has 
been  removed  by  various  Popes  to  be  used  in  the  interior  decoration  of 
the  Vatican,  as  have  also  many  fine  marbles  from  the  body  of  the  Pan- 
theon. But  the  monument  stands  in  its  general  features  of  gran- 
deur.  Once  within,  you  seem  to  stand  beneath  a  miniature  heavenly 
vault,  your  illusion  being  only  dispelled  when,  upon  glancing  upward,  you 
see  the  floods  of  light  pouring  through  a  large  opening  in  the  dome  and 
scattering  itself,  as  if  by  magic,  to  every  altar  and  niche  of  the  interior. 
Originally,  the  exterior  of  the  dome  was  covered  with  plates  of  silver, 
but  these  were  removed  and  bronze  ones  substituted.     A  modern  copy 


THE    VATICAN    AND    ST.    PETERS.  705 

of  the  Pantheon  is  the  world-famed  St.  Peter's,  and  thus  there  is  a  double 
bond  of  union  between  the  ancient  and  modern  religion  of  Rome. 

THE  VATICAN  AND  ST.  PETER'S. 

The  Upper  Town,  so  called,  lies  on  the  slope  of  the  Pincian  and 
Quirinal  Hills,  consisting  of  palaces,  villas,  churches  and  convents,  gar- 
dens and  beautiful  walks.  In  this  locality  were  the  favorite  promenades 
of  the  Romans.  On  the  summit  of  the  Quirinal  is  the  famous  pontifi- 
cal palace  and  garden.  From  it  is  obtained  a  striking  view  of  the  castle 
of  St.  Angelo,  with  its  great  circular  tower,  mounted  with  cannon  and 
protected  with  ramparts  and  ditches.  It  commands  the  bridge  which 
forms  the  principal  means  of  communication  between  the  two  portions 
of  the  city.  St.  Angelo  looms  up  like  a  ponderous  warrior  guarding 
the  approach  to  the  Vatican,  consisting  of  the  palace  and  the  basilica 
of  St.  Peter's.  This  wonderful  creation  of  architectural  genius  and 
religious  fervor  can  not  be  described  in  a  few,  or  many,  words.  St. 
Peter's  must  be  seen  and  felt  —  the  approach  through  the  great  circular 
court,  its  palatial  front  and  mighty  dome,  the  grand  central  nave,  with 
its  gorgeous  ornaments  and  many  statues,  and  its  chapels,  tombs  and 
altars !  Then  passing  from  the  right  to  the  Piazza  of  St.  Peter's,  up  the 
wonderful  staircase  called  Scala  Regia,  we  turn  to  the  left  and  enter  the 
Sistine  chapel  of  Michael  Angelo,  for  it  is  next  to  impossible  not  to 
associate  him  with  it  in  the  sense  of  ownership.  His  genius  looks  down 
from  the  ceiling  in  The  Creation,  The  Fall  of  Man  and  The  Deluire, 
while  The  Last  Judgment,  pronounced  by  some  the  greatest  of  all 
paintings,  has  drawn  the  eyes  of  the  world  to  the  end  wall,  which  is  a 
little  more  than  forty  feet  across.  "  Upon  this  work  Michael  Angelo 
spent  seven  years  of  almost  incessant  labor  and  study.  To  animate  him 
in  the  task  Pope  Paul  III.,  attended  by  ten  cardinals,  waited  upon 
the  artist  at  his  house,  an  honor,"  says  Lanzi,  who  records  the  fact, 
"  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  art." 

PETER'S  PRISON. 

The  old  Mamertine  prison,  whose  walls  are  built  of  such  enormous 
stones  as  to  prove  the  structure  a  relic  of  Rome's  ancient  monarchs,  is 
supposed  to  be  the  gloomy  work  of  Martius,  or  Mamertius,  the  fourth 
king  of  the  city  who  flourished  600  B.  C.  There  is  a  Catholic  legend  to 
the  effect  that  St.  Peter  or  St.  Paul  was  confined  in  one  of  its  damp  cells, 
and,  having  converted  the  jailer,  a  spring  of  water  sprang  up  from  the 

stone  floor  to  enable  him  to  baptize  him.    Beneath  the  floor  is  a  dungeon 

45 


7o6 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


Avhich  has  been  found  to  be  of  great  size  and  in  which  the  conspirators 
of  Cataline  were  strangled  to  death. 

THE   LIFE  OF  TO-DAY. 

The  Vatican  is  divided  from  the  Trastevere,  or  the  portion  of  the 
city  on  this  side  of  the  Tiber  which  is  not  within  the  province  of  the 
Church,  by  an  inner  wall.     This  district  is  bounded  by  the  river  and  a 


STREET  SCENE  IN  ROME. 

ridge  which  rises  300  feet  above  it.  Along  the  northern  half  of  the 
heights  is  carried  a  broad  street  which  is  a  favorite  promenade  of  the 
Roman  youth  ;  and  the  largest  fountain  of  Rome  graces  a  commamling 
site,  its  torrents  of  water  seeming,  from  a  distance,  to  rush  through  three 
mighty  arches.  Many  other  fountains  beautify  the  modern  city.  Col- 
lected in  these  refreshing  localities  may  occasionally  be  seen  the  beau- 


THE    CATACOMBS.  707 

tiful  Roman  maidens  of  the  artist,  dancing  and  singing  "for  a  bit,"  or 
seated  about  in  careless  grace.  In  the  squares  also  where  the  fountains 
play  and  to  which  the  tired  curiosity  seeker  instinctively  repairs  to  bring 
before  his  eyes  something  besides  ruins,  the  Roman  beggar  is  at  his  best  — 
there  and  at  the  doors  of  the  great  churches.  But  even  the  plague  of 
mendicancy  is  being  somewhat  alleviated  through  government  efforts, 
and  it  may  be  that  these  characters  which  have  made  Rome  noted  will 
disappear  as  effectually  as  the  old-fashioned,  mild  and  romantic  Roman 
peasant. 

Something,  or  somebody,  to  satisfy  artistic  cravings,  however,  may 
be  found  in  the  dreary  Campagna,  that  great  pestilential  tract  which  sur- 
rounds the  city  and  includes  the  greater  portion  of  ancient  Latium.  The 
oTound  is  low  and  often  flooded  from  the  Tiber.  The  small  lakes  are 
formed  by  craters  of  extinct  volcanoes.  Wars,  pestilences  (especially 
the  Black  Death  in  the  fourteenth  century)  and  the  overflow  of  the 
Tiber  may  account  for  the  present  unhealthfulness  of  the  Campagna, 
which  according  to  Livy  always  had  that  reputation  in  some  degree,  al- 
though it  once  was  well  cultivated  and  adorned  with  such  villas  as  those 
of  Domitian  and  Hadrian. 

The  Campagna  is  deserted  except  by  the  poorer  classes  of  peasants 
and  shepherds,  and  in  summer,  when  the  most  dangerous  vapors  arise, 
they,  too,  flee  to  Rome  or  neighboring  localities.  But  in  autumn  the 
pasturage  is  in  many  places  rich  and  abundant,  and  then  the  herdsmen 
and  shepherds  descend  from  the  Apennine  mountains  with  their  cattle, 
goats  and  sheep.  They  are  the  figures  for  the  artist's  pencil — shep- 
herds with  broad-brimmed  hats,  great  cloaks,  their  feet  swathed  in  rags, 
their  hair  and  beard  long  and  profuse. 

THE  CATACOMBS. 

As  the  shepherd  of  the  Campagna  pipes  along  over  the  morasses 
and  fields  of  sward  to  his  pasture  grounds,  with  his  dogs  and  flocks,  he 
is  quite  likely  to  be  walking  over  whole  streets  of  the  dead.  The  cata- 
combs of  Rome,  those  subterranean  vaults  which  line  the  dark  passage- 
ways for  many  dreary  miles,  are  outside  the  city  walls  and  approached 
by  stone  steps,  which  descend  to  openings  in  the  rock  from  the  famous 
Appian  Way.  Within  these  lab)rinths,  whose  rocky  walls  are  so  many 
sealed  tombs  and  which  occasionally  expand  into  wide  and  lofty  cham- 
bers, are  deposited  the  bodies  of  countless  Christians  of  the  primitive 
church  —  bishops  and  laymen,  but  martyrs  almost  invariably,  as  the  inscrip- 
tions upon  the  tombs  eloquently  and  pathetically  testify.  These  impos- 
ing chambers  were,  no  doubt,  churches.     In   the  repeated   wars  which 


7o8  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

Rome  suffered  many  of  the  catacombs  were  destroyed,  and  to  circum- 
vent future  ravages  the  Popes  caused  thousands  of  bocHes  of  the  ilkistrious 
dead  to  be  removed  to  places  of  safety.  It  is  possible  that  from  this  city 
of  the  dead,  whose  inhabitants  have  been  reckoned  by  the  millions  and 
the  length  of  whose  streets  is  hundreds  of  miles,  although  its  pollution  has 
been  sealed  from  those  who  pass  along  its  rocky  ways,  may  still  arise  influ- 
ences which  have  their  effect  upon  the  marshy,  steaming  Campagna  above. 

THE  COLOSSEUM  AND  THE  FORUM. 

But  we  now  return  to  the  Capitoline  Hill,  having  crossed  the  river  to 
explore  the  Vatican  and  the  freshest  district  of  modern  Rome.  By  a  steep 
descent  from  the  hill  we  reach  the  Colosseum  in  what  is  now  known  as 
the  Campo  Vaccino,  or  cattle  market,  thus  indicating  the  purpose  to 
which  the  great  Roman  Forum  has  for  centuries  been  devoted.  In 
ancient  times,  also,  the  markets  formed  an  important  feature  of  the  Forum, 
a  great  portion  of  which  was  devoted  to  the  assemblies  of  the  people. 
Here  were  hung  up  for  the  benefit  of  the  public  the  laws  of  the  Twelve 
Tables,  and  afterward  the  calendars  of  the  courts,  written  upon  white 
tables,  that  the  citizens  might  be  informed  as  to  legal  proceedings.  One 
portion  of  the  Forum  was,  in  fact,  devoted  to  trade  and  the  other  a  public 
assembly  ground  and  the  scene  of  banquets  and  gladiatorial  sports,  the 
two  being  divided  by  the  platforms  from  which  the  Roman  orators 
addressed  the  citizens.  After  Caesar's  time  the  Roman  Forum  lost  its 
political  and  popular  character,  and  with  the  erection  of  the  Colosseum 
it  became  almost  entirely  the  center  of  those  cruelties  called  sports. 
Triumphal  arches  were  also  erected  by  the  Emperors,  such  as  those  of 
Constantine  and  Titus,  and  splendid  monuments  and  temples,  some  of 
which  still  stand.  On  the  east  and  south  the  Forum  was  bounded  by  the 
Sacra  Via,  upon  the  highest  point  of  which  stood  Titus'  arch,  and  which 
connected  the  Colosseum  with  the  other  wonders  of  the  Forum. 

It  was  the  original  intention  of  Augustus  to  build  a  great  amphi- 
theatre in  the  center  of  Rome,  and  Vespasian  and  his  son  Titus  realized 
the  former's  bright  hopes  with  the  help  of  the  vast  number  of  Jewish 
workmen  which  he  brought  as  captives  from  Jerusalem.  The  site  selected 
was  in  a  hollow  between  two  hills  which  Nero  had  caused  to  be  made 
for  an  artificial  lake.  The  great  structure,  which  was  615x510  feet,  was 
in  four  stories  and  in  three  different  styles  of  architecture.  It  was  dedi- 
cated by  Titus  80  A.  D.,  with  a  brilliant  programme  of  games  and  gladia- 
torial shows,  numbers  of  men  and  thousands  of  wild  beasts  being  killed 
to  satisfy  the  80,000  spectators  who  are  supposed  to  have  been  present. 
Later  this  was    the    arena  where  many  of  the  early  Christians  suffered 


THE    ITALIAN    PEASANT.  7O9 

martyrdom.  Otherwise  the  Colosseum  has  few  historical  associations. 
It  is  supposed  to  have  remained  entire  until  the  eleventh  century,  when 
Rome  was  sacked  by  the  Normans  and  the  Colosseum  partially  demolished 
to  destroy  its  utility  as  a  fortress.  In  the  fourteenth  century  it  was  a 
favorite  arena  for  bull-fights  and  it  afterward  became  a  hospital.  Its 
walls  were  used  as  building  material  for  Roman  palaces  and  attempts 
were  made  to  transform  it  into  a  bazaar  and  a  saltpetre  factory.  Then  a 
cross  was  planted  in  the  center  of  the  still  grand  ruin,  with  small  chapels 
around  the  walls,  and  once  every  week  it  was  customary  to  hold  exercises 
in  memory  of  the  saints  and  unknown  martyrs  who  suffered  for  their 
faith.  Subsequently  these  were  removed  and  the  excavations  which 
followed  revealed  a  multitude  of  chambers  and  passages  whose  uses  are 
unknown. 

From  a  point  beyond  the  Colosseum,  the  Palatine  Hill  and  the 
ruined  Palace  of  the  Ca;sars,  and  beyond  the  present  city  walls,  but 
which  was  once  not  far  removed  from  the  very  center  of  Rome,  stands  a 
long  procession  of  fragmentary  aqueducts.  The  most  noted  of  these 
are  the  aqueducts  of  Marcia  and  Claudia.  The  water  supply  of  modern 
Rome  is  along  much  the  same  course;  in  fact,  the  works  of  Marcia  and 
Claudia  have  been  partially  utilized. 

THE  ITALIAN  PEASANT. 

The  Italian  is  not  a  peasant  from  choice  and  no  Italian  who  is 
wealthy  enough  to  own  a  farm  would  think  of  occupying  it.  The  owner 
graces  his  property  long  enough  to  collect  his  crop  moneys,  leaving  it 
the  rest  of  the  year  in  charge  of  hired  laborers,  who  are  crowded 
together  in  little  villages.  Here  and  there  throughout  the  country  are 
great  tracts  of  land,  upon  which  are  masses  of  buildings,  surrounded  by 
high  walls  and  deep  moats,  mementoes  of  the  days  when  hordes  of  bar- 
barians might  sweep  down  from  the  North  at  any  moment,  burn  the  vine- 
yards and  destroy  the  grain  ;  the  bandits  came  later  to  terrify  the  life  of 
the  prosperous  farmer  and  make  it  more  agreeable  for  him  to  live  in 
town  with  his  wife  and  family. 

Much  in  the  same  way  the  country  population  have  got  into  the 
habit  of  emigrating  to  the  cities  and  towns.  They  usually  have  acquired 
trades  such  as  those  of  masons,  carpenters  or  house  painters,  and  from 
their  busy  hands  came  many  of  the  superb  structures  which  grace  both 
the  ancient  and  modern  cities  of  Italy.  Many  of  them  gather  not  only 
competencies,  but  fortunes.  Yearly  they  return  to  their  beloved  fields 
and  valleys  to  spend  their  idle  months,  and  finally,  perhaps,  to  live.  A 
case  in  point  is  that  of  a  gentleman  of  Piedmont  who  became  chief 


7IO  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

director  of  the  great  tunnel,  on  the  Apennines,  above  Genoa,  at  the 
time  of  the  construction  of  the  railway  there.  At  length  he  retired  to 
his  country  home,  and  employed  several  hundred  villagers  to  transform 
his  hut  into  a  palace  and  his  bare  rocks  into  a  park.  Other  young  men, 
especially  of  the  Northern  districts,  turned  up  their  noses  at  the  plow 
and  sought  their  fortunes  in  Austria  and  Germany  ;  so  that,  as  an 
observer  of  this  feature  of  peasant  life  once  remarked,  "in  Italy  are  to 
be  found  boors  who  for  half  the  year  are,  at  Vienna,  bankers, barons  and 
even  counts,  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire." 

Those  whom  circumstances  force  to  stay  at  home  and  till  the  soil 
are  apt  to  ape  metropolitan  w^ays.  They  are  social  by  nature,  and  would 
rather  live  huddled  in  a  squalid  hamlet  than  out  in  the  countrj'  where 
each  man  may  have  his  own  vineyard  and  plenty  of  pure  air  and  fresh 
water.  "In  their  dingy  provincial  towns  they  huddle  together,  land 
owners,  farmers  and  most  of  the  laborers  ;  and  every  town  gives  itself  the 
airs  and  revels  in  the  light  gossip  of  the  capital ;  every  town  has  a  cafe, 
or  a  score  of  cafes  in  which  to  idle  away  time,  all  with  their  tawdry, 
smoky,  gilt  and  mirrored  rooms." 

It  is  a  common  plan  in  Italy  for  the  land  owner  and  his  laborers  to 
share  the  profits  in  kind,  the  proportion  varying  with  the  fertility  of  the 
land.  The  peasant  furnishes  the  implements  of  husbandry  and  half  of 
the  laboring  cattle.  If  he  is  so  poor  that  the  land  owner  is  obliged  to  do 
this  for  him,  to  support  him  while  he  tills  and  also  furnish  him  with  seed, 
his  position  becomes  most  unenviable.  The  primitixe  plows,  rakes  and 
harrows  which  Virgil  would  recognize  are  plentiful,  but,  through  the 
exertions  of  the  agricultural  colleges  and  societies  of  the  large  towns  and 
cities,  they  are  being  replaced  by  modern  implements. 

FLORENCE  AND  THE   REPUBLICS. 

Ancient  Florence  was  completely  destroyed  by  the  Ostrogoths,  but 
was  rebuilt  by  Charlemagne.  While  the  foreign  rulers  of  Italy  were 
busily  looking  after  .their  own  crowns  they  allowed  the  cities  to  rebuild 
their  ancient  walls  and  granted  them  various  popular  rights,  as  a  means 
of  keeping  out  other  invaders  and  making  the  people  contented.  The 
German  Emperors  had  their  own  representatives  who  acted  in  concert 
with  parliaments  and  councils,  and  collected  the  imperial  tribute,  but 
republican  seeds  were  thickly  sown  from  necessity.  As  wealth  increased 
the  cities  became  more  anxious  to  defend  their  possessions,  and  every 
citizen  was  proud  to  contribute  nearly  his  entire  wealth  to  his  native 
place,  which,  as  it  took  into  its  embrace  weaker  towns  or  cities  and 
extended  its  popular  form  of  government,  became  eventually  a  republic. 


FLORENGE    AND    THE    REPUBLICS.  /I  I 

Under  the  guidance  of  the  Lombard  League,  the  chief  cities  of 
Italy  threw  themselves  against  their  Emperor,  Frederick  Barbarossa,  and 
for  the  first  time  in  modern  Europe  forced  despotism  to  treat  with 
republicanism.  One  of  their  gifts  was  the  office  of  the  podesta,  a 
foreign  knight  or  imperial  representative,  chosen  by  the  people  of  each 
city,  to  act  as  criminal  judge  and  executioner.  He  was  assisted  by  two 
native  judges,  and  a'jcountable  to  the  people  and  their  laws  for  his  con- 
duct. In  seasons  of  tumult  between  the  Guelphs  and  Ghibellines  (the 
national  and  imperial  parties)  and  between  the  nobles  and  the  people, 
the  great  middle  classes  of  citizens  placed  almost  absolute  power  in  his 
hands. 

The  republicans  of  Florence  were  among  the  first  to  scent  the 
dangers  to  their  liberties  which  lurked  in  the  office,  and  soon  lopped  off 
its  worst  functions.  Even  then,  by  the  thirteenth  century,  they  were 
noted  throughout  Europe  for  their  enterprise  and  wealth,  their  proud 
spirit  of  freedom  and  their  intellectual  vigor.  Their  city  was  known  as 
the  "Athens  of  Italy,"  and  therein  was  already  seen  one  of  the  most  har- 
monious unions  of  wealth  and  art  in  the  world.  But  the  great  stumb- 
ling block  in  the  way  of  her  political  freedom  was  the  podesta,  a  creature 
of  the  Emperor  and  his  party.  In  1250,  therefore,  the  citizens,  repre- 
sented by  fifty  groups  of  militia,  assembled  in  the  square  of  Santa  Croce 
and  chose  a  council  under  which  the  podesta  was  to  act  or  be  deposed. 
The  militia  next  razed  the  towers  which  were  the  strongholds  of  the 
Ghibelline  nobles,  and  recalled  the  Guelphs,  who  had  been  exiled ; 
under  the  latter  party  the  republic  attacked  half  a  dozen  neighboring 
towns,  among  them  Pisa,  and  forced  them  to  sign  a  treaty  of  peace  fav- 
orable to  the  Church  and  Italy.  Soon  after  the  establishment  of  the 
republic  the  government  also  reformed  its  finances  (^and  virtually  the 
monetary  system  of  Europe)  by  coining  its  florin  of  a  certain  weight  and 
fineness  and  maintaining  it  thus,  through  its  great  commercial  power,  as 
long  as  the  republic  endured.  With  the  exception  of  a  few  years,  when 
the  imperial  party  was  in  the  ascendant,  the  republican  spirit  of  Florence 
was  not  seriously  depressed.  She  was  the  head  of  the  national  party  in 
Italy,  and  often  defended  the  free  cities  of  the  country  against  the  designs 
of  the  nobles,  and,  later,  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  The  citizens  of  Flor- 
ence were  divided  into  arts  or  trades.  Some  of  the  lowest,  particularly 
the  woolen  trade,  were  unrepresented  in  the  government.  They  therefore 
rose  in  rebellion  and  besieged  the  Palazzo  Vecchio,  where  the  signoria, 
or  council,  met.  But  after  a  few  short  months  the  power  returned  to 
the  nobles,  rich  merchants  and  citizens  of  the  major  arts,  and  the  leaders 
of  the  popular  uprising  were  mostly  banished  or  beheaded  as  rebels. 


712  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

THE  MEDICI  FAMILY 

It  was  at  this  juncture  that  the  Medici  commenced  to  come  into 
notice.  For  fifty  years  various  members  appeared  as  champions  of 
the  people  against  the  nobles,  holding  high  offices  and  being  preeminent 
in  the  field  of  commerce.  Cosmo  de  Medici  owned  banking  houses  in 
all  the  great  cities  of  Europe,  and  immense  and  productive  farms,  and 
held  a  monopoly  of  the  alum  mines  of  Italy.  Rivaling  in  wealth  most 
of  the  princes  of  Europe,  he  spent  vast  sums  in  the  erection  of  public 
edifices,  the  encouragement  of  artists  and  poets  and  the  introduction 
of  Grecian  and  Eastern  literature.  The  Albizzi  faction,  or  family, 
were  not  as  wealthy  as  the  Medici,  but  for  fifty  years  controlled 
the  republic,  and  native  historians  give  them  the  credit  of  bringing 
it  to  the  grandest  height  of  glory  in  wealth,  arts,  science  and 
literature  without  infringing  upon  a  single  popular  right.  The  two 
parties  came  into  contiict,  and  Cosmo  exiled  his  rival  and  followers. 
During  the  latter  years  of  his  power  the  active  leadership  of  Cosmo's 
party  was  assumed  by  the  bold-spirited  Luca  Pitti,  who  built  two  great 
palaces  from  the  gifts  of  the  people.  To  the  last,  Cosmo  lavished  his 
wealth  upon  the  public,  and  obtained  such  complete  control  of  the 
republic  that  its  offices  became  party  gifts,  to  be  divided  between  his 
friends,  or  bought  and  sold  like  merchandise.  But  his  munificence  was 
so  great  that  at  his  death  Florence  went  into  deep  mourning  and  upon 
his  tomb  was  inscribed  the  "father  of  his  country." 

Cosmo's  son  was  an  invalid,  and  his  rule  being  by  proxy,  met  with 
little  opposition,  but  when  Lorenzo  assumed  the  leadership — the  grand- 
son of  Cosmo,  as  wealthy  as  he  and  greater  in  intellect — the  ancient  bit- 
terness of  the  Pazzi  returned  ;  Lorenzo  and  his  brother  barely  escaped 
assassination,  but  the  Pazzi  were  killed,  crushed  or  exiled. 

The  masterly  steps  by  which  Lorenzo  advanced  to  such  a  height  of 
popularity  as  to  be  hailed  with  one  accord  as  "the  Most  Magnificent 
Lord  "  belong  to  history  ;  how  he  carried  by  storm  the  heart  of  the  King 
of  Naples,  who  had  him  in  his  power;  how  he  fought  with  the  Pope  and 
then  had  his  son  made  a  cardinal ;  how  by  these  unions  with  the  auto- 
crat of  Naples  and  the  Church  of  Rome,  both  hostile  to  the  republic,  and 
his  destruction  of  popular  institutions  at  home,  he  murdered  his  country's 
best  interests — these  are  purely  historical  subjects.  Lorenzo's  claim  to 
the  admiration  of  posterity  rests  upon  the  splendid  work  of  his  grand- 
father, which  he  continued  with  the  greater  wisdom  of  his  broader  nature  ; 
for,  besides  being  the  most  courtly  man  of  his  times  and  a  patron  of 
native  and  Grecian  arts  and  scholarship,  he  was  himself  a  poet  and  a 
scholar,  continuing,  through  his  financial  agents,  the  collection  of  rare 


THE   CITY    FROM    THE    MEDICI    VILLA.  713 

manuscripts,  begun  by  Cosmo.  He  reckoned  among  his  intimate  friends 
Poliziano,  Pulci,  Demetrius  the  Greek,  and  Giovanni  della  Mirandola  ; 
the  latter  being  described  by  Machiavelli  as  "a  man  of  almost  supernat- 
ural genius  who,  after  visiting  every  court  of  Europe,  induced  by  the 
munificence  of  Lorenzo,  established  his  abode  at  Florence. 

It  seems,  however,  as  Lorenzo's  end  approached,  the  wealth  and 
prodigality  of  his  family,  and  most  of  all  his  own,  had  seduced  the  peo- 
ple from  an  honest  love  of  pure  liberty  and  plain  morals.  Savonarola 
had  already  appeared  —  "mighty,  mystic,  in  the  midst  of  a  vast  sensual- 
ity, with  a  holy  vehemence,  converting  the  soft  Italian  tongue  into  a  very 
judgment  trumpet  of  denunciation."  He  preached  not  only  against  the 
abuses  of  the  Church,  but  against  the  abuses  of  the  state,  for  which  the 
Medici  were  mainly  responsible.  The  tall,  robust  and  dignified  Lorenzo 
was  so  struck  with  the  holy  passion  of  the  diminutive  monk  that  when  his 
last  sickness  came  upon  him  he  desired  to  receive  absolution  from  him. 
"Savonarola,"  it  is  said,  "refused  him  neither  his  consolation  nor  his  exhor- 
tations ;  but  he  declared  that  he  could  not  absolve  him  from  his  sins  till 
he  proved  his  repentance  by  reparation  to  the  utmost  of  his  power.  He 
should  forgive  his  enemies  ;  restore  all  that  he  had  usurped  ;  lastly,  give 
back  to  his  country  the  liberty  of  which  he  had  despoiled  it.  Lorenzo 
de  Medici  would  not  consent  to  such  a  reparation ;  he  accordingly  did 
not  obtain  the  absolution  on  which  he  set  a  high  price,  and  died  still 
possessing  the  sovereignty  he  had  usurped." 

THE  CITY  FROM  THE  MEDICI  VILLA. 

The  most  perfect  picture  of  the  City  of  Flowers  is  obtained  from 
Fiesole,  the  site  of  the  ancient  market-place  or  town  which  was  the 
parent  of  the  stately  Florence.  Upon  these  heights,  overlooking  the 
city,  the  elder  Cosmo  built  him  a  villa  and  laid  out  beautiful  gar- 
dens, to  which  resorted  the  stately  and  royal  Lorenzo  to  muse,  to 
plan,  to  plot,  to  suffer  and  to  repent.  From  this  point  Florence,  her 
populous  suburbs  and  outlying  villas,  vineyards  and  gardens,  appear  to 
be  one  vast  city,  its  majestic  form,  garlanded  with  flowers  and  wreaths 
of  green,  lying  prone  upon  the  ground  and  shaded  by  a  circle  of  gently 
sloping  hills.  The  Arno  is  her  yellow  girdle.  It  was  in  Lorenzo's 
neighboring  villa  at  Careggi  that  the  interview  with  Savonarolo  is  said 
to  have  taken  place. 

GALILEO'S  HOMES. 

The  villas  in  which  Galileo  resided  are  more  famous,  in  this  aee  of 
the  world,  than  any  which  were  glorified  by  the  magnificence  of  Lorenzo. 


714 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


His  own  villa,  the  one  to  which  he  repaired  to  pass  the  last  dark  years 
of  his  harassed  life,  is  situated  beyond  the  hill  Arcetri.  "It  is  an  ivy- 
draped,  gloomy,  desolate-looking  abode."  His  observatory,  a  rude 
tower,  is  not  far  away.  The  father  of  astronomy  passed  his  younger, 
hopeful  days  at  the  villa  of  the  historian,  Guicardini,  perched  upon  a 
beautiful  height  called  Bellosquardo.  Near  the  northern  entrance  of  the 
quaint  old  building  is  a  bust  of  Galileo  with  a  tablet  chronicling  his 
residence  of  fourteen  years  within  its  walls.  The  grounds  are  laid  out 
in  pretty  gardens,  the  present  owner  retaining  a  remembrance,  no  doubt, 
of  the  fact  that  its  former  illustrious  guest  was  a  passionate  lover  of 
iiowers.  From  the  roof  of  the  villa,  the  center  of  which  is  railed  off  and 
furnished  with  sofas,  tables,  chairs,  etc.,  may  be  obtained  another  glori- 
ous panorama  of  Florence  and  its  historical  buildings  and  spots,  and  the 
beauties  of  the  surrounding  country. 

"There  is  the  vine  and  olive-clad  valley  of  the  Arno  ;  the  Cascine, 
the  favorite  promenade  or  drive,  the  Hyde  Park  of  Florence  ;  the  Poggio 
Imperiale,  and,  leading  to  it,  that 

"' abrupt,  black  line  of  cypresses 

Which  signs  the  way  to  Florence,' 

and  Fiesole,  the  ever  beautiful ;  and  San  Miniato,  with  Michael  Angelo's 
fortifications;  and  the  encircling  Apennines,  the  hills  of  Vallombrosa 
and  Carrara;  and  all  down  the  undulating  slopes  of  the  Bellosquardo 
Hill,  the  greenly  fertile  farms  displaying  their  treasures  of  grapes,  and 
olives  and  figs." 

IN  VALLOMBROSA'S  VALLEY. 

The  groves  and  convent  of  Vallombrosa  (Shady  Valley)  are  about 
fifteen  miles  east  of  Florence.  The  spot  is  of  such  romantic  interest 
that  it  has  left  its  impression  upon  the  world  of  poetry.  The  divine 
Milton,  Ariosto,  Italy's  poet  of  chivalry,  and,  later,  Mrs.  Browning, 
through  "Aurora  Leigh,"  have  tasted  of  the  solemn  delights  of  \'alIom- 
brosa.  It  is  approached  from  Florence  by  way  of  the  Valley  of  the 
Arno,  and  notwithstanding  the  forests  of  oak,  chestnut  and  pine,  the 
ruo-o-ed  hills  and  the  long  reaches  of  refreshing  green,  "thick  as 
autumnal  leaves  that  strew  the  brooks  in  Vallombrosa,"  after  one 
reaches  the  village  of  Pelago,  which  is  about  five  miles  from  the  mon- 
astery, he  must  make  the  rest  of  the  journey  on  foot,  in  the  saddle,  or 
in  a  sort  of  rude  wicker  basket,  placed  on  sledges  and  drawn  by  oxen. 
The  entire  trip  on  foot  is  a  constant  delight  to  a  healthy  body,  but  the 
latter  end  is  not  pleasant  to  the  lady  invalids  who  may  desire  to  drink 
of  Vallombrosa's  charms. 


WITHIN    THE    CITY.  715 

The  massive  convent  building,  with  its  great  courts  and  towers,  was 
erected  in  the  seventeenth  century,  but  is  now  occupied  by  the  royal 
school  of  forestry.  The  monastery  was  founded  by  the  son  of  a  noble- 
man. On  a  certain  Good  Friday  in  the  eleventh  century  he  went  forth 
with  his  followers  to  attend  mass  at  San  Miniato  al  Monte,  and  on  the 
way  met  a  young  man  who  had  recently  killed  his  beloved  brother. 
Revenge  and  the  code  of  honor  then  in  force  forced  him  to  draw  his 
sword  upon  his  foe,  his  retainers  doing  likewise.  His  brother's  murderer 
threw  himself  before  him  on  the  ground  and  begged  for  mercy.  By  a 
Divine  miracle  not  only  was  mercy  granted  but  forgiveness,  and  it  is  said 
that  when  the  re-born  nobleman  and  his  former  foe  repaired  to  the 
church  together  for  worship,  the  lips  of  the  Saviour's  image  smiled  and 
the  head  bowed  in  approbation.  These  facts  so  impressed  themselves 
upon  the  mind  of  the  young  man  that  he  became  a  monk,  and,  retiring 
to  the  solitude  of  the  "shady  valley,"  built  himself  a  small  cell,  and,  with 
two  hermits  who  had  already  retreated  from  the  voluptuous  world  of 
Florence,  became  the  nucleus  of  the  famous  order  of  Vallombrosa. 

WITHIN  THE  CITY. 

There  is  no  other  city  in  Italy  whose  architecture  is  of  so  gloomy  and 
massive  a  nature  ;  and  to  the  solidity  of  her  structures  is  clue  the  fact  that 
they  are  now  in  such  an  interesting  state  of  preservation,  having  with- 
stood the  sieges  and  attacks  of  contending  parties  for  centuries. 

First  among  the  glorious  monuments  to  Florentine  genius  is  the 
Cathedral,  the  greatest  wonder  of  which  is  its  grand  cupola,  planned  and 
erected  by  Brunelleschi,  This  was  taken  by  Michael  Angelo  as  his 
model  for  St.  Peters,  the  two,  with  the  campanile  near  the  cathedral  of 
Florence,  forming  perhaps  the  most  wonderful  combinations  of  grandeur 
and  grace  among  all  the  noted  structures  of  ecclesiastical  architecture. 
The  cathedral,  baptistry  and  bell  tower  are  covered  with  a  mosaic  of 
black  and  white  marble.  The  baptistry  is  an  octagon  in  form,  support- 
ing a  cupola  and  lantern  and  guarded  by  three  great  gates  of  bronze, 
the  two  by  Ghiberti  being  called  by  Michael  Angelo  the  Gates  of  Para- 
dise. 

The  cathedral,  campanile  and  baptistry  look  upon  the  Piazza  del 
Duomo  and  on  one  of  the  stone  benches  which  faces  their  masfnificence 
was  wont  to  sit  a  man  of  classic  features,  large-eyed  and  majestic — 
Dante,  the  poet,  reformer,  afterward  the  exile,  and,  with  Michael  Angelo, 
the  most  revered  of  the  many  geniuses  of  Florence  and  Italy. 

Dante  died  at  Ravenna,  just  beyond  the  Maritime  Alps  and  the 
boundaries  of    the  republic  which   exiled   him.      His    bones  have  been 


7i6 


PANORAMA    OF    NATlOiNS. 


Stolen  several  times,  once  to  keep  them  from  a  cardinal  of  the  Church,  who 
wished  to  Ixirn  them  as  those  of  a  heretic,  and  again  by  certain  ones  who 
would  not  have  the  precious  remains  removed  to  Florence,  which  has 
made  repeated  efforts  to  honor  the  poet  in  death.  Finally,  500  years 
after  his  decease,  a  great  cenotaph  was  built  in  Santa  Croce,  but  the 
little  dome-like  shrine  in  the  Ravenna  chapel  still  treasures  the  remains. 
From  1677  to  1865  Dante's  bones  remained  hidden  in  a  rough  wooden 
box  which  was  found  deposited  in  the  walls  of  the  chapel  while  the 
buildino-  was  being  repaired  in  anticipation  of  the  celebration  of  the 
600th  anniversary  of  his  birth.  The  day  was  observed  with  great  mag- 
nificence in  Florence,  a  statue  of  Dante  being  unveiled  in  the  Piazza 
Santa  Croce.  Among  modern  Italians  of  note  there  assembled  were 
Ristori,  Salvini  and  Rossi. 

Grouped  around  the  cathedral  are  other  religious  edifices  which 
elsewhere  would  appear  of  almost  unrivaled  grandeur,  that  of  Santa 
Croce,  being  known  as  the  Pantheon  of  Florence,  containing  monuments 
to  Galileo,  Dante,  Machiavelli,  Michael  Angelo  and  Alfieri.  The  Church 
of  San  Lorenzo  was  rebuilt  from  an  ancient  one  consecrated  by  St. 
Ambrose.  The  architect  was  Brunelleschi.  Within  this  grand  casing 
is  a  memorial  monument  to  Cosmo,  with  the  popular  title  inscribed  upon 
it  of  Paier  Patrice.  Lorenzo  de  Medici  is  honored,  monumentally,  in 
the  New  Sacristry,  his  statue  being  a  model  of  manly  beauty.  The 
Medicean  chapel,  gorgeous  with  the  rarest  marbles  and  most  costly 
stones,  stands  behind  the  choir  and  contains  the  tombs  of  the  Medici 
and  those  of  the  grand  dukes,  their  successors.  The  Laurentian  library, 
founded  by  a  Medici,  adjoins  the  church. 

POLITICS  AND  RELIGION. 

The  Palazzo  Vecchio,  so  long  the  seat  of  the  Republican  govern- 
ment, is  an  imposing  pile,  surmounted  by  a  tower  260  feet  high,  whose 
great  bell  used  to  warn  the  citizens  of  danger  and  call  them  to  arms. 
The  adjoining  square  contains  magnificent  groups  of  statuary.  Michael 
Angelo's  great  fame  rests  in  St.  Peter's  and  the  Sistine  Chapel,  but  in 
the  judgment  of  some  his  statue  of  David  Confronting  the  Philistine, 
standing  in  the  square  which  fronts  the  Palazzo  Vecchio,  is  his  greatest 
work  as  a  sculptor. 

In  this  square,  also — the  Piazza  della  Signoria — were  laid  the  scenes 
of  Savonarola's  triumph  and  death.  As  an  offset  to  the  scandalous 
public  amusements  which  were  encouraged  by  the  Medici  and  their  party, 
under  his  direction  a  pyramid  of  carnival  dresses,  obscene  pictures  and 


POLITICS    AND    RELIGION. 


717 


portraits,  cards,  dice,  gaming  boards,  etc.,  was  formed  in  the  square.  The 
interior  of  the  pyramid  was  filled  with  combustible  materials  and  on  the 
top  was  a  monstrous  image  representing  the  carnival.  A  great  proces- 
sion of  citizens,  monks   and    children,  bearing    red  crosses   and    olive 


•■THE  FATES,"  BY   MICHAEL  AXGELO. 


branches,  marched  to  the  "  pile  of  vanities,"  the  little  ones  sang,  the 
great  bell  of  the  Palazzo  tolled,  the  multitude  shouted  and  the  pyramid 
went  up  in  great  clouds  of  smoke  and  sheets  of  flame.    The  same  square 


7i8 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


witnessed  his  martyrdom,  with  two  of  his  fellow  monks,  and  there  also 
his  enemies  saw  him  narrowly  escape  the  "  ordeal  by  fire  "  which  was  to 
prove  him  a  child  of  God  or  of  Satan. 

"  The  convent  of  San  Marco,  in  which  Savonarola  lived  during  his 
protracted  conflict  with  Rome,  stands  almost  unchanged  from  his  day. 
The  walls  are  covered  with  exquisite  frescoes  by  Fra  Angelica,  an  artist 
of  so  devout  a  spirit  that  he  is  said  always  to  have  painted  on  his  knees. 
In  the  cell  occupied  by  Savonarola  are  shown  his  Bible,  the  margin 
filled  with  annotations  in  his  own  hand,  and  a  volume  of  his  sermons." 

PALACES  AND  GARDENS. 


Next  to  the  Palazzo  Vecchio  is  a  great  palace  founded  by  Cosmo  I., 
in  the  first  floor  of  which  are  deposited  the  public  archives  and  a  library 

of  150,000  volumes  and  12,000  MSS. 
The  famous  Florentine  gallery  of  paint- 
ings, engravings,  sculptures,  mosaics, 
etc.,  occupies  the  second  floor.  The 
Pitti  Palace,  fronting  upon  a  charming 
park  containing  marble  fountains,  green 
gardens  and  stately  drives,  is  the  mod- 
ern residence  of  the  Grand  Duke,  and, 
while  Florence  was  the  capital  of  Italy, 
the  home  of  the  King.  This  is  the  un- 
fi  n  i  s  h  e  d  monument  commenced  by 
Brunelleschi  to  perpetuate  the  greatness 
of  the  family  which  fell  before  the  power 
of  the  Medici. 

Behind  the  palace  are  the  Boboli 
gardens,  with  their  solid  avenues  of 
trees  and  hedges,  waterfalls,  grottos, 
flowers  and  statues.  "  The  city  is  seen 
through  a  line  of  solemn  cypresses 
which  stand  out  against  the  dazzling 
walls  and  towers  beyond." 

The  Strozzi  palace  is  a  noteworthy 
type  of  Tuscan  architecture  —  but  the 
list  is  too  (jreat  to  e.xhaust  in  detail. 
Besides  famous  palaces,  villas  and  churches,  Florence  reveals  the  fact 
that  she  lives  in  the  active  present ;  for  hospitals,  lunatic  asylums, 
theatres,   academies,  museums,    colleges  of    medicine  and    agriculture, 


DESIGN  FOR  AN  ORNAMENT. 


PALACES  AND  GARDENS. 


719 


etc.,  etc.,  are  not  only  flourishing  but  growing  in  number.  The  Floren- 
tines are  to-day  witty  and  eloquent,  shrewd  and  industrious,  educated,  and 
stable  lovers  of  good  government  and  inclined  to  reform. 

Among  the  geniuses  of  Florence  must  be  placed  Benvenuto  Cel- 
lini, who  was  intended  for  a  musician,  but  chose  himself  to  become  one 
of  the  most  eminent  engravers  of  his  day,  if  not  of  any  age.  He  was 
stamped  both  as  a  genius  and  an  incorrigible  youth  before  he  was 
sixteen  years  of  age,  and  was  banished  from  his  native  town  for  having 


PLACQUE  BY  CELLINI. 

taken  part  in  a  duel.  He  entered  the  service  of  the  Pope,  having 
pleased  him  with  the  die  which  he  made,  from  which  that  magnate's  gold 
medal  was  struck,  and  helped  defend  the  castle  of  San  Angelo  against 
the  imperial  troops.  Having  become  noted  both  as  a  soldier  and  an 
engraver,  he  was  received  back  into  the  good  graces  of  the  Florentines, 
continued  to  increase  his  reputation  as  an  artist  and  a  quarrelsome  fel- 
low, fied  from  the  citv,  returned  to  Rome,  got  into  more  trouble,  went 


720 


PANORAMA    OF    XATIUNS. 


to  France,  appeared  again  in  his  native  town,  secured  as  a  patron  Cosmo 
de  Medici,  executed  his  "  Perseus  with  the  head  of  Medusa,"  and  his 
"  Christ,"  and  established  his  fame  for  all  time.  The  best  part  of  his 
smaller  artistic  works  are  his  productions  in  metals,  the  embossed  decor- 
ations of  shields,  cups,  salvers,  ornamented  sword  and  dagger  hilts,  clasps, 
medals  and  coins. 

HLSTORIC    BRIDGES 

The  bridges  which  span  the  Arno  are  picturesque  and  historical. 
Farthest  to  the  east  is  the  Poiite  alle  Grazic,  there  being  a  chapel  at  its 
foot  dedicated  to  Santa  Maria  delle  Grazie.  It  was  here  that  Pope 
Gregory  X.,  from  his  temporary  wooden  throne,  with  the  dignitaries  of 

the  city  around  him,  ad- 
dressed the  multitude  who 
were  assembled  below  in  the 
dry  bed  of  the  Arno,  and 
decreed  that  the  Guelphs 
and  Ghibellines  should  be- 
come friends.  But  though 
the  leaders  of  the  rival  fac- 
tions kissed  one  another,they 
were  not  so  ready  to  "  make 
up,"  and,  beginning  to  quar- 
rel again  in  less  than  a  week, 
brought  the  ban  of  excom- 
munication upon  Florence 
as  a  city. 

The  Ponte  Vecchio  is 
called  the  Jeweler's  Bridge, 
because  it  is  lined  with  shops 
representing  that  craft. 
From  the  Ponte  Vecchio  the  ashes  of  Savonarola  and  his  brother 
martyrs  were  cast  into  the  Arno  by  order  of  the  Signoria,  that  they 
might  work  no  miracle  detrimental  to  the  city's  interests.  T\i& Ponte 
a  Safita  Triuita  is  the  most  artistic  of  the  bridges,  its  angles  be- 
ino-  adorned  with  wms  of  art.  A  shockine  and  sad  interest  attaches 
to  the  Ponte  alia  Carraja.  In  1304,  a  great  May  day  fete  was 
given  in  honor  of  a  cardinal,  and  among  other  pageants,  one  had 
been  prepared  for  him  by  which  the  horrors  of  hell  were  depicted 
by  men,  women  and  children,  representing  demons,  who  rushed  about 
in    flames  of   artificial    fire,  writhing    and    yelling,   and    punishing   the 


-^^^»' 


BRONZE  HELMET  ORNAMENT. 


THE    GENOESE.  72  I 

wicked,  the  scene  of  the  terrilole  picture  being  laid  upon  a  tieet  of  rafts 
and  barges  which  covered  the  river  below  the  bridge.  The  wooden 
structure  gave  way  under  its  human  load,  and  the  spectators  were  pre- 
cipitated u[)()n  the  performers,  the  resulting  casualty  snatching  away 
some  member  of  nearly  every  family  in  Florence.  Dante,  it  is  related, 
upon  this  occasion,  conceived  his  idea  of  the  hifcrno.  Not  far  from 
this  bridge  stands  a  house  bearing  an  inscription  to  the  effect  that  it  was 
once  the  dwelling  of  Amerigo  Vespucci. 

Till'    GENOESE. 

The  ancient  inhabitants  of  Cienoa,  long  before  they  wore  incorpor- 
ated with  the  Roman  Empire,  were  Celts  or  Greeks  ;  this  is  as  near  as 
historians  can  get  at  their  origin.  In  reall_\- historical  times  th(;  Genoese 
were  noted  as  brave  and  vigorous  soldiers  in  the  Roman  legions  and  as 
untiring  and  enterprising  merchants.  When  Genoa  became  a  separate 
Italian  state,  .she  combined  her  military  with  her  commercial  strength, 
sturdily  defending  her  galleys  laden  with  rich  merchandise,  which  covered 
the  Mediterranean  .Sea,  and  carrying  on  wars  with  Pisa  and  \'enice, 
which  were  her  greatest  rivals  in  trade.  Pisa  she  crushed,  while  she  was 
discomfited  by  \"enice.  In  alliance  with  Pisa  she  drove  the  Saracens 
from  Corsica  and  Sardinia  and  vigorously  sustained  the  Crusades.  .She 
was  torn  with  civil  dissensions  between  Guelph  and  (ihibelline  factions, 
democratic  and  patrician  leaders,  but  in  the  sixteenth  century  the  republic 
was  restored  by  her  great  citizen,  Andrea  Doria.  Her  foreign  rulers 
were  expelled,  German  and  Au^strian  influence  was  broken,  and  she,  with 
other  cities  of  Sardinia,  became  finalh'  a  portion  of  the  kingdom  of  Ital)-. 

But  whether  rukxl  b)-  Lombards,  Turks,  Germans,  native  citizens 
and  princes,  or  the  l<"rench,  whatever  her  fortunes,  she  has  wonderfully 
maintained  her  commercial  standing.  The  city,  which  is  .so  picturesquely 
situated  on  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  reveals  its  ancient  warlike  and  com- 
mercial character.  Palaces,  churches,  hotels  and  private  dwellings,  ter- 
raced gardens  and  groves  of  orange  and  pomegranate  trees,  cover  the 
slopes  of  the  hills  down  to  the  shore,  "  while  the  bleak  summits  of  the 
loftier  ranges  are  capped  with  forts,  batteries  and  outworks  which  con- 
stitute a  line  of  fortifications  of  great  strength  and  e.xtensive  circuit."  But 
incorporated  into  the  body  of  United  Ital\-,  the  Genoese  no  longer  dis- 
play their  former  bitterness  toward  sister  cities.  A  few  years  ago,  a 
portion  of  the  huge  chain  which  was  drawn  across  the  port  of  Pisa  by  its 
citizens  to  keep  out  the  invading  fleet,  and  which  had  been  carried  off  by 
the  Genoese  when  they  blocked  up  the  harbor  and  destroyed  the  com- 
merce of  their  rivals,  was  returned  to  the  Tuscan  port  as  an  evidence  of 

46 


722  PANORAMA    OK    XATIOXS. 

good-will.  But  the  sting  of  those  bitter  contests  still  rankles  in  the 
memories  of  the  states  of  Northern  Italy,  especially  of  Tuscany,  where  a 
proverb  still  crouches  under  the  tongue  of  every  citizen  to  the  effect 
that  Genoa  has  "a  sea  without  fish,  mountains  without  stones,  men  with- 
out honor  and  women  without  modesty."  If  the  proverb  had  omitted 
most  of  its  irony  and  had  continued,  "buildings  without  streets,"  the  as- 
sertions would  have  contained  more  truth. 

From  the  sea  and  the  splendid  harbor,  with  its  lighthouse  300  feet 
in  height,  the  city  and  shores  of  the  gulf  form  a  grand  panorama,  but 
entering  the  port,  it  is  seen  that  the  streets  are  so  narrow  that  foot  passen- 
gers and  mules,  loaded  with  merchandise,  pack  them  from  side  to  side. 
They  are  dark,  gloomy  labyrinths,  lined  with  tall  marble  buildings,  many 
of  them  having  been  the  elegant,  spacious  palaces  of  merchant  princes, 
doges,  and  powerful  families  who  ruled  the  state.  The  two  most  famous 
are  the  Palazzo  Ducale,  formerly  inhabited  by  the  doges  (those  supreme 
magistrates  of  the  city  for  two  centuries),  and  in  which  the  senate  now 
meets  ;  and  the  Palazzo  Doria,  presented  in  the  sixteenth  century  to  the 
great  citizen  who  threw  off  the  French  and  foreign  yoke,  and  became 
President  of  the  new  republic.  Other  palaces  contain  large  galleries  of 
paintings,  which  are  shown  for  a  fee,  but  most  of  them  are  occupied  as 
public  buildings.  Few  persons,  even  of  distinction,  in  modern  Genoa, 
can  afford' to  occupy  these  stately  marble  piles.  They  have,  therefore, 
been  transformed  into  hotels  or  business  establishments;  and  it  is  a 
forcible  reminder  of  the  instability  of  worldly  affairs  to  enter  one  of 
these  imposing  palaces,  and  find  its  noble  porticos  or  lobbies  supported 
by  marble  columns  and  occupied  by  hucksters  and  petty  traders. 

Genoa  has  one  of  the  most  elegant  theatres  in  Italy,  and  a  statue 
of  Columbus  which  is  well  worthy  of  notice.  The  Cathedral  of  St. 
Lorenzo,  among  her  noticeable  churches,  is  a  grand  old  pile  in  the  Italian 
Gothic  style.  And  there  is  one  line  of  streets — the  Strade  Balbi, 
Nuovissima  and  Nuova — which  would  be  a  credit  to  any  European  city; 
but  the  same  decay  of  the  nolMlit)-  is  here  as  in  the  lanes  of  Genoa.  The 
stately  palaces  rise  magnificently  on  either  hand  "built  with  a  central 
quadrangle,  bright  wnth  fountains,  fiowers  and  orange  groves  and  open 
to  the  public  view  through  a  wide  and  lofty  gateway,"  but  the  lower 
stories  have,  many  of  them,  been  transformed  into  mercantile  establish- 
ments. 

NAPLES. 

Naples  is  famed  for  its  beautiful  bay,  its  noisy  people,  its  historical 
associations,  its  ancient  and  excavated  environs  and  the  castles  of  Nor- 


NAPLES. 


man,  Bourbon  and  Saracenic  origin  scattered  in  and  around  it.  The 
city  is  divided  into  two  portions  by  a  range  of  liills,  tlie  eastern  division 
being  the  oldest  and  most  thickly  populated.  It  contains  the  chief 
public  structures,  but  many  of  the  streets  are  very  narrow  and  paved 
with  lava,  the  houses  being  of  such  great  height  that  they  appear  to 
overhang  the  jjathways.  The  western  or  modern  section  is  intersected 
by  broad  and  splendid  thoroughfares,  among  the  most  famous  being  the 
Quay,  which  curves  around  tin-  bay  for  three  miles,  on  one  side  being  a 
row  of  palaces  and  on  the  other  a  strip  of  beautiful  parks,  adorned  with 
temples  and  fountains,  groves  of  acacias  and  oranges. 

The  architecture  of  Naples  is  brilliant  rather  than  impressive.  Of 
its  300  churches  the  Ca- 
thedral of  St.  Gennaro 
is  interesting  as  con- 
taining- the  tombs  of 
Pope  Innocent  IV.  and 
Charles  of  Anjou.  Next 
to  its  museum,  and  com- 
ing before  it  in  the 
minds  of  the  populace, 
arc  the  Opera  House  of 
San  Carlo,  one  of  the 
largest  and  most  fash- 
ionable in  Italy,  and  the 
"TeatrodiSan  Carlina," 
where  all  classes  flock 
to  witness  the  perform- 
ances of  Pulcinella,  the 
Italian  "  Punch." 

The  fashionable 
promenade  of  Naples  is 
the  Villa  Nazionale,  be- 
ing nearly  a  mile  long 
and  two  hundred  feet 
wide,  planted  with  evergreens  and  oaks,  and  containing  temples 
dedicated  to  \'irgil  and  Tasso,  winding  paths,  grottos  and  a  ter- 
race extending  into  the  sea.  Of  the  most  famous  castles,  Nuova, 
is  near  the  port  and  consists  of  massive  towers  and  fosses.  Be- 
tween two  of  the  towers  is  the  triumphal  arch  erected  in  honor 
of  the  entry  of  Alfonso  of  Aragon  into  the  city.  Within  the  castle 
are  the  barracks  and  armory,  and  the  whole  structure  is  connected  with 


WALL  I'ALNTLNG,  I'U.MPEU. 


24 


PANORAMA    OF    NATION'S. 


the  ro\'al  palace  by  a  yallery.  Tlie  arsenal  and  dockyard,  at  v.hich 
frequently  lie  the  s^n'eat  iron-clads  of  tlie  Italian  na\)-,  adjoin  the  castle 
and  the  palace.  In  the  .southern  portion  ot  the  city  is  the  Castle  dell* 
Ova  (of  oval  fnmi),  now  used  as  a  prison,  and  the  castle  of  St.  Elmo, 
situatetl  on  a  bokl  point  and  said  to  l)e  h(Mie\--combed  undergroimd  with 
mines  and  ])as.sages.  The  castle  has  been  dismantled,  however,  and  is 
now  a  military  prison.  Other  castles,  once  occupied  by  the  Swabian, 
Anjou  and  other  reigning  dynasties,  have  been  transformed  into  prisons 
and  courts  of  law.  The  municipal  palace  is  a  great  structure,  covering 
200,000  square  feet  of  ground,  in  which  all  the  city  business  is  transacted, 

Several  of  the  most 
n  o  t  e  w  o  r  t  h  }■  of  the 
churches  of  Naples  stand 
upon  the  sites  of  ancient 
temples,  erected  by  the 
Greeks  in  the  clays  of 
their  pro.sperity  in  Sicily 
and  Southern  Italy.  The 
Cathedral  is  said  to  stand 
on  the  foundations  of  a 
Temple  of  Apollo  ;  and 
others  on  the  ruins  of 
Temples  of  Mercury  and 
Diana.  In  fact,  the  pillars 
and  marbles  of  the  heath- 
en structures  have  often- 
times been  built  into  the 
later  churches.  The  Ca- 
thedral itself  is  supported 
by  more  than  a  hundred 
columns  of  granite,  which 
belonged  to  the  edifice 
over  which  it  was  erected. 
In  a  subterranean  chape! 

under  the  choir  is  depos- 

TOMBs  OF  POMPEII.  itecl  the  bod_\' of -St.  janu- 

arius,  the  patron  saint  of  Naples.  Two  [thials,  said  to  contain  his  blood, 
are  kept  in  the  treasury  of  the  cathedral.  Upon  occasions  of  public  calam- 
it)-  and  certain  festivals  devoted  to  him,  the  phials  are  brought  forth 
and  when,  amidst  the  most  solemn  ceremonials,  they  are  borne  near  the 
head  of  the  saint  (for  he  was  beheailed)  the  body  having  been  laid  in  the 


THE    BURIED    CITIES. 


/-O 


shrine  beneath  the  high  altar,  the  coagulated  substance  is  said  to  liquefy, 
bubble,  rise  and  fall,  the  miracle  lasting-  several  days  and  being  the  means 
of  averting  plagues  and  the  eruptions  of  Vesuvius. 


THE  BURIED  CITIES. 

Naples  is  a  contraction  of  Neapolis,  the  Greek  for  "  new  city." 
The  original  city  is  supposeil  to  have  been  located  on  a  ridge  called 
Posilipo,  in  which  were  the  residence  and  tomb  of  Virgil,  the  latter  being 
at  the  entrance  to  a  dark,  romantic  grotto.  This  ridge  separates  the 
Bay  of  Naples  from  the  Bay  of  Pozzuoli,  or  BaicT.  Around  the  shores 
of  the  latter  beautiful  sheet  of  water  were  the  villas  of  the  wealthiest 
of  the  Romans,  and  in  its 
depths  a  corn-laden  ship,  which 
had  barely  escaped  wreck,  cast 
anchor  and  at  the  massive  pier, 
which  then  stretched  into  the 
sea,  discharged  its  grain  and 
human  freight.  Its  most  pre- 
cious human  burden,  in  view 
of  subsequent  events,  was  the 
rugged,  manly,  eloquent  Paul, 
who  was  on  his  way  to  preach 
the  gospel  at  Rome.  On  the 
eastern  shore  of  the  bay  fickle 
and  fierce  Mount  \'esuvius 
towers  over  little  towns  and 
villages,  which  seem  drawn  to 
its  fertile  slopes  by  some  unac- 
countable fascination.  Its  ancient  crater,  at  one  time  partly  filled  with 
water,  was  the  fortress  of  the  rebel  chief,  Spartacus  ;  that  was  before 
it  had  buried  Herculaneum  and  Pompeii,  the  former  in  mud,  the 
latter  in  ashes.  After  eighteen  hundred  years  of  darkness,  Pompeii  is 
being  brought  to  light,  while  a  modern  village  stands  over  the  mountain 
of  mud  which  covers   Herculaneum. 

The  site  of  Pompeii  remained  long  unknown,  for  the  fearful  convul- 
sion which  destroyed  it  raised  the  sea  beach  to  a  considerable  height  and 
diverted  the  stream  which  formerly  skirted  its  walls  far  from  its  ancient 
course.  Finally,  however,  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
operations  were  begun  in  earnest  by  the  Neapolitan  government,  and 
owing  to  the  fact  that  in  many  places  sand,  ashes  and  cinders  had  been 


GARDEN  AT  POMPEU. 


726  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

mixed  with  the  immense  vohimes  of  water  which  poured  from  the  crater 
and  formed  a  Hght  covering  of  mini,  the  theatres,  palaces,  baths,  houses, 
temples,  with  their  statues  and  mosaics,  were  found  in  a  remarkable  state 
of  preservation.  Few  skeletons  were  found,  this  circumstance  going  to 
show  that  most  of  the  inhabitants  were  able  to  escape  the  general  destruc- 
tion of  the  cit)'.  One  remarkable  exception  to  the  comparatively  small 
number  of  skeletons  or  casts,  which  have  been  excavated  from  the 
superb  town  or  suburb,  is  the  discovery  made  in  excavating  a  Temple  of 
Juno.  From  the  position  of  the  bodies  it  is  evident  tliat  the  deluded 
devotees  had  tied  to  their  goddess  for  protection,  and  two  hundred  of  her 

children  there  offered  their  last 
prayer  to  their  divinity.  The  mi- 
nutest details  of  daily  life  and  the 
most  touching  acts  of  heroism  are 
revealed  in  the  progress  of  these 
excavations.  Taverns  and  bake- 
houses are  entered,  and  the  fruits 
and  fish  of  the  season  are  re- 
vealed, while  loaves  of  bread 
which  were  never  baked  by  arti- 
ficial heat  are  taken  from  ancient 
ovens.  A  sentinel  at  the  city 
tratc,  voune  men  and  women 
clasping  each  other's  hands,  wo- 
men with  their  children,  all  escap- 
MARBLE  TABLE  FOUND  AT  poMPEu.  j,-,,,-  from   the  Streets  of  the   city 

to  the  life  beyond — some  courting  death  and  others  tleeing  from  it  — 
such  are  faint  gleams  of  the  hundred  tragedies  which  are  drawn  Irom 
buried  Pompeii, 

THE  DEAD  AND  THE  LIVING. 

Within  the  Museum  of  Naples  are  the  majority  of  all  the  curiosities- 
and  treasures  which  have  been  brought  from  Pompeii  and  Herculaneum  ; 
and  in  many  cases  the  similarity  of  the  domestic  life  of  those  days  and 
the  present  is  most  striking — even  the  shape  of  the  Pompeiian  loaves  is 
the  same  as  tlu;  Neapolitan.  Pompeii,  however,  was  the  elegant  suburb 
of  Naples,  the  resort  of  the  wealthy  Romans  who  had  villas  in  the 
suburbs,  and  whose  palaces  and  gardens  stretched  from  it  for  miles 
around  the  bay.  So  that  we  must  not  imagine  that  the  streets  of 
Pompeii  ever  resounded  with  the  noise  and  bustle  of  Naples. 

The  Nviapolitans  live  in  the  streets,  and  of  all  the  thoroughfares  in 


VENICE    RISING    FROM    THE    SEA.  727 

the  worltl  for  shoutiny,  janiinIn_o;,  screaminy,  singing,  cursing;  for  idlers 
intermingletl  with  asses,  mules,  hand-carls  and  tradesmen  working  at  their 
benches — for  gesticulating,  (|iiil)lMng  ;\nd  tliruwing  society  into  endless- 
forms  of  confusion,  the  Street  di  Toledo,  which  intersects  old  Naples,, 
stands  without  a  rival  in  the  world.  Of  late  years,  however,  the  mendi- 
cant classes  have  been  decreasing  and  monks  are  not  allowed  to  beg  in 
public. 

VENICE  RISING  FROM  THE  SEA. 

If  \'enus  rising  from  the  sea  was  a  subject  over  which  ancient  poets 
lax'ished  their  choicest  colors,  "Venice  rising  from  the  sea"  has  been  an 
equally  favorite  theme  with  more  modern  writers.  Though  threadbare, 
it  is  an  ever  fresh  and  romantic  topic — this  rude  tribe  of  Venetis  fleeing 
from  the  Goths  to  the  marshes  and  islands  of  the  Adriatic  and  in  two 
centuries  building  a  large  city,  and  in  thr(;c  a  magnificent  one,  which 
covered  eighty  of  those  islands  with  arsenals,  ship-yards,  palaces,  churches 
and  great  mercantile  building.s.  At  flrst  the  people  made  salt  and  fished, 
then  they  traded  in  all  i)arts  of  the  world  and  established  their  commer- 
cial hou.ses  and  factories  in  Rome  and  Constantinople.  With  the  in- 
crease of  their  wealth  their  political  ])Ower  e.xtended,  and  the  Crusades 
made  Venice  the  most  powerful  city  in  Lombardy,  where  almost  all  the 
riches  of  the  East  was  concentrated.  In  the  eighth  century  she  be- 
came a  republic,  governed  by  a  doge  (duke).  .She  was  the  acknowdedged 
mistress  of  the  Adriatic  Sea,  which  for  si.K  centuries  she  annually 
'•wedded'  by  casting  a  ring  into  its  blue  depths.  "  It  is  the  only  capital 
city  of  Europe  that  was  not  entered  by  an  enemy  from  the  downfall  of 
the  Roman  Empire  to  the  period  of  the  French  revolution."  From  its 
origin  to  that  time  it  bore  the  name  of  a  republic;  when  the  govern- 
ment Vv'as  overthrown  in  1797,  it  was  the  most  ancient  republic,  even  in 
name,  which  history  records.  With  the  discovery  of  the  passage  to 
India  by  way  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  Portugal  snatched  from  Venice 
the  commerce  of  the  East.  The  Turks  took  away  Cyprus,  Candia  and 
her  possessions  in  the  Archipelago  and  Greece.  Thus  Wxnice  was  clipped 
so  that  she  no  longer  soared,  but  was  limited  to  her  Italian  possessions 
and  European  trade.  These,  in  turn,  contracted  more  and  more,  so  that 
now,  unlike  Genoa,  she  is  little  else  than  a  beautiful  marble-like  corpse. 

The  Grand  Canal  divides  Venice  into  two  unequal  parts,  its  tortu- 
ous course  being  intersected  by  146  smaller  channels.  Over  300  bridges 
are  thrown  across  these  waterways,  the  most  famous  being  the  Rialto,  a 
stone  structure  which  spans  the  Grand  Canal.  Marble  palaces,  mighty 
church  domes  and  public  structures  rise  from  the   borders  of  the  canals. 


72*  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

both  great  and  small,  but  in  summer  and  autumn,  \vhen  the  tides  are 
highest  and  their  green  waters  so  distinctly  reflect  these  architectural 
charms,  Venice  is  a  double  vision  of  wonder  and  beauty. 

The  center  of  attraction  is  the  shrine  of  her  patron  saint,  the  Square 
of  St.  Mark.  It  is  said  that  during  the  first  part  of  the  ninth  century  a 
fleet  of  \'cnetian  merchantmen  was  driven  by  a  storm  into  the  Egyptian 
port  of  Alexandria.  In  gratitude  to  Heaven  for  their  deliverance  the 
crews  obtained  the  supposed  body  of  St.  Mark  and  transported  it  to 
their  city.      This  apostle  thus  became  the  tutelary  saint  of  X'enice. 

THE  CHURCH   OF  ST.  MARK. 

I'pon  the  east  side  of  the  great  square  is  the  Church  of  St.  Mark, 
built  in  the  form  of  a  Greek  cross.  Above  the  doorway  are  four  famous 
bronze  horses,  brought  from  Constantinople,  and  great  domes  tower 
above  the  cathedral  spire  and  minarets.  The  most  stately  of  them  all  is 
the  campanile,  or  bell  tower,  which  rises  over  the  cathedral  "  like  a  huge 
giant  guarding  the  fairy  creation  at  its  foot."  The  tower  is  surmounted 
by  the  figure  of  an  angel,  which  is  thirty  feet  in  height.  St.  Mark's 
cathedral  is  constructed  of  brick,  incrusted  with  richly  colored  marbles  ; 
the  statues  and  profuse  carvings  are  exquisite.  Buildings  for  the  accom- 
modation of  the  Patriarch,  trustees  of  the  church  property-,  etc.,  etc., 
stand  in  stately  array  around  the  square. 

Ruskin  gives  this  rich  coloring  to  tlie  interior  of  St.  Mark:  "The 
church  is  lost  in  a  deep  twilight,  to  which  the  eye  must  be  accustomed 
for  some  moments  before  the  form  of  the  buildinor  can  be  traced ;  and 
then  there  opens  before  us  a  vast  cave  hewn  out  into  the  form  of  a  cross 
and  divided  into  shadowy  aisles  by  many  pillars.  Round  the  dome  of 
its  roof  the  light  enters  only  through  narrow  apertures  like  large  stars; 
and  here  and  there  a  ray  or  two  from  some  far-away  casement  wanders 
into  the  darkness  and  casts  a  narrow  phosphoric  stream  upon  the  waves 
of  marble  that  heave  and  fall  in  a  thousand  colors  alone  the  floor. 
What  else  there  is  of  light  is  from  torches,  or  silver  lamps,  burning  cease- 
lessly in  the  recesses  of  the  chapels ;  the  roof  sheeted  with  gold,  and 
the  polished  walls  covered  with  alabaster,  give  back  at  every  curve  and 
angle  some  feeble  gleaming  to  the  flames  ;  and  the  glories  round  the 
heads  of  the  sculptured  saints  flash  upon  us  as  we  pass  them,  and  sink 
again  into  the  gloom.  Under  foot  and  over  head,  a  continual  succes- 
sion of  crowned  imagery,  one  picture  passing  into  another  as  in  a  dream  ; 
forms  beautiful  and  terrible  mixed  together ;  dragons  and  serpents,  and 
ravening  beasts  of  prey,  and  graceful  birds  that  in  the  midst  of  them 
drink  from    running  fountains  and  feetl    from  vases  of  crystal:  the  pas- 


rUE   PIGEONS  OF  ST.  MARK— VEMcE. 


A    GONDOLA    TKIl'.  729 

sions  and  pleasures  of  human  life  symbolized  together,  and  the   m)-stery 
of  its  redemption." 

South  of  the  Piazza  is  the  Piazzetta,  or  Little  Square,  containing  two 
ereat  red  eranite  columns,  one  surmounted  by  a  li<rure  of  St.  Theodore, 
who  preceded  St.  Mark,  as  the  city's  guardian,  and  the  other  covered  by 
the  Lion  of  St.  Mark.  On  one  side  of  the  Little  Square  is  the  Doge's 
Palace,  which  displays  the  ancient  Venetian,  the  (iothic  and  the  Renais- 
sance styles  of  architecture,  as  the  original  structure  was  erected  in  813, 
and  enlarged,  rebuilt  and  redecorated  for  seven  or  eight  hundred  years. 

A  GONDOLA  TRIP. 

From  the  landing  place  of  the  I'iazzetta  a  gondola,  in  gliding  west 
along  the  Great  Canal,  would  pass  a  great  number  of  palaces,  formerly 
the  warehouses  and  business  houses  of  merchant  princes.  Every  con- 
ceivable style  of  architecture  is  represented.  The  best  hotel  in  X'enice 
was  at  one  time  a  grand  palace.  We  glide  under  the  Rialto,  that  majes- 
tic stone  arch  ;  and  if  we  stopped  to  examine  it  we  should  find  that  it 
is  divided  above  into  three  streets  and  that  several  row's  of  shops 
are  established  thereon. 

At  the  foot  of  the  Rialto  is  a  celebrated  church,  which  occupies 
the  site  of  the  first  religious  structure  erected  in  \"enice,  in  421.  The 
"  Frari  "  is  famous  for  its  colossal  monument  of  Titian  and  its  rare  pic- 
tures. P)Ut  to  enumerate  all  the  churches  of  Venice  and  the  master- 
pieces of  art  found  in  the  Fine  Art  Academy  would  be  foreign  to  our 
purpose,  for  the  Venice  of  to-day  is  but  a  ghost  of  the  old  Venetian 
Republic.  "  The  Bridge  of  Sighs  stretches  across  the  canal  called  the 
Rio  Palazzo  and  communicates  between  prisons  on  the  east  and  the 
Doge's  palace  on  the  west  bank.  It  is  a  covered  gallery,  and  prisoners, 
when  led  to  execution,  passed  from  their  cells  across  this  gallery  to  the 
palace  to  hear  the  sentence  of  death  passed  upon  them,  and  then  were 
conducted  to  the  scene  of  death  between  the  red  columns." 

MILAN. 

In  opulence  and  enterprise  Milan  yields  the  palm  to  no  city  in  Italy. 
Although  its  position  is  inland  it  lies  in  the  way  of  the  important  Alpine 
lines  of  travel  and  by  its  thorough  canal  system  is  placed  in  communi- 
cation with  the  principal  rivers  of  Italy.  Silk,  ribbons,  cutlery,  porce- 
lain, grain,  rice  and  cheese  are  the  chief  articles  of  its  great  inland  trade, 
and  they  blossom  out  into  broad,  well-paved,  clean  streets,  elegant  dwell- 
ings,   and    substantial    business  houses  ;  art  palaces    illustrative   of  the 


730  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

Bolognese  and  Lombard  schools;  into  public  and  private  libraries,  cele- 
brated conservatories  of  music,  great  hospitals  and  schools  of  every 
description — public,  normal  and  technical  The  places  of  amuse- 
ment are  on  as  grand  a  scale  as  the  rublic  buildings,  and  the 
Corso,  or  chief  promenade  of  the  city,  is  simply  Parisian  in  its 
brilliancy.  One  of  its  arcades,  with  its  bright  shops  and  cafes  and 
gay  attractions,  is  the  most  favorite  place  of  evening  resort  of 
this  glittering  thoroughfare  and  has  been  called  "  Little  Paris." 
Milan,  in  fact,  is  a  modern  city.  Roman,  Hun  and  Goth  have 
assisted  in  obliterating  nearly  every  trace  of  its  ancient  power  and 
elegance. 

The  most  ancient  of  Milan's  monuments  is  the  Church  of  St.  Am- 
brose, Bishop  of  Milan,  founded  by  b.iiu  in  the  fourth  century.  In  this 
church  the  German  Emperors  were  crowned  Kings  of  Italy.  In  the 
Dominican  Church  of  .Santa  Maria  delle  Grazie  is  Leonardo  da  Vinci's 
"  Last  Supper,"  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  world's  sublime  paintings. 
Milan  Cathedral,  with  its  4,000  statues,  forests  of  pinnacles,  and  its 
great  dome  355  feet  in  height,  whicli  has  taken  five  hundred  years  in 
building  and  is  not  yet  completed,  is  the  magnet  which  draws  most  irre- 
sistibly toward  the  city.  The  church  is  in  the  form  of  a  Latin  cross, 
but  pinnacles,  statuary,  carvings,  fretwork,  niches  and  every  form  of 
profuse  ornamentation  are  so  worked  into  the  general  design  that  it  is 
difficult  to  see  in  the  magnificent  structure  anything  but  a  bewildering 
mass  of  details.  Monuments  of  princes,  prelates  and  saints  rise  toward 
the  vaulted  roofs  within.  The  Church  of  San  Carlo  Borromeo  has  a 
dome  second  only  in  size  to  that  of  the  Pantheon,  and  contains  a  wonder- 
ful marble  group  of  the  Saviour  and  Virgin.  Among  the  public  institu- 
tions of  ?^Iilan  the  Lazaretto,  the  plague  hospital  outside  the  walls,  is 
the  most  imposing.  The  buildings  comprise  four  ranges,  each 
nearly  1,200  feet  long,  and  cover  an  area  of  thirty  acres.  Milan  is  the 
book  center  of  I  tab',  and  its  newspapers  and  periodicals  further  mark  it 
as  a  city  which  has  a  future  before  it  as  well  as  a  past  behind  it-  Its 
libraries  are  renowned  over  Europe,  and  one  of  them  at  least,  the  Ambro- 
sian  library,  is  famous  throughout  the  world  of  scholars  for  its  remark- 
able collections  of  manuscripts.  Among  others  may  be  mentioned 
fragments  of  Cicero's  orations  and  letters  of  Marcus  Aurelius  ;  a  manu- 
script of  Virgil,  with  marginal  notes  by  Petrarch,  who  refers  to  his  tirst 
meeting  with  Laura.  There  are  studies  by  Raphael  and  Leonardo  da 
Vinci.  Connected  with  the  library  is  a  printing  press,  and  its  rich  treas- 
ures are  constantly  being  sifted,  classified  and  digested  by  classical  pro- 
fessors and  editors. 


PISA.  731 

PISA. 

Pisa  is  a  provincial  town  of  Tuscany  —  Pisa,  the  rival  of  Genoa  and 
Florence,  whose  merchant  vessels  were  seen  in  every  nooi<  of  the  Medi- 
terranean Sea,  whose  navy  destroyed  the  power  of  the  Saracens  in 
Corsica,  Sardinia  and  the  Balearic  Isles,  and  whose  soldiers  were  among 
the  bravest  of  the  gallant  crusaders — Pisa,  one  of  the  most  powerful 
republics  of  the  middle  ages  is  to-day  hardly  a  first-rate  provincial  town, 
surrounded  by  an  ancient  wall,  with  grass  growing  where  once  trod 
thousands  of  ambitious  merchants  and  warriors.  The  marble  bridge 
which  spans  the  Arno  has  few  rivals  in  Europe.  The  only  other  note- 
worthy objects  of  interest  are  the  cathedral,  baptistry,  leaning  tower  and 
Campo  Santo.  The  cathedral,  long  without  a  rival  in  architectural 
beauty,  and  still  uniting  majesty  with  grace,  was  erected  from  Saracenic 
spoils  and  is  a  monumcmt  to  the  success  of  the  religious  war  which  the 
Pisans  waged  against  the  infidels.  The  baptistry  was  built  later,  being 
in  the  form  of  a  gigantic  dome,  surmounted  by  an  unimposing  cone. 
Below  the  roof  and  extending  to  the  cornice  of  its  first  marked  division 
is  what  might  be  termed  a  rich  central  band  of  dormer  windows,  crosses, 
statues,  carvings  and  graceful  pillars.  The  leaning  bell  tower,  or  cam- 
panile, was  completed  subsequent  to  the  baptistry.  Its  eccentricity  of 
deviating  from  the  perpendicular  was  discovered  in  time  to  guard  against 
its  destruction  1)\"  so  distributing  the  pressure  of  stone  in  the  upper  stories 
and  the  weight  of  its  seven  huge  bells  that  a  firm  equilibrium  wps  main- 
tained. Between  the  baptistry  and  the  campanile  on  one  side  and  the 
old  city  walls  on  the  other  is  the  cemetery  called  Campo  Santo,  the 
enormous  moinid  of  earth  in  the  center  being  the  soil  which  was  brought 
from  the  traditional  site  of  Calvary;  which  was  loaded  into  fifty-three 
vessels  under  the  direction  ot  an  Italian  Archbishop  who  was  expelled 
from  Palestine  by  Saladin.  The  cemetery  is  a  beautiful  oblong  court 
siuTounded  by  lofty  arcades  of  white  marble,  placed  there  by  John  of 
Pisa  and  frescoed  by  Giotto  and  other  eminent  artists.  Both  ancient 
Greece  and  Rome  have  contributed  rare  bas  reliefs,  which  stand  the 
ravages  of  time  much  better  than  the  paintings,  many  of  which  have 
faded  or  peeled  from  the  walls.  Within  the  sacred  inclosure  are  a 
number  of  striking  monuments  of  modern  times,  one  of  the  most  superb 
being  that  of  Algarotti,  the  Venetian  scholar  who  was  so  honored  by 
Frederick  the  Great  in  life  and  in  death. 

THE  SICILIANS  AND  MT.  ETNA. 

The  natives  are  of  a  light  olive  complexion  and  of  middle  stature, 


732  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

consisting-  of  the  aborigines  who  are  supposed  to  have  emigrated  from 
the  continent  of  Italy,  the  Greeks  who  formed  their  earliest  settlements 
at  Messina  and  Syracuse,  and  the  Carthaginians,  Romans,  \"andals, 
Goths,  Arabs  and  Normans  who  overran  the  island  in  wars  of  conquest. 
Their  language  shows  decided  traces  of  the  Saracenic  invasion.  The 
fisheries  and  vineyards  of  Sicily  furnish  employment  to  the  majorit)- 
of  the  inhabitants. 

In  visiting  some  of  the  noted  historical  and  mythological  localities 
of  Greece  we  have  noticed  the  emigration  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  state 
of  Messene  to  escape  the  arms  of  the  ambitious  Spartans.  The  founding 
of  Messina,  in  Northeastern  Sicily,  originated  from  this  emigration.  It 
grew  to  be  a  great  city,  and  although  destroyed  by  a  Carthaginian  army 
it  was  rebuilt  by  Dionysius,  one  of  the  "tyrants  of  Syracuse,"  who  ex- 
pelled the  invaders.  Messina  was  the  first  Roman  dependency  beyond 
Italy.  The  city  is  of  strictly  modern  construction,  one  single  colonnade 
remaining  of  what  is  known  to  be  of  ancient  architecture.  It  has  a 
splendid  harbor,  wide  streets  paved  with  blocks  of  lava,  and  all  the  ac- 
companiments of  a  city  of  125,000.  The  city  is  about  twenty-five  mile:; 
northeast  of  Mount  Etna,  which  is  a  feature  of  its  ruosred  background. 

The  largest  volcano  in  Europe  is  apparently  increased  in  size  by 
being  cut  off  from  the  northern  chain  of  mountains  by  a  valley.  It  rises 
from  a  plain  on  the  land  side,  and  directly  from  the  Mediterranean  Sea  on 
the  eastern  side.  Mount  Etna  is  nearly  one  hundred  miles  in  circum- 
ference, and  from  this  stupendous  mass  rises  the  principal  cone  nearly 
1 1,000  feet  above  the  sea.  Eighty  minor  cones  are  seen  to  group  them- 
selves around  the  giant,  some  of  them  being  hills  of  considerable  size  — 
bare,  covered  with  dark  pine  forests,  or  the  lighter  foliage  of  the  beech 
and  hawthorn.  Rising  from  the  center  of  a  dreary  plain,  which  itself  is 
above  the  secondary  cones,  is  Etna  herself,  bearing  upon  her  head  a 
snowy  covering  or  a  gray  covering  of  lava  and  ashes.  Below  is  the 
woody  region  and  rich  pasturage  grounds  and  around  the  base  of  the 
mountain  are  vineyards  and  corn  fields.  The  grandest  view  of  Mount 
Etna  is  obtained  from  the  sea,  thirty  miles  of  the  coast  line  being  formed 
by  streams  of  lava.  Its  side  is  gashed  by  a  gigantic  gully,  five  miles 
across  and  surrounded  by  vertical  precipices  ranging  from  1,000  to  5,000 
feet  in  height.  Upon  their  faces  are  seen  the  courses  of  lava  streams, 
and  other  evidences  which  force  the  observer  to  form  in  liis  mind  a  i)ic- 
ture  of  the  wild  primeval  scene  when  the  interior  force  burst  its  way 
through  the  mountain's  frame. 

Etna  has  given  vent  to  her  fury  man)-  times  within  historic  periods, 
her  greatest  season  of  activity  being  from  1664- 1673,  when  whole  villages 


THE   CAPITAL.  733 

with  their  inhabitants  were  covered  with,  her  gulfs  of  lava  and  water,  the 
latter  being  either  ejected  from  the  crater  or  formed  b\-  the  melting 
of  immense  fields  of  snow  on  the  summit  of  the  mountain.  The  last 
great  eruption  of  1852  started  on  their  journey  toward  the  villages  of  Zaf- 
farana  and  Giarra  two  streams  of  lava,  one  of  them  being  two  miles 
broad  and  one  hundred  and  seventy  feet  deep.  As  it  broke  over  the 
abrupt  sides  of  the  mountain,  like  cataracts  of  fire,  the  sight  was  one  of 
which  to  dream  for  a  lifetime. 

THE  CAPITAL. 

Palermo,  the  capital  of  Sicily,  was  originally  a  Phoenician  settle- 
ment, but  after  the  Carthaginians  captured  it  in  480  B.  C,  it  fell  succes- 
sively into  the  hands  of  the  (jrecians,  Romans,  Goths,  Saracens  and 
Normans.  The  kingdom  of  Sicily  was  founded  by  the  latter,  who 
retained  the  capital  at  I^alermo,  where  it  had  been  established  b\-  the 
Saracens.  Palermo  is  picturesquely  situated  on  a  lovely  plain  between 
two  mountain  ridges  and  the  sea,  or,  as  it  has  been  poetically  called,  in 
the  "  Golden  Shell."  Its  harbor  is  well  protected,  but  the  city  is  sur- 
rounded by  falling  walls.  Palermo  is  divided  into  four  parts  by  two 
broad  streets  which  intersect,  the  longer  of  them  running  from  the  sea  to 
the  royal  palace,  before  which  stands  a  bronze  statue  of  Philip  IV.  of 
Spain.  The  whole  city  is  paved  with  lava  blocks,  and  the  water  supply 
is  drawn  from  the  reservoirs  at  the  corners  of  the  streets,  placed  there 
by  the  Saracens  who  thus  preacheil  in  this  foreign  land  their  gospel  of 
pure  water  —  "the  greatest  gif-t  of  Allah!"  Palermo  has  numerous 
palaces  and  churches,  but  the  most  notedof  the  religious  edifices  is  the 
cathedral  which  contains  mausolea  of  Frederick  II.,  and  of  Roger,  the 
founder  of  the  kingdom.  St.  Rosalia,  the  patron  saint  of  Palermo,  was 
a  Norman  princess  who  forsook  the  court  for  a  wild  cave  in  a  rocky  hill 
near  the  city.  The  cave  is  a  holy  shrine  to  which  an  annual  pilgrimage 
is  made,  and  the  bones  of  Santa  Rosalia  are  treasured  in  a  chest  of  solid 
silver  which  is  deposited  in  a  magnificent  chapel  named  after  her.  Pal- 
ermo's nunneries  and  monasteries  have  been  suppressed.  There  was 
one  to  which  an  awful  fascination  attached — ^  the  Capuchin  monastery 
—  from  the  fact  that  underneath  it  were  long  subterranean  vaults  in 
which  the  dead  were  placed  in  a  standing  position.  The  city  contains 
numerous  institutions  of  learning.  The  observatory  in  the  royal  palace 
is  noted  as  being  the  point  from  which  Piazzi  discovered  Ceres,  the  first 
of  the  asteroids,  and  made  his  other  observations  for  his  valuable  cata- 
logues of  the  stars. 


734  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

SYRACUSl':  AND   HER   RIVAL. 

Syracuse,  on  the  eastern  coast  of  Sicil)',  was  ancientKthe  largest  city 
of  the  island,  being  originally  a  Corinthian  settlement.  Its  population 
has  been  estimated  all  the  way  from  500,000  to  1,200,000,  including 
really  five  towns,  inclosed  by  a  wall  and  fortresses  which  extended  for  a 
considerable  distance  inland.  The  modern  city  is  fortified,  being  com- 
manded by  the  heights  of  Achradina,  which  was  witliin  the  limits  of 
ancient  .Syracuse.  The  Syracuse  of  to-day  is  a  city  of  narrow  streets 
and  ruins,  of  amphitheatres  and  paths.  Its  cathedral,  as  that  of  Naples,  is 
built  of  material  which  once  formed  a  portion  of  a  heathen  temple,  the 
church  resting  upon  the  site  of  the  structure  dedicated  to  Minerva. 
Near  the  borders  of  three  of  the  towns  is  the  famous  theatre  hewn  out 
of  the  rock,  which  could  accommodate  24,000  spectators.  It  is  much 
overgrown  with  bushes,  but  the  lines  of  its  vast  proportions  are  still  vis- 
ible, it  being  440  feet  in  diameter.  The  prisons  of  Syracuse,  hewn  from 
the  rocky  hills  of  Achradina  to  the  depth  of  eighty  feet,  are  perfect,  but  , 
the  great  palaces  of  the  tyrants  of  Syracuse,  who  ruled  the  city  with  so 
cruel  a  power,  with  several  short  interregnums  of  popular  government,  for 
more  than  250  years — the  temples  which  they  filched  from  the  people  are 
in  ruins.  In  the  third  century  A.  D.,  after  having  remained  independent  of 
foreign  rule  for  900years,the  city  was  conquered  by  the  Romans,  though 
defended  by  the  greatest  mechanical  genius  of  antiquity,  Archimedes. 

Subterranean  tombs  have  also  been  discovered  at  Syracuse  —  a 
gloom}'  city  of  the  dead,  in  which  those  of  all  nationalities  and  relig- 
ions, worth)-  of  the  honor  in  the  eyes  of  the  ancients,  have  found  burial. 
Southwest  of  the  city  are  the  ruins  of  the  Temple  of  Jupiter.  Other 
evidences  are  at  hand  of  the  former  power  of  the  great  city  which 
joined  vessels  with  the  Spartans  and  destroyed  the  Athenian  fleet  under 
Nicias,  the  pious,  and  Demosthenes,  the  eloquent.  Sjracuse's  rival  was 
the  Doric  city  of  Agrigentum,  on  the  southwestern  coast.  Architecturally 
it  was  a  beautiful  city  and  was  famous  for  its  great  trade  in  corn,  oil  and 
wine.  It  was  ruled  by  tyrants,  was  destroyed  by  the  Carthaginians,  rebuilt 
by  a  tyrant,  and  became  subject  to  the  Romansandthe  Saracens.  The 
modern  town  of  Girgenti  occupies  the  site  of  the  llourishingcity,exhibiting 
dirty  lanes,  wretched  houses  with  fine  balconies,  many  works  of  art,  vast 
ruins  of  the  ancient  templesof  Concord  and  Jupiter,  immense  granaries 
hewn  from  the  rock,  subterranean  stone  quarriesfrom  which  building  ma- 
terial was  taken  for  the  ancient  city,  magnificent  painted  vases  taken  from 
ancient  sepulchres,the  petroleum  spring  noticed  by  Pliny  and  the  mud  vol- 
cano described  by  writers  of  antiquity.  Girgenti  has  many  odd  churches, 
but  only  20,000  people,  the  population  of  Syracuse  being  about  300,000. 


THE  SPANIARDS, 

THE   BASQUES. 

HERE  are  many  speculations  atloat  regardinj^  the  Basques, 
who  principally  inhabit  the  three  provinces  which  form  a  tri- 
;^j  angle  in  Northwestern  Spain,  its  base  being  the  Bay  of  Biscay 
^i¥-:^|^"^  on  the  north.  At  le.ict  several  groups  of  scholars  have  settled 
upon  a  common  theory  that  the  gypsies  originally  came  from 
j^^i  Northern  India,  but  although  the  Basques,  have  never  been 
'  I  really  dislodged  from  their  mountain  homes  and  have  seen  the 
barbarians  of  Europe  moulded  into  such  peoples  as  the  Germans, 
English  and  French,  and  have  withstood  tides  of  conquest 
which  have  swept  over  their  country  from  the  three  conti- 
nents, the  knotty  point  as  to  their  origin  is  so  far  from  being  settled  that 
scarcely  half  a  dozen  philologists  and  historians  have  reached  the  same 
conclusion.  The  provinces  which  they  now  occupy  in  Spain  constitute 
the  ancient  Cantabria,  which  native  historians  claim  had  as  its  pioneers 
Tubal,  the  son  of  Japhet,  and  his  famiI3^  From  this  point  spread  the 
aboriginal  population  of  Europe.  They  furthermore  claim  that  they 
speak  the  very  language  which  Noah  received  from  Adam.  Certain  it 
is  that  their  language  is  peculiarly  their  own.  They  call  themselves 
"  Euscaldunac,"  their  country  "Euscaleria"  and  their  language  "  Eus- 
cara." 

The  Basques  have  been  named  as  remnants  of  the  people  of  the 
Lost  Atlantis,  as  Tartars,  Huns,  Finns,  Phoenicians,  Berbers,  Latins, 
and  Iberians,  who  occupied  the  peninsula  of  France  and  Spain  when  the 
Celts  invaded  the  country  1600  B,  C.  From  the  fusion  of  Iberians 
(whoever  they  were)  with  the  Celts  arose  the  Celtiberians,  who  often 
were  the  enemies  and  sometimes  the  friends  of  ancient  Rome.  With 
tiiem  the  mountaineers,  or  Basques,  found  it  convenient  to  league  them- 
selves. Augustus  Caesar  directed  his  troops  against  the  Cantabrians. 
One  of  his  armies  was  nearly  starved,  and  a  second  narrowly  escaped  an 
ambuscade  among  the  mountains.  He  was  harassed  on  all  sides  by  the 
hardy    aborigines,  and    at    one    time   retired    in  disgust.       But    Rome 

735 


736  PANORAMA    Ol-     XATIOXS. 

was  stubborn  as  well  as  great.  The  towns  of  the  Basques  were 
burned  and  they  retreated  to  the  mountains  to  watch  the  con- 
flagrations and  wait  for  the  Romans  to  attack  them  there.  They 
fought  like  wild  cats  in  the  mountains,  those  who  were  captured 
submitting  with  grim  determination  to  the  most  fearful  tortures.  The 
Romans  built  their  forts  among  the  mountains  and  the  Basques  at- 
tacked from  them  their  natural  fortifications.  No  Roman  force  could  sally 
forth  without  being  surprised  by  their  unconquerable  enemies.  New 
confederations  of  the  native  warriors  were  formed.  A  whole  Roman 
army  was  destroyed.  The  confederation  was  crushed  for  the  time  being, 
and  thousands  of  prisoners  carried  in  chains  to  Rome.  Many  of  them 
escaped,  returned  to  the  Pyrenees  and  formed  a  new  league.  This  was 
dispersed  by  Agrippa.  At  length  the  Celtiberians  became  subjects  of 
Rome,  leaving  the  Cantabrians  still  intrenched  in  the  Western  Pyrenees. 
They  assisted  the  Romans  against  the  Gallic  tribes  and  were  defeated 
by  the  Goths  on  the  plains  of  Navarre.  But  neither  Goth,  Vandal  nor 
Moor  dare  pursue  them  to  the  mountains  as  did  the  Roman.  They  cut 
the  Saracens  to  pieces  and  when  Charlemagne's  victorious  army  retired 
from  the  PLbro,  his  rear  guard  was  attacked  in  a  rocky  valley  and  many 
of  his  bravest  noblemen  killed  by  the  Basques.  This  brought  upon  them 
a  series  of  conflicts,  but  the  great  King  of  the  Franks  could  not  crush 
them. 

The  Basque  provinces  became  allies  of  Castile  and  Aragon,  and 
were  incorporated  into  the  kingdom,  but  they  formed  a  confederation  of 
small  republics  and  with  Navarre  insisted  for  eight  centuries  upon  retain- 
ing their  fiicros,  or  charters,  from  the  imperial  government,  b)' which  they 
were  guaranteed  home  rule  and  exempted  from  duties  on  imported 
merchandise  and  all  royal  monopolies.  They  were  not  subject  to  con- 
scription for  the  royal  army  and  no  royal  troops  entered  their  land  with- 
out the  permission  of  the  home  authorities.  Even  during  the  reigns  of 
Charles  V.  and  Philip  II.  these  provinces,  in  spite  of  imperial  encroach- 
ments upon  popular  government  in  other  provinces,  stood  forth  as  a 
brave  democracy  within  a  kingdom.  Until  they  organized  the  Don 
Carlos  rebellion  against  the  reigning  house,  the  Basques  continued  to 
enjoy  their  bill  of  rights,  but  this  act  resulted,  by  the  war  which  closed 
in  1876,  in  its  fmal  abolition. 

When  these  distinguished  sons  of  the  Pyrenees  (for  each  Basque  is 
a  noble)  are  not  proudly  and  unflinchingly  defending  their  homes  and 
their  rights,  a  variety  of  occupations  are  open  to  them.  They  arc  said  to  be 
the  first  of  the  Europeans  who  went  fishing  for  whales,  and  even  now  their 
fisheries  upon  the  coast  emplo)- many  people.    It  was  from  this  coast  that 


THE    BASQUES.  "/ T)"] 

the  fishermen  and  explorers  went  forth  (so  claim  their  descentlants)  to 
discover  Newfoundland.  The  assumption  of  the  Venetian  Cabots,  father 
and  son,  whom  history  has  credited  with  the  discovery,  is  boldly  scouted 
by  the  proud  Cantabrians. 

Metals  and  marbles  of  various  kinds  vein  their  hills,  and  they  are 
miners.  A  simple  spade  or  fork  is  about  the  only  agricultural  imple- 
ment with  which  they  cultivate  their  small  farms  of  four  or  five  acres. 
Wheat,  barley  and  maize  are  harvested.  Although  the  soil  of  the  valleys 
even  is  not  very  rich,  the  Basque  peasant  is  industrious  and  his  lands 
will  compare  favorably  with  those  in  other  portions  of  the  kingdom.  His 
hills  are  covered  with  oak,  beech  and  chestnut,  generally  to  the  very  sum- 
mit.    The  climate  is  mild  and  salubrious,  and  the  country  is  picturesque. 

Besides  being  unlike  any  of  the  dialects  of  Southern  Europe,  the 
Basque  language  is  so  difficult  to  learn  that  there  is  a  popular  legend  to 
die  effect  that  Satan  spent  seven  years  in  studying  it  and  thoroughly 
mastered  but  three  words.  One  might  believe  the  story  and  admire  his 
ability  after  being  confronted  with  such  native  monstrosities  as  these  : 
Izarysaroyarenlurrearcnbarcna,  or  "the  center  of  the  mountain  road," 
and  Azpilcuetagaraycosaroyarc7ibcrecolarrea,  or  "the  lower  ground  of 
the  high  hill  of  Azpilcueta."  The  Basques  are  of  a  poetic  turn.  Their 
bards  attend  the  huskings  and  salute  the  washerwomen  on  the  banks  of  the 
streams  and  the  peasants  at  their  plows,  improvising  pastorals  and  tell- 
ingr  stories  and  leijends.  Their  theatres  are  built  out  from  the  mountains, 
and  native  tragedies  and  comedies  are  acted,  which  are  pronounced 
remarkably  vigorous  and  fresh.  The  poets  also  are  honored  with  fes- 
tivals, in  which  they  are  escorted  by  a  procession  of  horsemen  in  rich 
uniforms  and  great  bear-skin  caps,  by  musicians  and  dancers,  to  a  plat- 
form or  theatre,  where  they  are  happy  to  show  their  powers.  Their  amuse- 
ments, such  as  their  pastoral  dramas,  are  of  a  national  character,  the  sub- 
jects being  taken  from  the  Bible,  from  Grecian  mythology  and  even 
from  Ottoman  sources.  Their  dances,  also,  are  institutions  of  the  coun- 
try, such  as  the  Olympian  games  in  Greece.  Formerly  the  priests  took 
part  in  the  excitements  of  the  dance  and  the  women  were  excluded; 
now  their  positions  are  reversed. 

Such  gatherings  as  these  draw  the  Basques  from  plain,  valley  and 
mountain — the  women  with  their  superb  masses  of  brown  hair,  their 
small  hands  and  feet,  and  the  men  with  their  massive  features,  firm 
mouths,  black  eyes  and  dignified  bearing.  The  peasant  appears  in  his 
gala  dress — a  blue  cap,  dark  velvet  breeches,  a  red  scarf  around  his 
loins  and  a  gorgeous  vest,  while  his  pear  tree-stick,  pointed  with  iron,  is 
slung  by  a  cord  to  his  wrist. 

47 


738  PANORAMA    OF    NATION'S. 

The  most  favorite  manly  sport  is  hunting  the  wild  pigeon.  "  High 
up  in  the  tallest  trees  of  the  forest,  huts  of  branches  are  constructed. 
These  huts,  around  which  are  arranged  decoys,  which  are  made  to  flut- 
ter whenever  a  flock  of  pigeons  is  signaled,  accommodate  from  four  to 
six  huntsmen,  each  one  stationed  in  front  of  a  loop-hole  made  so  as  to 
afford  an  enfilading  shot,  which  will  kill  a  number  of  birds  at  once.  At 
the  sound  of  the  chief's  whistle,  there  is  a  simultaneous  fire  and  great  is 
the  carnage.  In  some  quarters  great  nets  are  stretched  among  the  trees, 
and  the  birds,  scared  by  the  rattles  and  by  the  decoy  hawks  of  wood  and 
feathers  which  are  thrown  at  them,  quicken  their  flight  and  rush  help- 
lessly into  the  snares." 

IGNATIUS  LOYOLA. 

It  is  in  the  land  of  the  Basques  that  Ignatius  Loyola,  the  ardent, 
brave  and  worldly  soldier,  first  saw  this  strange  world  so  filled  wit'u 
transforming  influences;  for  the  young  soldier,  fighting  against  the 
French,  was  wounded  in  both  legs  and  was  borne  to  his  ancestral  castle 
near  the  modern  town  of  Azpeitia.  Having  exhausted  his  large  supply 
of  romances,  the  incapacitated  soldier,  in  sheer  desperation,  fell  back  upon 
the  "  Lives  of  the  Saints."  But  his  active  soul  was  fired,  and  from  that 
time  on,  by  a  thorough  course  of  study,  by  a  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem, 
traveling  generally  on  foot  as  a  mendicant  monk,  by  every  possible 
course  of  thought,  self-denial  and  industry  he  prepared  himself  to  become 
the  founder  of  tliat  military  order  of  Jesuits  whose  motto,  P.  A.  C, 
indicates  the  complete  submersion  of  the  individual  into  the  body;  for 
P.  A.  C.  {Pcj'indc  ac  Cadavci')  is  "just  like  a  corpse"  and  every  Jesuit 
is  sworn  to  obey  the  orders  of  his  superior,  as  though  he  were  clay  in  the 
potter's  hands. 

The  scene  of  Loyola's  conversion  is  now  a  vast  monastery,  whose 
great  dome  is  brought  out  with  severe  distinctness  against  a  rocky  mount, 
a  short  distance  beyond.  The  unfinished  wings  of  the  mass  of  buildings 
give  the  imaginative,  from  a  distance,  the  impression  of  a  huge,  imperfect 
eagle.  Entering  the  vestibule  from  the  peristyle,  which  has  a  semi-circu- 
lar front  of  black  marble,  plaster  statues  of  Loyola,  Xavier  and  other 
prominent  Jesuits  are  observed.  Passing  into  the  church  beneath  figures 
of  the  Virgin  and  cherubs,  one  finds  himself  in  a  square,  cold  marble  hall. 
"  From  the  vestibule  a  door  on  one  side  opens  into  an  arched  passage, 
one  side  of  which  is  formed  by  the  house  of  Loyola,  built  of  rough  brick, 
and  bearing  over  the  door  the  inscription  in  gold  letters  on  a  black  mar- 
ble slab:  '  Family  house  of  Loyola,  Here  St.  Ignacio  was  born  in  1491. 
Here,  having  been  visited  by  St.  Peter  and  by  the   most  Holy  \'irgin, 


SPANISH    GYPSIES. 


739 


he  gave  himself  to  God  in  1521."  The  apartment  in  which  they  are 
said  to  have  appeared  to  Loyola  forms  an  inner  chapel  of  the  church 
and  is  a  shrine  to  which  thousands  of  the  devout  repair.  Besides  the 
inscription  which  has  been  noticed,  the  escutcheon  of  the  Loyola  family 
appears  upon  another  marble  slab,  it  being  two  wolves  disputing  over  a 
cauldron  suspended  by  a  chain.  The  unfinished  portion  of  the  left  wing 
of  the  monastery  consists  of  a  simole  wall,  which  is  built  in  front  of  the 
castle  or  house  of  the  Saint. 

SPANISH  GYPSIES. 

From  the  Pyrenees  to  Granada  the  Spanish  g>''psy  is  on  his  travels, 
camping  by  Phoenician,  Carthaginian,  Iberian,  Roman,  Gothic  and 
Moorish  fortresses ;  pene- 
trating to  Madrid  with  smug- 
glers and  horse-thieves,  but 
not  of  them ;  wandering 
from  Madrid  to  pick  up  the 
great  mules  of  Western 
Spain  and  selling  and  trading 
them  over  aeain  ,  curinof 
men  and  horses  of  various 
distempers ;  dancing,  sing-  ^: 
ing  in  Seville ;  camping  in 
the  rocky  caves  within  a 
stone's  throw  of  historic 
Granada ;  tinkering,  pilfer- 
1  n  g ,  fortune-telling  —  the 
Spanish  gypsy  is  the  gypsy 
of  the  world, the  professional 
tramp  who  is  not  a  vagrant, 
for  he  always  has  some  osten- 
sible means  of  support. 

Seville,   the    birthplace  a  gypsy  chief. 

of  Murillo.  the  greatest  of  Spanish  painters,  whose  masterpieces 
adorn  the  walls  of  its  grand  churches,  is  also  the  headquarters 
of  the  gypsy  musicians  and  dancers.  Here  will  be  found  many  set- 
tled people  of  their  race,  as  in  other  towns  of  Spain.  But  the 
gypsy  dancing  girl  is  the  interesting  member  of  their  community  — 
she  who  exhibits  to  the  eyes  of  Spain  the  motions  of  the  Hindu  maidens 
and  the  Egyptian  guitar,  and  glides  about  to  the  strains  of  old  Grecian 
and  Phoenician   melodies.     Little  children  are  brought  up  to  the  same 


T\0  PANORAMA    OF    XATIOXS. 

perfection  by  ambitious  elders,  sometimes  venerable  grandmothers,  who 
encourage  their  tiny  bare  feet  with  the  guitar  or  castanets. 

It  is  not  always  for  show  and  gain  that  the  gypsies  exhibit  their 
accomplishments.  Their  marriage  festivals  are  particularly  boisterous 
and  devoted  to  merry-making  —  music,  song  and  dance.  They  have, 
also,  their  rude  poets,  whose  themes  are  not  always  such  as  would  com- 
mend themselves  to  classical  tastes.  Cattle-stealings,  prison  adventures 
and  other  incidents  of  wandering  gypsy  life,  with  tender  bits  of  love 
ditties  and  pastoral  scenes,  quaint  scraps  and  catches,  are  various  themes 
and  elements  of  their  verse-making. 

On  account  of  the  disorganized  condition  of  society  in  Spain,  much 
of  the  time,  her  gypsies,  when  they  permanently  take  to  travel,  are 
among  the  most  reckless  and  unprincipled  of  their  race.  They  fre- 
quently encamp  near  remote  villages,  and  when  they  have  consumed  and 
stolen  everything  they  can,  pass  on  to  the  next.  Frequently  they  are 
driven  away  by  the  authorities.  Then  the  women  and  children  mount 
the  lean  asses  of  the  band,  ragged  and  long-haired  men  goading  and 
beating  the  poor  animals  to  increase  their  speed,  the  rear  of  the  uncouth 
cavalcade  being  guarded  by  a  small  party  on  strong  horses,  armed  with 
guns  and  sabres,  and  now  and  then  defiantly  blowing  a  hoarse  blast 
upon  their  horns. 

,..^.:-  CADIZ. 

From  the  Basque  provinces  to  Cadiz,  on  the  Southwestern  Spanish 
coast,  is  from  ancient  land  to  ancient  city  ;  but  as  Cadiz  is  the  o-reat 
starting  point  of  foreign  colonization  and  foreign  conquest,  and  as  here 
was  taken  the  next  chronological  step  in  the  settlement  of  Spain,  it  is 
well  to  rest  awhile  at  the  little  city  by  the  ocean,  standing  there  square, 
trim  and  clean.  It  is  surrounded  by  a  wall,  its  houses  are  built  of  white 
stone,  and  from  the  watersides,  for  it  is  upon  a  long  narrow  isthmus  of 
an  island,  nothing  can  be  more  fresh  in  the  shape  of  a  city.  Cadiz 
has  strong  sea  and  land  fortifications,  and  its  fine  harbor  has  been 
the  scene  of  conflicts  between  the  Spaniards,  English  and  French, 
between  the  Spaniards,  Moors,  Goths,  Romans,  Carthaginians  and 
Phoenicians.  The  Phoenicians  founded  it  over  three  centuries  before 
the  founding  of  Rome  and  the  ruins  of  one  of  their  temples  is  there. 
From  Phoenician  to  Carthaginian,  from  Carthaginian  to  Roman,  from 
Roman  to  Vandal,  from  Vandal  to  Goth,  from  Goth  to  Moor,  before 
they  all  were  merged  into  the  Spaniard,  is  the  usual  order  of  ownership 
for  the  sea-ports  of  Spain  and  for  most  of  the  country,  varied  somewhat 
by  the  position  of  the  district. 


CARTHAGE    IN    SPAIN.  74 1 

CARTHAGE  IN  SPAIN. 

Across  Southern  Spain,  on  the  Mediterranean  is  another  fortified 
town,  built  on  a  plain  surrounded  by  hills,  the  city  stretching  down  to  the 
sea.  The  entrance  to  its  spacious  harbor  is  narrow  and  is  commanded 
by  the  fortifications  on  an  island  to  the  south.  Its  old  streets,  its  old 
cathedral  and  its  ruined  castle  on  the  hill  are  Moorish  in  the  extreme,  but 
the  Moors  only  restored  that  city  to  something  of  its  former  magnifi- 
cence, which  was  the  stronghold  of  the  Carthaginians  on  the  northern 
coast  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  which  was  stormed  and  captured  by 
the  Romans  210  B.C.  Thirty  years  previous  it  had  been  named 
New  Carthage,  and  was  designed  as  the  Carthaginians'  base  of  opera" 
tions  in  Europe  against  the  Romans.  Before  that  time  Phoenicians 
had  planted  a  fortress  and  a  lighthouse  upon  a  rock  overhanging 
the  city,  in  whose  sides  these  bold  colonists  had  found  numerous 
caves  in  which  lived  the  savage  aborigines.  Under  Rome  it  was 
a  city  of  wealth  and  importance,  40,000  men  being  employed  in  the 
neitrhborine  mines  of  Tharsis,  which  formed  the  attraction  of  the 
Phcenicians.  The  Goths  sacked  the  city,  and  even  under  Spanish  rule 
it  was  the  largest  naval  arsenal  in  Europe.  But  now  the  place  is  dilap- 
idated, its  dockyards  and  arsenal  are  deserted,  and  only  a  few  walls 
remain  of  the  Carthaginian  fortress  held  by  the  family  of  Hannibal,  or  of 
the  lighthouse  which  guided  the  ships  to  the  Tarshish  of  Scripture,  lying 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Guadalquivir  River. 

"  Local  tradition  declares  that  a  superb  piece  of  tapestry  in  the  old 
dismantled  cathedral  was  brought  back  from  the  Indies  by  Christopher 
Columbus  on  his  first  voyage,  and  was  suspended  there  by  him  as  a 
grateful  recognition  of  God's  mercy,  in  the  presence  of  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella.  This  is  not  quite  exact.  The  truth  seems  to  be  that  the 
tapestry  was  paid  for  by  the  gold  which  Columbus  brought  back  with 
him,  and  that  it  represents  the  birds  and  beasts,  the  fruits  and  flowers 
of  the  New  World,  as  far  as  he  could  describe  them.  That  it  was  sus- 
pended by  Columbus  seems  certain,  attested  as  it  is  b)-  the  familiar 
escutcheon  and  legend  which  are  placed  over  it.  It  will  scarcely  be 
credited  that  the  cathedral  is  rapidly  falling  into  ruins,  and  that  the 
tapestry  is  rotting  from  the  walls." 

SPANISH  MOROCCO. 

The  territory  lying  between  these  ancient  towns  and  between  the 
Guadalquivir  River  and  the  Mediterranean  Sea  is  what  may  be  called 
the  Morocco  of  Spain.      In  Granada  (which  was  the  last  of  the  Moslem 


742  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

kingdoms  to  fall)  and  Castile  are,  in  fact,  to  be  found  about  60,000 
people  who  have  kept  their  INIoorish  blood  singularly  pure,  being  known 
as  Modejars.  Despite  the  Inquisition,  the  banishments  and  burn- 
ings, the  Moors  not  only  remain,  but  they  have  impressed  many  of  their 
customs  upon  the  country. 

"  In  Toledo,  in  Cordova,  in  Granada,  or  in  the  older  parts  of  Seville, 
it  would  be  easy  to  believe  oneself  in  a  Moorish  or  Egyptian  town.  The 
narrow  streets  are  inclosed  by  high  walls,  almost  windowless,  and  perfo- 
rated by  only  a  single  low  door.  Everything  looks  gloomy  and  sombre. 
But  peep  through  the  iron  grating  which  protects  the  doorway,  and  you 
will  see  3. patio  bright  with  flowers  and  fountains  and  greenery.  The 
windows  of  the  chambers  ojDen  into  this  quadrangle,  and  the  inmates  can 
enjoy  light  and  air,  bright  sunshine  and  cool  shade,  without  leaving  the 
seclusion  of  their  houses  or  being  exposed  to  the  gaze  of  any  not  belong- 
ing to  the  family.  This  style  of  architecture  has  been  handed  down 
directly  from  the  Moors.  And  in  numberless  details  of  dress  and  daily 
life  the  same  influence  may  be  traced.  The  mantilla  which  forms  the 
head-dress  of  almost  every  woman  in  Spain,  is  simply  a  relic  of  the  veil 
universally  worn  by  the  wives  and  daughters  of  the  Moslem.  Wander 
into  the  outskirts  of  any  town  in  Spain,  and  you  will  hardly  fail  to  stum- 
ble upon  groups  of  ragged,  picturesque  varlets,  lying  at  full  length  upon 
some  sunny  bank,  sunning  themselves  just  as  a  group  of  Bedouins  would 
do.  Go  out  into  the  country,  and  you  will  hear  the  creaking  of  the 
waterwheel  and  see  the  patient  oxen  treading  their  ceaseless  round, 
turning  the  ponderous  machine,  which  has  come  down  unchanged  from 
the  days  of  the  Moors.  The  peasants  of  Andalusia,  Murcia  and  Granada 
are  seldom  to  be  seen  without  a  long  staff,  which  they  grasp  and  carry 
exactly  as  an  Arab  does  his  spear.  The  velvet  hat  of  the  Spanish  maj'o 
is  clearly  a  reminiscence  of  the  turban.  In  private  houses,  hotels  and 
cafes  servants  are  summoned  by  clapping  the  hands  as  in  the  Arabian 
Nights." 

In  the  mettle,  grace  and  docility  of  the  horses  of  Andalusia,  also, 
are  seen  the  strong  points  of  the  Arabian  steeds.  Since  the  country 
was  stocked  by  the  Moors  with  their  finest  breeds  they  have  somewhat 
degenerated  ;  still  enough  specimens  of  the  famous  stock  remain  to 
remind  one  of  the  Moorish  rule.  Since  the  decline  in  wealth  and  mae- 
nificence  of  the  Spanish  nobility,  the  demand  for  blooded  horses  has 
decreased.  The  celebrated  breed  of  the  sovereigns  of  Spain  at  Cordova 
is  nearly  extinct,  and  the  wealthiest  Andalusian  nobles  have  only  a  few 
saddle  horses.  The  noble  Arabian  steed,  the  pride  of  the  Moor  and  the 
native  sheik,  is  disappearing  before  the  mules  and  asses  which  are  used  for 


SEVILLE,  743 

domestic,  agricultural  and  transportation  purposes.  Immense  droves  of 
these  animals  are  continually  passing  from  Old  Castile,  where  they  are 
bred,  to  the  rich  pastures  of  Estremadura,  where  they  are  reared,  and 
supplied  to  the  rest  of  Spain,  principally  for  transportation  purposes. 
The  asses  even  rival  those  of  Egypt,  being  sure-footed,  strong  and  docile, 
and  nearly  equal  in  size  to  the  mules. 

SEVILLE. 

In  fact,  from  Seville  and  the  banks  of  the  Guadalquivir'  to  the 
Mediterranean  Sea,  the  Arabs  of  Morocco  have  buried  Phoenician, 
Roman  and  Gothic  civilizations.  Although  the  native  place  of  the 
Roman  Emperors  Trajan,  Adrian  and  Theodosius,  called  by  Caesar 
Little  Rome,  and  adorned  by  great  edifices  worthy  of  a  favorite  child  of 
the  empire,  Seville  is  a  purely  Moorish  city.  The  capital  of  Southern 
Spain  during  the  ascendency  of  the  Vandals  and  the  Goths,  it  is  still  dis- 
tinctively Moorish,  A  few  miles  away  are  the  ruins  of  a  magnificent 
Roman  amphitheatre  —  all  that  remains  of  the  palaces  and  ambitious 
structures  of  half  a  dozen  Roman  emperors  and. conquerors. 

Time  has  not  buried  Rome  completely  out  of  sight,  here  in  Moor- 
land. Massive  stones  of  the  amphitheatre  now  confine  the  waters  of  the 
Guadalquivir  and  appear  in  the  walls  of  a  neighboring  convent,  while 
during  the  fwe  centuries  that  the  Moors  held  Seville  the  city  was  rebuilt 
from  the  materials  of  former  Roman  edifices.  Certain  quarters  of  the  city 
have  not  been  changed,  and  one  may  there  find  cool  shadows  cast  across 
the  narrow,  crooked  streets,  from  spacious  mansions,  with  ample  courts 
and  gardens.  Attached  to  the  mighty  Spanish  cathedral  of  Seville  is  a 
remarkable  Moorish  tower,  to  which  a  lofty  pinnacle  has  been  added 
since  the  city  came  under  the  Spanish  rule.  The  tower  formerly  was 
part  of  a  great  Mohammedan  mosque.  It  is  now  a  portion  of  the 
Catholic  church,  within  which  are  paintings  by  Murillo,  whose  h'ouse  may 
be  seen  from  it.  Surmounting  the  pinnacle,  350  feet  from  the  ground, 
is  a  female  figure  in  bronze,  fourteen  feet  high,  which  serves  as  a  weather- 
vane  and  which  is  so  nicely  poised  that  it  is  swerved  by  the  slightest 
breeze. 

The  Alcazar,  originally  a  Moorish  palace,  has  been  remodeled  until 
it  is  a  rival  of  the  Alhambra  in  delicate  ornamentation.  It  is  the  royal  res- 
idence, and  a  royal  one,  truly.  At  a  little  distance  from  the  palace  is  an 
octagonal  tower,  partly  Moorish  and  partly  Roman  in  its  architecture  ;  it 
is  called  the  Tower  of  Gold.  One  story  is  that  Columbus  stored  therein 
the  first  American  gold  ;  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  alleged  that  the  name 
was  given  to  it  long  before  Columbus  ever  set  sail  from  Palos. 


I~ 


44  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


But  the  Seville  of  to-day  is  not  the  capital  of  a  Moorish  kingdom 
with  half  a  million  people.  Althoug;h  when  Ferdinand  of  Castile  passed 
in  as  a  conqueror,  300,000  Moors  passed  out,  bound  for  Granada  and 
Africa,  it  continued  a  great  city  until  the  discovery  of  America,  when  it 
almost  reached  its  former  plane  of  prosperity.  Cadiz  afterwards  seized 
its  trade,  and  with  the  decline  of  Spain  as  a  commercial  power  Seville 
fell  with  it.  It  is  still  a  beautiful  city,  surrounded  by  Moorish  walls  and 
Moorish  towers. 

Seville  was,  furthermore,  the  headquarters  of  the  Inquisition  in 
Spain,  but  it  was  not  until  the  Reformation,  from  Germany,  commenced 
to  send  its  New  Testaments  into  Spain  and  make  converts  that  it  was 
brought  to  bear  with  such  shocking  cruelty  upon  the  people.  Single 
executions  were  thought  inadequate  to  suppress  the  heresy,  and  the 
autos  da  fc,  or  public  burnings,  were  inaugurated  at  Valladolid  and 
Seville,  and  spread  over  the  land.  Barcelona,  Cordova,  and  others 
had  also,  their  gloomy  prisons  of  the  Inquisition  filled  with  her 
etics  until  emptied  by  the  autos  da  fd.  Ten  years  of  such  vigor 
ous  war  stamped  out  Protestantism. 

CORDOVA. 

Ascending  the  river  from  Seville,  a  mass  of  sad-looking  buildinofs  is 
occasionally  seen  through  the  intervening  groves  of  palm  and  olive  trees. 
The  road  to  the  city  is  through  gardens  of  roses,  oranges,  oleanders, 
with  all  the  foliage  of  the  Orient  to  give  them  a  rich  shading.  As  Cor- 
dova is  approached  —  so  long  the  capital  and  center  of  the  great  Moorish 
empire  —  its  wall  even  has  a  patched  and  dejected  air,  traces  of  Roman, 
Gothic  and  Moorish  workmen  being  discovered  in  it.  Cordova  was  for 
three  centuries  one  of  the  grandest  centers  of  commerce  and  of  a  civil- 
ization far  in  advance  of  the  rest  of  Europe ;  a  sublime  city  of  mosques, 
hospitals,  schools  and  palaces,  the  banks  of  the  Guadalquivir  being  lined 
with  extensive  gardens  in  which  were  innumerable  fountains,  palm  trees, 
and  Oriental  pavilions.  Cordova  was  the  metropolis  of  the  industrious 
race  which  made  Southern  Spain  bloom  like  a  garden  ;  which  laid  out 
her  rich  plains  into  sugar,  rice  and  cotton  plantations;  which  brought  in 
chemistry,  paper,  elegant  manufactures,  and  the  numerical  system  which 
we  use  to-day.  Each  garden  whose  orange  and  citron  groves  were 
reflected  in  the  clear  waters  of  the  Guadalquivir  was  the  haunt  of  the 
botanist.  Like  the  Jews,  the  Moors  were  famous  physicians.  They 
taught  medicine,  astronomy,  mathematics  and  philosophy  when  the  rest 
of  Europe  was  just  emerging  from  primitive  ignorance,  so  that  the 
schools  of  Cordova  educated  the  Christians  of  all  nations,  who  sought  the 


CUKUUVA. 


745 


learning  of  the  East  which  the  Arabs  had  brought  from  Egypt,  India, 
Persia  and  Asia  Minor,  via  Morocco.  The  expulsion  of  the  Moors  and 
the  Jews  was  a  blow  to  Spain  whose  effects  can  never  be  entirely  coun- 
teracted. 

The  only  striking  architectural  monument  of  this  great  empire 
which  remains  in  its  now  lifeless  capital  is  a  superb  mosque,  which  was 
built  by  the  first  caliph  of  the  Spanish  Moors  after  they  rebelled  against 
the  rule  of  the  Damascus  princes.  This  able  and  amiable  monarch,  shel- 
tered by  the  Bedouins  of  Arabia  and  Africa  from  his  Damascus  enemies, 
was  chosen  by  the  sheiks  as  the  leader  of  the  Moors  in  Spain.  It  was 
in  the  middle  of  the  eighth  century  that  he  landed  on  the  coast  of 
Andalusia,  and  commenced  his  tri- 
umphal march  to  Seville  and  Cor- 
dova. In  his  person  were  united 
the  performances  of  the  future. 
He  it  was  who  transplanted  the 
palm  into  Spain.  His  mosque  ab- 
sorbed the  talent  and  skill  of  the 
most  expert  architects,  masons  and 
workmen  among  the  Arabs  and 
Jews — in  fact,  the  genius  of  the  age 
was  lavished  upon  its  interior.  To 
inspire  enthusiasm,  as  well  as  to 
instill  a  spirit  of  humility  and  piety 
into  the  work,  its  princely  founder 
is  said  to  have  daily  labored  with 
hod  and  trowel.  Marbles  came  to 
form  its  beauties  from  the  ancient 
temples  of  Europe,  Asia  and  Africa, 
and  when  all  was  ready  the  Islam 
monarch  looked  upon  what  might^^^r^;* 
be  a  stately  grove  of  palm  trees,  ^Zs^ 
their  trunks  taking  every  hue  of  *"  "^~ 
the  rainbow  and  their  branches  and  -^  Spanish  girl. 

leaves  lost  in  the  profusion  of  the  Arabesque  decorations  and  vault- 
ed roofs.  From  the  center  of  the  building  naves  run  in  all  direc- 
tions. The  Holy  of  Holies,  where  the  Koran  was  deposited,  was  a 
recess  roofed  with  a  carved  block  of  marble,  lined  with  rich  mosaics,  and 
the  cornices  inscribed  with  Moslem  texts  in  letters  of  gold.  This  inde- 
scribable sanctuary  has  not  suffered  at  the  hands  of  later  architects,  and 
is  all  the  more  impressive  standing  out  in  its  ancient  perfection  from  the 


746  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

Catholic  cathedral  whose  founders  have  generally  covered  the  ornamen. 
tations  and  inscriptions  of  Islam  with  thick  paint  and  whitewash.  Other 
appropriate  alterations  have  been  made,  which,  however,  greatly  mar 
this  grandest  of  the  monuments  of  Moorish  Mohammedanism. 

THE  GARDENS  OF  SPAIN. 

Not  only  did  the  Moors  bring  the  palm  tree  into  Spain  ;  but  soon 
rice  and  sugarcane  were  products  of  the  country;  groves  of  mulberry 
and  banana  trees  were  waving ;  and  the  almond,  fig,  orange, 
citron,  pomegranate  and  pineapple  were  flourishing  like  native 
cfrowths.  The  cactus  also  was  o;iven  root,  and  not  only  run  riot  in  the 
south,  but  became  a  striking  garden  ornament.  It  is  in  the  gardens  of 
Spain,  in  fact,  as  much  as  in  the  architecture,  that  the  Moors  have  left 
their  imjDress.  Even  without  the  flat-roofed  buildings,  the  fountains  and 
the  arabesque  Avork,  when  one  wanders  in  these  gardens  which  are  in 
and  around  nearly  every  old  town  of  Central  and  Southern  Spain,  and 
which  are  profusions  of  tropical  foliage  and  fruit,  the  air  laden  with  fra- 
grance, dates  overhead,  oranges  and  lemons  within  reach,  he  can  scarcely 
believe  himself  in  Europe. 

In  some  cities  which  are  but  ghosts  of  their  former  greatness,  broad 
tracts  which  have  been  deserted  and  which  once  supported  palaces, 
mosques  or  manufactories,  are  now  planted,  not  only  to  tropical  fruits, 
but  to  the  apple,  peach,  plum  and  pear.  But  they  flourish  equally  well 
as  do  wheat,  maize  and  barley,  with  the  grains  of  the  tropics 

In  fact,  nature  has  made  Spain  one  of  the  most  productive  of  coun- 
tries, but  the  Spaniard,  since  the  exit  of  the  Moor,  has  not  improved 
his  opportunities.  His  neglect  is  partly  owing  to  the  fact  that  the 
Spanish  nobility  own  immense  tracts  of  land,  which  they  are  unable  to 
cultivate,  but  hold  from  generation  to  generation.  The  farmers  them- 
selves are  generally  so  poor  that  even  the  smaller  holdings  are  covered 
with  morteacjes.  As  an  instance  of  the  disregard  in  which  their  rights 
are  held  by  the  government,  it  is  said  that  the  proprietors  of  large  flocks 
of  Merino  sheep,  passing  through  the  country,  are  privileged  to  drive 
their  animals  not  only  over  village  pastures  but  over  private  lands. 
The  farmers  are  obliged  to  provide  a  broad  passage  way  for  these  lordly 
sheep  owners,  "  and  no  new  enclosure  can  be  made  in  the  line  of  their 
migrations  ;  nor  can  any  land  which  has  once  been  in  pasture  be  again 
cultivated  until  it  has  been  offered  to  them  at  a  certain  rate."  Improved 
methods  of  agriculture,  however,  are  being  introduced  by  foreign  capi- 
tal, and   the  fertile  plains  of  Granada,  Murcia   and   Valencia,  in  some 


THE    GOTHIC-ROMAN    PRINCES.  747 

places  still  irrigated  through  the  old  Moorish  water  works,  are  being 
carefully  and  intelligently  cultivated. 

Another  branch  of  husbandry  in  which  the  Spaniards  engage,  but 
with  their  usual  carelessness,  is  the  cultivation  of  the  vine.  Yet,  to  a 
great  extent,  the  natural  advantages  of  the  regions  adjacent  to  the 
ocean  and  sea  coasts  of  Southern  and  Southeastern  Spain  have  counter- 
acted Spanish  laxity.  The  most  famous  wine  is  the  sherry,  which 
comes  from  the  district  around  Cadiz.  Nearly  all  the  brands  which 
leave  that  port  for  Great  Britain  and  this  country  are  light,  dry,  table 
wines,  containing  naturally  considerable  alcohol  and  made  more  spirit- 
uous by  additions  from  other  fermented  vintages,  pure  spirits,  and  decoc- 
tions and  preparations  drawn  from  over-ripe  grapes.  The  choicest  wines 
of  the  Cadiz  district  never  reach  the  palates  of  foreign  consumers,  but 
are  generally  mixed  with  poorer  sorts,  which  are  thus  mellowed  and  col- 
ored into  all  the  outward  appearance  of  the  finest  grades.  There  is  a 
"  mother  of  wine  "  as  there  is  "  a  mother  of  vinegar,"  which  is  used  to 
impart  bouquet  and  color  to  cheap  liquors,  and  although  when  it  has 
been  years  in  preparation,  the  stock  being  always  kept  up,  it  is  abso- 
lutely disgusting  to  the  taste,  it  becomes  so  potent  in  imparting  the  best 
qualities  of  "  the  true  sherry  "  that  a  butt  of  it  commands  from  /^Soo 
to  ^i,ooo. 

The  country  between  Malaga  and  Granada,  in  Andalusia,  is  the 
home  of  the  Malaga  raisins  and  the  Malaga  wines.  Three  crops  of 
grapes  come  annually  from  the  vineyards  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  moun- 
tains, the  first  being  worked  up  into  raisins  and  the  other  two  into  dry 
and  sweet  wines.  Strong,  dark  wines  are  made  from  the  grapes  of  -\Iur- 
cia  and  Valencia,  the  latter  province  having  the  best  reputation.  Of  the 
Valencia  wines,  the  Alicante  stand  at  the  head,  being  sometimes  almost 
as  thick  and  rich  as  syrup.  Northern  Spain  is  a  wine-raising  territory, 
•but  has  no  more  than  a  local  reputation. 

No,  the  wines  of  Spain  can  not  be  attributed  to  the  Arabs  ;  for  the 
Koran  prohibits  wine.  The  Goths,  however,  were  drinkers  of  wine,  and 
into  the  land  of  the  Goths  we  now  go. 

THE  GOTHIC-ROMAN  PRINCES. 

The  Moors  drove  the  Goths  far  beyond  Cordova,  far  beyond  the 
great  chain  of  Sierra  Morena  mountains,  which  stretch  a  mighty  barrier 
across  the  whole  of  Southern  Spain.  This  they  surmounted,  and  through 
the  rocky  passes  of  the  Sierra  Toledo  they  also  swept,  besieging  mighty 
Toledo  itself,  the  capital  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Goths.  Their  victorious 
course  lay  from  the  battle-fields  northeast  of  Cadiz  over  half  a  dozen 


748  "  PANORAMA    OK     NATIONS. 

Stupendous  mountain  chains  to  the  plain  of  Tours,  wliere  the  Franks 
turned  them  back  into  Spain.  For  three  centuries  the  Moors  flourished, 
except  in  extreme  Northern  Spain,  the  Guadalquivir  River,  liowever, 
marking  the  center  of  their  greatest  glory  ;  but  the  rival  Mohammedan 
factions  in  Morocco  continually  carried  their  wars  into  Spain,  and  by  the 
early  part  of  the  eleventh  century  they  broke  the  caliphate  of  Cordova 
into  pieces,  the  fragments  reappearing  as  small  kingdoms.  Although 
driven  north  the  Christian  princes  were  left  to  fight  among  themselves, 
the  Moslems  giving  their  strength  to  the  country  of  the  Franks  and  the 
islands  of  the  Mediterranean  to  the  east  of  Spain  ;  it  was,  without  doubt, 
the  dream  of  the  Mohammedans  of  the  West  to  join  hands  with  the 
Mohammedans  of  the  East  and  establish  a  mighty  kingdom  around  the 
shores  of  the  Mediterranean.  But  while  the  Mohammedans  of  Spain 
were  a  prey  to  internal  dissensions  the  Gothic-Roman  princes  of  the 
North  buried  their  differences  under  the  cover  of  a  common  cause.  In  the 
latter  half  of  the  eleventh  century  the  King  of  Castile  (now  known  as 
Old  Castile)  recovered  Toledo,  making  it  his  residence  and  naming  his 
territory  New  Castile. '  The  capital  of  New  Castile  then  became  the 
base  of  operations  for  the  Christian  princes  of  the  North  against  the 
Mohammedan  states  of  the  South,  and  afterward  was  the  capital  of 
Spain. 

TOLEDO. 

Between  high  and  rocky  banks  the  Tagus  rushes  around  the  rugged 
hills  upon  which  the  city  stands,  leaving  only  one  approach  by  land. 
When  Alfonso  took  the  city  he  found  this  closed  by  a  sturdy  wall 
repaired  four  centuries  before  his  time  by  the  Gothic  King,  Wamba,  the 
original  structure  being  Roman.  Beyond  this  he  placed  another  wall, 
both  of  which  stand  with  the  ruined  fortress  of  Alcazar — haunted  by 
the  ghosts  of  Roman,  Moorish  and  Spanish  architects  —  to  tell  of  the 
rise  and  fall,  the  retreat  and  advance,  of  the  races  of  men.  From  the 
center  of  the  silent,  gloomy  city,  rises  the  massive  cathedral,  surrounded 
by  churches  and  convents,  nearly  all  of  which  occupy  the  sites  of  old 
Mosques  or  Jewish  synagogues.  Many  historians,  in  short,  claim  that 
Toledo  was  founded  by  Jewish  colonists  six  centuries  B.  C,  and  at  the 
time  of  the  invasion  of  Spain  by  the  Moslems,  it  is  said  that  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  city  an  Arab  general  found  the  original  table  of 
shewbread,  adorned  with  hyacinths  and  emeralds,  made  by  Solomon  and 
secreted  Ijy  the  Jews  when  the  treasures  of  the  temple  were  carried  by 
Nebuchadnezzar  to  Babylon.  The  oldest  of  the  synagogues  now  stand- 
ing, was  built  in  the  ninth  century  under  the  tolerant  rule  of  the  Moors; 


GRANADA  AND  THE  ALHAMBKA. 


749 


Other  synagogues  have  been  transformed  into  churches,  but  this  one, 
whose  ceiHne  is  behevecl  to  have  been  constructed  of  the  cedars  of 
Lebanon,  was  used  as  a  cavalry  stable  during  the  French  occupancy  and 
is  now  quite  deserted. 

Two  miles  from  the  city  walls,  with  their  remarkable  towers  and 
gates,  stands  a  great  building,  the  royal  sword  manufactory,  a  remem- 
brance only  of  the  days  when  the  Toledo  blades  were  so  famous  as  to  be 
thought  worthy  of  the  pen  of  Livy. 

About  a  century  after  Toledo  became  the  capital  of  Castile,  another 
Alfonso,  joined  by  the  Kings  of  Aragon,  Navarre,  Leon  and  Portugal, 
marched  southward  across  La  Mancha,  which  Cervantes  was  to  make 
famous,  and  met  on   the  plains  of  Tolosa,  in  the  Sierra  Morena,  one  of 


J  iPirsiiiil] 


the  greatest  armies  which  the  Mos- 
lems had  ever  sent  against  the 
Christians.  The  Mohammedan  dy- 
nasty which  had  built  its  power 
upon  the  dismembered  caliphate  of 
Cordova  was  crushed,  and  from  its 
death  sprung  into  life  the  last  of  the 
noted  Moorish  kingdoms  —  that  of 
Granada. 

GRANADA  AND  THE 
ALHAMBRA. 

The  succeeding  history,  before 
the  country  was  united,  consists  of 
a  gradual  absorption  by  Castile  and 
Aragon  of  the  Moorish  and  Christ- 
ian states,  a  healing  of  their  jeal- 
ousies by  the  marriage  of  Ferdi- 
nand and  Isabella  and  the  final 
conquest  of  Granada,  which  had  sustained  the  assaults  of  Christian 
foes  for  two  hundred  years.  The  gateway  into  the  fertile  kingdom 
is  from  the  west  across  the  broad  plain  of  Vega,  bordered  on 
the  south  by  the  snow-capped  Sierra  Nevadas,  which  cool  the  hot 
breezes  from  the  south  into  delightful  freshness.  One  of  the  mountain 
spurs  stretches  out  into  the  plain,  at  the  foot  of  which,  upon  two  hills, 
rests  the  last  stronghold  of  the  Moors,  the  center  of  that  last  grand 
civilization  from  which  even  the  opulent  cities  of  Italy  drew  much  of 
their  prosperity.  Upon  one  of  the  hills  which  formed  the  city's  site  rose 
the  royal  palace  and  fortress  of  the  Alhambra,  surrounded  by  gardens. 


GATE  OF  THE  ALHAMBRA. 


750  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

and  containing  everything  which  might  enable  the  monarchs  of  Granada 
to  enjoy  themselves  in  fancied  security.  Although  since  the  year's  siege 
by  the  King  and  Queen  of  Spain,  which  resulted  in  the  fall  of  Granada, 
the  Alhambra  has  been  disfigured  and  pillaged,  remodelled,  many  of  its 
ancient  towers  blown  up,  etc.,  etc.,  in  ruins  it  has  aroused  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  lovers  of  the  beautiful  from  every  land.  Without,  a  city  of  towers 
and  massive  walls  ;  within,  still  a  succession  of  marble,  alabaster  and 
cedar  halls,  ornamented  with  arabesques  and  stucco-work  of  mother-of- 
pearl,  ivory  and  silver,  beautiful  fountains  within  playing  musically  to 
the  soft  breezes  without — the  Alhambra  is  all  that  the  fair  pens  of  a 
score  of  Washington  Irvings  could  picture  it. 

The  Alhambra  is  divided  by  a  narrow  glen  from  the  Generalife, 
another  Moorish  palace  surrounded  with  gardens  and  fountains.  Its 
towers  are  taller  and  licrhter  than  those  of  the  Alhambra  and  it  stands 
upon  a  loftier  height ;  for  it  was  the  summer  palace  of  the  Granada 
Kings. 

From  the  Alhambra  and  the  Generalife  the  grand  panorama  of 
Granada  is  spread  in  all  its  variety  ;  the  rich  plain  formerly  teeming 
with  the  riches  of  the  temperate  zone  and  the  tropics ;  the  mountains 
with  the  ruins  of  fortified  towns  and  solitary  castles  stretching  toward  the 
west  ;  the  Xenil  winding  through  orchard,  garden  and  grove,  and  from 
the  south  bright  streams  coming  down  the  Sierra  Nevada.  It  is  the 
Granada  of  old  with  the  life  of  man  gone  out  of  it. 

SOUTHERN  AND  EASTERN  COASTS. 

Skirting  the  coast  of  Spainfrom  Cadiz,  the  first  port  of  Interest 
going  east  is  Palos,  a  sleepy  enough  little  town,  but  in  1491,  when  Colum- 
bus stopped  at  the  convent  of  La  Rabida,  near  that  port,  it  boasted  the 
most  enterprising  mariners  in  all  Spain.  The  great  discoverer  had 
determined  to  start  for  Cordova,  on  his  way  to  France,  being  weary  of 
the  delays  with  which  he  met  in  Spain,  but  stopping  at  the  gate  of  the 
convent  to  ask  for  some  bread  and  water  for  his  boy,  the  prior  became 
interested  in  him  and  his  dazzling  enterprise,  obtained  for  him  a. personal 
interview  with  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  and  the  Spaniards,  instead  of  the 
French,  were  enabled  to  claim  the  discovery  of  America  as  their  honor. 
Columbus  sailed  from  Palos.  The  dilapidated  town  is  still  there,  and 
between  it  and  the  sea  shore  is  the  old  convent  whose  prior  played  so 
important  a  part  in  the  discovery  of  America. 

With  its  galleries  tunneled  through  the  rock  on  the  north  front, 
through  which  hundreds  of  huge  guns  frown  at  the  bay  and  command  the 


SOUriiERN    AND    EASTERN    COASTS. 


751 


sandy  isthmus  which  connects  English  with  Spanish  soil,  looms  the  huge 
promontory  of  Gibraltar.  Barracks,  fortresses  and  batteries  on  the 
summit  and  west  side,  on  which  are  the  bay  and  town,  the  descent  being 
precipitous  on  the  remaining  sides,  is  a  matter-of-fact,  dry  description 
of  a  very  matter-of-fact  sort  of  an  institution.  It  would  be  useless  to 
describe  more  fully  that  great  fortress  which  stands  as  an  index  of  the 
English  character,  and  upon  which  thousands  of  English  writers  have 
cast  their  artillery  of  adjectives. 

During  the  prevalence  of  the  southwest  winds  vessels  compelled  to 
leave  Gibraltar  often  sail  to  the  fine  port  of  Malaga,  a  dazzling  city  of 

white  houses, commanded  by  one 
of  those  massive  Moorish  castles 
which  become  tiresome  in  the 
mere  telling  but  are  ever  fasci- 
nating in  the  seeing.  Some  saj' 
Malaga  was  founded  by  the  Ibe- 
rians. Others  suppose  the  name 
to  be  the  Phoenician  for  salt  fish, 
which  was  one  of  its  most  famous 
exports.  Malaga  is  now  best 
known  as  the  city  from  which 
go  out  the  muscatel  raisins,  as 
fine  as  any  the  world  knows 
about.  Olive  oil  and  sugar  are 
also  largely  exported.  Malaga, 
in  fact,  despite  her  Moorish  air 
and  ancient  castle,  is  in  the  active 
current  of  to-day. 

Coasting  along  the  shores  of 
PEASANT  OF  EASTERN  SPAIN.  Granada, with  the  Sierra  Nevadas 

in  the  distance,  and  passing  numbers  of  villages  which  formerly  saw  the 
vessels  of  many  nations  bound  for  their  prosperous  capital,  Cartagena  is 
reached,  and,  if  the  traveler  desires,  on  this  former  borderland  of  Moorish 
territory  he  may  take  a  trip  inland  by  railway  to  Murcia,  the  capital  of 
the  province.  "  Lying  out  of  the  route  of  travelers  it  is  almost  unvisited, 
and  having  little  commerce  except  with  the  peasantry  of  its  fertile  lui-crta, 
it  retains  its  old  costumes,  manners  and  customs  with  even  more  than 
Spanish  tenacity.  The  men  wear  a  tartan  plaid,  like  that  of  a  Scotch 
shepherd,  only  more  brilliant  in  color.  The  women  greatly  affect  bright 
yellow  and  scarlet,  and  even  the  poorest  contrive  to  interweave  a  few 
flowers  into  their  hair.     The  costumes  through  the  whole  of  the  eastern 


> 


'S 


752 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


M 

111  ?,  '.Y 


■f\l^ 


■I 


THE   CID. 


/3j 


provinces  are  very  strange  and  very  Moorish.  Hempen  sandals  take  the 
place  of  shoes  ;  the  legs  are  either  bare  or  covered  by  a  footless  cotton 
stocking.  In  many  districts  the  peasantry  wear  very  wide  calico  drawers, 
reaching  down  to  the  knees  and  looking  like  a  short  petticoat,  and  a 
close-fitting  jacket  covered  with  spangles  and  embroidery.  The  plaid 
is  commonly  substituted  along  this  coast  for  the  mantle  patronized  by 
the  Castilians." 

THE  CID. 

NorthAvard  from  Murcia  to  the  river  Ebro  and  clear  across  Spain  to 
Portugal  is  the  broad  scene  of  action  of  Spain's  greatest  national  hero, 
the  Cid  Campeador,or  Lord  Champion.  The  "  Cid  "  he  obtained  from  the 
Moors  and  the  "Campeador"  from  his  own  countrymen;  for  in  the 
course  of  his  romantic  life  he  fought  with  and  against  the  Moorish  kings. 
But  with  whomsoever  he  cast  the  weight  of  his  mighty  arms  that  mon- 
arch triumphed.  At  length,  banished  by  a  Christian  king,  he  joined 
the  Moorish  kings  of  Saragossa,  in  whose  service  he  fouyht  asjainst 
both  Moslems  and  Christians.  Though  his  fame  spread  over  Europe 
and  the  brilliancy  of  his  exploits  was  such  that  he  became  in  imagina- 
tion a  modern  Hercules  with  an  invincible  sword,  in  order  to  maintain 
his  family  and  his  followers  he  was  forced  to  turn  against  his  former 
allies,  and,  after  a  stubbornly  contested  siege  of  ten  months,  he  wrested 
Valencia,  from  the  Moors.  The  Cid  was  promptly  besieged,  in  turn,  by 
a  great  army  of  Moors.  As  they  lay  encamped  beneath  the  walls  of 
Valencia,  tradition  represents  him  as  coolly  leading  his  terrified  wife  and 
daughters  to  one  of  the  towers,  where  they  could  see  the  Moslem  host 
below,  and  all  around  them  a  mighty  grove  or  garden  of  citrons,  oranges, 
and  palms.  Assuring  his  family  of  victory  he  collected  his  handful  of 
followers  and  giving  battle  to  the  Moorish  army  he  defeated  them  and 
drove  them  from  the  city.  The  tower  of  Miguelete  is  pointed  out  as 
the  point  from  w'hich  he  looked  over  his  fair  and  newly-acquired  prov- 
ince, covered  with  grain  and  rice  fields  and  thick  with  palm  and  mul- 
berry trees,  and  so  confidently  predicted  his  usual  victory. 

The  city  is  still  the  center  of  a  fertile  region,  ingeniously  watered 
by  a  system  of  pipes  and  rivulets,  perfected  by  the  Moors  eight  centuries 
ago.  It  is  a  pleasant  walled  city  with  macadamized  streets,  with  old 
gloomy  houses  and  new  bright  ones  painted  blue,  rose  and  cream 
color,  with  picture  galleries  illustrative  of  the  famous  Valencian  school, 
and,  all  in  all,  one  of  the  several  Spanish  cities  which  is  wideawake. 
Both  the  Cid  and  his  wife  ruled  over  ancient  Valencia,  which  was  an  old 

city  before  Pompey  took  and  destroyed  it  and   it  was  rebuilt  by  the 

48 


754 


PANORAAiA    OF    NATIONS. 


Romans.     Alicante,  although  an  important  and  picturesque  port  of  the 
province  of  Valencia,  is  not  of  interest,  historically. 

I-'or  some  distance  above  Valencia,  along  the  coast,  Roman  settle- 
ments are  constantl)'  obtruding  themselves.  A  short  ride  from  the  city 
is  a  modest  enough  looking  town,  standing  upon  a  hill  near  the  mouth  of 
a  small  river.  Its  site  was  the  ancient,  opulent  Saguntum,  whose  heroic 
citizens,  having  beaten  off,  for  many  long  months,  Hannibal's  great  army 
of  150,000  men,  at  length  in  despair  placed  the  women  and  children 
around  a  vast  heap  of  valuables.  When,  from  their  elevated  post  the 
wives,  sisters  and  daughters  saw  their  famished  protectors  being  cut  to 
pieces  by  the  fierce,  well-fed  Carthaginians  they  set  fire  to  the  pile,  and, 
with  their  children,  cast  themselves  into  the  welcome  embrace  of  the 
flames.  The  siege  and  destruction  of  Saguntum  brought  upon  the 
Carthaginians  the  Second  Punic  war.  Few  traces  of  its  former  great- 
ness remain,  the  Temple  of  Diana  (relic  of  its  Grecian  founders)  and  the 
Roman  amphitheatre  having  been  used  for  fortifications  during  the 
Peninsula  war. 

BARCELONA. 

All  along  to  Barcelona  are  scattered  fragments  of  Roman  works, 
indicating  where  were  once  imperial  cities,  overrun  by  Vandals,  Goths 
and  Moors,  and  used  by  Spaniards  for  the  building  material  of  modern 
towns  and  farm  houses.  Next  to  Cadiz,  Barcelona  is  the  most  import- 
ant sea  port  in  Spain,  and  during  the  middle  ages,  except  by  Genoa,  it 
stood  unrivaled  on  the  Mediterranean.  Barcelona  has  also  been  called 
the  "  Athens  of  the  Troubadours,"  as  an  evidence  that  it  was  a  favorite 
resort  of  the  courtly  poets  and  scholars  of  the  middle  ages,  as  well  as 
the  princely  mercantile  classes.  It  was  a  favorite  resort  of  Ferdinand 
and  Isabella,  and  here  they  received  Columbus  after  his  discovery  of 
America.  The  most  important  manufacturing  city  in  Spain,  Barcelona 
is  also  a  beautiful  place,  the  old  and  new  districts  being  separated  by 
the  Rambla,  a  dry  river  bed,  which  has  been  planted  with  flowering 
shrubs  and  made  into  an  attractive  promenade. 

THE  ROMANS  AND  THE  CELTS. 

From  Barcelona  west,  through  Northern  Spain,  is  traversed  the 
stronghold  of  the  old  Gothic  power,  which,  at  last,  became  the  basis  of 
the  Spanish  state.  We  are  now  within  sight  of  the  Pyrenees,  spurs 
from  the  main  body  running  down  into  the  provinces  of  Catalonia  and 
Aragon  to  form  green,  pleasant  valleys.  In  the  western  part  of  Cata- 
lonia is  a  military  stronghold,  Lerida,  which  guards  the  approach  from 


THE     ROMANS    AND    THE    CELTS.  755 

the  north  to  the  districts  of  Eastern  Spain,  and  from  the  south  to  some 
of  the  most  convenient  passes  into  France.  It  is  a  gloomj-looking 
town,  with  the  usual  accompaniments  of  a  fortified  place,  but  even 
before  the  time  that  Scipio  Africanus  defeated  Caesar  in  the  neighboring 
plain,  it  was  considered  by  the  Romans  an  important  strategic  point  in 
the  possession  of  their  Spanish  conquests.  Before  the  Romans  came 
the  Celtiberians  had  discovered  the  advantages  of  the  position,  and  it 
was  undoubtedly  the  site  of  one  of  their  primitive  towns. 

Lerida  is  on  a  branch  of  the  Ebro,  and  further  west,  in  the  center 
of  old  Aragon,  and  upon  the  muddy  river  itself,  is  Saragossa,  the  Celti- 
berian  Sakluba  and  the  Roman  Ca^sarea  Augusta.  The  Moors  took  it 
from  the  Goths,  and  although  they  held  it  for  three  centuries  they  re- 
tained it  during  a  continuous  siege  of  five  more  years,  during  which 
famine  nearly  depopulated  the  city.  Seven  centuries  afterwards  Sara- 
gossa, defended  by  the  heroic  Duke  Palafox,  sustained  for  eight  months 
one  of  the  most  bravely  and  brilliantly  contested  sieges  of  modern  times, 
the  French  being  the  investing  parties.  It  has  been  a  city  of  sieges,  and 
seems  to  have  exhausted  its  strength  in  sustaining  them  so  stubbornly. 
Its  palaces  are  ever  crumbling  away,  having  been  partially  destroyed  or 
weakened  by  the  heavy  ordnance  of  modern  guns,  and  those  which  show 
evidences  that  they  are  substantial  have  been  deserted  by  the  nobility. 
"  These  buildings,  rich  in  finely  carved  decorations  and  magnificent  cor- 
nices, are  now  mostly  inhabited  by  agriculturists  of  a  rude  class,  their 
spacious  courts  converted  into  farm  yards  and  filled  with  manure." 
Massive  and  elegant  churches  and  convents  are  yet  standing,  however, 
to  give  the  city  an  imposing  appearance  from  the  distance,  which  impres- 
sion is  not  borne  out  by  a  nearer  inspection. 

One  of  its  cathedrals  —  the  Church  of  Our  Lady  of  the  Pillar  — 
commemorates  the  pretended  miracle  by  which  the  Virgin  Mary  was 
brought  from  Heaven  upon  a  pillar  of  jasper  that  she  might  encourage 
St.  James,  whom  she  had  sent  to  Spain  to  preach  the  Gospel.  The  pillar 
and  her  heavenly  image  are  still  shown  to  the  crowds  of  pilgrims  who 
press  from  all  parts  of  Spain  toward  the  jeweled  church  and  the  sacred 
relics  which  it  incloses. 

When  we  cross  the  bounds  of  Aragon  into  Old  Castile  we  enter  a 
district  made  memorable  by  the  stubborn  stand  which  the  Celtiberians 
made  against  the  armies  of  Rome  sent  to  subdue  the  troublesome 
aborio^ines.  Near  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Soria  the  Roman 
legions  under  Scipio  assaulted  and  besieged  their  chief  town.  This  was 
but  the  last  scene  in  a  series  of  blood}'  conflicts  which  its  citizens  had 
sustained    for   twenty  years.       For    fifteen   months    60,000    disciplined 


/o 


r6  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


soldiers  stormed,  besieged  and  starved  these  ancient  heroes,  who  from 
8,000  slowly  melted  into  a  pitiful  band,  before  the  town  was  taken  and 
destroyed. 

The  traveler  has  also  set  foot  upon  the  native  land  of  the  Cid  and 
beo-ins  to  enter  the  territory  wherein,  after  Napoleon's  disastrous 
campaign  in  Russia,  were  enacted  the  closing  scenes  of  the  Peninsula 
War  between  his  lieutenants  and  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  The  birth- 
place of  the  Spanish  hero  was  Burgos,  the  capital  of  Old  Castile,  where 
his  remains,  with  those  of  his  heroic  wife,  are  laid.  Their  sculptured 
figures  lie  together  upon  a  square  sarcophagus  at  San  Pedro  de  Cardena, 
while,  for  a  small  fee  a  wooden  box  and  a  bottle  will  be  exhibited  at  Burgos, 
in  which  are  kept  the  bones  of  the  Cid  and  the  ashes  of  his  wife.  This 
city,  which  was  so  long  the  center  of  the  shifting  league  against  the  Moors, 
which,  with  the  Cantabrians  to  the  north,  held  Northwestern  Spain 
against  their  Moslem  foes,  is  now  a  dull  and  gloomy  city,  with  a  noble 
Gothic  cathedral,  picturesque  and  stately  beggars,  and  various  chapels 
rich  in  fine  sculpture  and  tombs. 

Across  Old  Castile  and  Galicia  to  the  northwest  of  Spain  is  a  long 
run,  and  only  to  reach  a  bustling,  fortified  seaport  on  the  Atlantic  coast ; 
but  it  has  a  monument  to  Sir  John  Moore,  who  fell  while  fighting  the 
French  on  the  heights  behind  the  town,  being  buried  on  the  ramparts  in 
his  military  cloak.  First  Philip  sailed  from  Coruna,  this  seaport  town, 
on  his  way  to  marry  Mary  of  England,  and  over  thirty  years  thereafter 
he  embarked  with  the  great  Armada  to  conquer  the  country  which  he 
could  not  obtain  by  marriage. 

THE  MECCA  OF  SPAIN. 

A  short  distance  from  Corunna  was  a  cathedral  which  was,  for  cent- 
uries, an  even  greater  shrine  than  the  Church  of  Our  Lady  of  the  Pillar 
at  Saragossa.  It  is  declared  that  after  St.  James  was  beheaded  he  set  sail 
from  Joppa,  the  seaport  of  Jerusalem,  either  in  a  boat  or  his  stone  cofiin, 
and  landing  on  this  coast  his  body  was  mysteriously  deposited  in  a  cave, 
where,  after  remaining  for  half  a  dozen  centuries  or  more,  it  was  drawn 
to  the  city  of  Santiago,  where  the  cathedral  was  built  and  pilgrimages 
were  instituted.  He  therefore  often  came  to  the  assistance  of  the 
Spaniards  in  their  wars  against  the  infidels,  and  to  the  battle-cry  of  St. 
James  was  added  "Santiago."  The  archbishop's  palace,  cloister  and 
cathedral  form  the  most  imposing  of  Santiago's  structures.  They  cover 
nearly  four  acres  of  ground,  and  into  the  foundations  of  the  cathedral  are 
believed  to  be  built  the  bones  of  St.  James.  Besides  those  occupied  the 
town  contains  numbers  of  convents  and  nunneries  in  ruins. 


VALLADOLID. 


757 


But  greater 


VALLADOLID. 

Had  it  not  been  for  this  side  trip  to  the  Mecca  of  Spain,  after  leav. 
ing  Corunna  our  way  would  have  laid  toward  Valladolid,  Philip's  birth- 
place, and,  strangely  enough,  the  scene  of  the  first  auto  da  fd,  which  the 
cruel  monarch  witnessed  from  a  balcony  overlooking  the  Plaza  de  Campo. 
This  famous  square  was  devoted  to  tournaments,  bull  fights  and  such 
other  exhibitions  as  the  Inquisition  brought  forth.  Here  also  Napo- 
leon reviewed  his  35,000  troops  who  had  succeeded  in  seriously  dam- 
aging the  interior  of  the  Convent  San  Pablo  and  the  Colegio  de  San 
Uregorio,  which  stood  near  the  royal  palace,  and  whose  ruins  are  among 
the  erandest  of  Gothic  ecclesiastical  edifices  in  the  world, 
than  her  ruins,  her  galleries  of 
statues  and  pictures,  her  deserted 
palaces  of  royalty  and  the  In- 
quisition, and  even  her  extensive 
university,  are  the  houses  of  Co- 
lumbus  and  Cervantes  —  the 
scenes  of  death  and  of  the  final 
revision  of  "  Don  Quixote."  The 
house  where  Columbus  died  was, 
at  last  accounts,  a  small  shop  for 
the  sale  of  woolen  goods. 

SALAMANCA. 

Salamanca  is  the  next  famous 
town  as  we  near  Madrid,  as  being 
for  so  many  centuries  the  univer- 
sity center  of  the  Catholic  faith, 
having  from  an  early  period  con- 
tained a  college  for  the  special 
education  of  Irish  students.  It 
is  still  in  existence.      It  is  said  that 


SCENE  IN  S.^LAMANCA. 


"  one  of  the  most  highly-prized  works  in  Roman  Catholic  divinity  is  the 
great  collection  of  controversia  and  moral  theology  by  the  members  of 
the  college  of  Carmelite  friars."  The  Plaza  Mayor  is  the  largest 
square  in  Spain,  and  will,  upon  occasion,  accommodate  the  16,000 
or  20,000  who  pour  toward  it  from  a  radius  of  a  score  of  miles 
when  a  great  bull  fight  is  announced;  for  such  are  the  contrasts  of 
Spanish  life!  Salamanca  was  almost  destroyed  by  the  F"rench  in 
1812,  and    most  of  its  splendid  ancient  edifices  are  in  ruins  or  worked 


758  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

into  the  fortifications  which  the  invaders,  when  they  possessed  the  city, 
threw  up  against  the  British.  Twenty  colleges  and  as  many  convents 
thus  fell  victims  to  the  stern  necessities  of  war. 

Avila,  another  step  nearer  Madrid,  is  a  small  town  about  fifty  miles 
northwest  of  the  capital,  and  although  one  of  the  many  places  which  the 
wonder-loving  Spaniards  ascribe  to  Hercules,  it  is  now  chiefly  noted  as 
being  the  birthplace  of  the  country's  lady  patroness,  "  Our  Seraphic 
Mother,  the  Holy  Theresa,  Spouse  of  Jesus,"  born  March  28,  15 15.  It 
was  at  one  time  one  of  the  richest  cities  of  Spain. 

About  the  same  distance  from  Madrid  is  Segovia,  frequently  the 
residence  of  the  kings  of  Castile  and  Leon,  where  they  laid  their 
schemes  to  lower  the  pride  of  the  Moorish  monarchs.  It  is  perched 
upon  a  rocky  knoll,  high  above  the  sea  level,  surrounded  by  picturesque 
walls  and  round  towers.  Segovia's  importance  as  a  Roman  city  is  indi- 
cated by  the  most  stupendous  Roman  structure  left  standing  in  Spain  — 
an  aqueduct  half  a  mile  long  and  one  hundred  and  two  feet  high.  Under 
the  Moors  it  was  the  seat  of  immense  cloth  manufactures,  and  the  modern 
town  reflects  its  old  prosperity  in  the  shape  of  a  few  small  establishments 
which  scour  wool  and  manufacture  woolen  cloths.  On  a  rocky  promon- 
tory is  one  of  those  fortress  palaces —  the  Alcazar  —  which  the  Moors 
seem  to  have  planted  upon  every  bold  height  of  the  districts  in  which 
they  lived.  The  Alcazar  of  Segovia,  long  after  the  Moslems  were  driven 
out  of  Castile,  was  used  by  the  kings  of  Spain  as  a  prison,  both  for  state 
ofl'enders  and  the  pirates  of  the  Barbary  states,  who  retained  few  of  those 
qualities  of  intelligent  industry  which  made  the  Moorish  dominion  in 
Spain  one  which  was  not  devoid  of  great  blessings. 

THE  ESCURIAL. 

Looking  toward  Madrid  from  the  barren  and  elevated  sand  plateau 
which  surrounds  it,  it  is  seen  that  the  capital  lies  in  a  basin,  encircled  by 
plantations,  gardens  and  boulevards.  Within  this  band  of  green,  almost 
startling  from  its  contrast  with  the  arid  plains  of  Castile,  rises  the  city  of 
palaces,  spires  and  domes.  If  you  come  up  from  the  south,  this  pict- 
ure, set  in  a  frame-work  of  green,  has  a  background  of  snow-capped 
mountains  ;  if  you  come  clown  from  the  north  by  way  of  Segovia,  you 
can  not  miss  that  gigantic  gridiron,  the  Escurial,  which  lays  with  upturned 
feet  upon  the  southeastern  slope  of  the  Sierra  Guadarama.  St.  Law- 
rence was  broiled  on  a  gridiron,  and  in  accordance  with  a  vow  that  he 
would  build  a  monastery  to  his  memory  if  he  gained  the  battle  of  St. 
Ouentin,  Philip  built  the  Escurial  in  its  present  form.  Many  ranges  of 
buildings  represent  its  body,  crossing  each  other  at  right  angles,  form- 


A  ^;|'AMI>11  CUUULEKS  SUUP. 


MADRID.  759 

ing  numerous  courts  with  a  tower  200  feet  in  height  at  each  corner  of  the 
immense  parallelogram.  The  towers  are  the  upturned  feet,  and  the  handle 
is  a  wing  nearly  500  feet  long,  containing  the  royal  apartments,  picture 
galleries  and  a  library.  The  mausoleum  of  the  kings  of  Spain  fronts 
one  side  of  a  court,  in  the  form  of  a  massive  church  built  like  St. 
Peter's,  its  grand  dome  rising  above  the  mighty  altar  over  300  feet. 
Under  the  altar  is  the  tomb  of  the  kings  of  Spain,  built  of  jasper  and 
black  marble,  in  which  their  precious  remains  are  packed  away  like  so 
much  treasure.  Two  score  marble  chapels,  marble  and  porphyry  pillars 
on  all  sides  —  red,  green,  white  and  black — the  walls  incrusted  with 
marble,  the  floors  paved  with  it,  give  a  rich  and  solemn  effect  to  the 
interior  ;  while  without  are  the  massive  dome  and  towers,  the  six  granite 
and  marble  statues,  called  the  kings  of  Judea,  sitting  in  royal  state  upon 
the  broad  staircase,  and  the  sculptured  portal  through  which  the  bodies 
of  the  kings  of  Spain  are  borne  for  baptism,  and  never  again  except  as 
corpses. 

MADRID. 

There  is  nothing  now  to  prevent  our  passing  through  the  triumphal 
gate  of  the  Puerta  de  Alcala,  seventy-two  feet  in  height,  into  the  city 
of  which  the  Spaniard  says  "  See  Madrid  and  live,"  but  whose  three 
months  of  winter  and  nine  months  of  blasting  heat  have  prompted  for- 
eigners to  hold  out  no  inducement  but  speedy  death  to  a  resident. 
Four  streets  traverse  Madrid  from  northeast  to  southwest,  and  one  of 
them,  Alcala,  is  pronounced  the  handsomest  in  Spain  and  one  of  the 
widest  and  finest  in  the  world.  The  principal  commercial  thoroughfares 
radiate  from  one  street,  and  they  are  more  European  than  Spanish.  But 
in  the  southwest  district,  particularly  in  the  streets  south  of  the  Plaza 
Mayor,  the  wide  and  regular  thoroughfares  of  modern  Madrid  give  place 
to  the  crooked,  dirty  lanes  of  the  ancient  city.  Open  shops  or  bazaars, 
like  those  of  Morocco,  Egypt,  or  Turkey,  line  them  and  they  are  crowded 
with  beggars,  smugglers  and  gypsies.  Within  the  square  were  many 
fine  buildings  which  were  repeatedly  destroyed  by  the  flames  of  the 
autos  da  fc,  although  the  victims  were  led  to  the  stake  outside  the  gate. 
But  the  danger  in  which  the  surrounding  buildings  stood  could  not  have 
been  small,  for  the  water  supply  of  the  city  was  formerly  almost  confined 
to  drinking  purposes,  and  the  portentous  flames  were  continually  as- 
cending to  heaven.  In  opening  new  streets  from  the  Plaza  Mayor,  es- 
pecially one  in  1869,  terrible  evidences  of  the  magnitude  of  these  human 
bonfires  were  discovered.  A  number  of  strata  of  charcoal  and  cinders 
were  upturned,  mingled  with  bones  and  entire  portions  of  the  human 


76o 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


body,  and,  for  a  time,  while  the  excitement  of  the  large  foreign  element 
of  Madrid  ran  high  over  the  disclosure,  the  beggars  and  gypsies  and 
street  arabs  of  the  district  south  of  the  square  reaped  a  welcome  harvest 
of  small  coins  by  delving  in  the  refuse  and  selling  the  relics  of  martyr- 
dom to  curiosity  seekers.  There  are  other  smaller  squares  in  which  crimi- 
nals and  heretics  were  executed  and  in  the  center  of  one  of  the  most  dimin- 
utive is  a  cross  which  marks  the  spot  where  the  last  heretic  was  burned 
in  Madrid. 

The  center  of  the  modern  capital  is  the  Puerta  del  Sol,  as  we  have 
intimated.       Not    only  do  the  principal  business  streets  run  from  this 


SPANISH  WATER  CARRIER. 

square,  but  magnificent  hotels  and  cafes,  cosy  club  and  reading  rooms, 
are  centered  around  it,  so  that  it  is  the  natural  point  toward  which  re- 
sort the  French,  English  and  German  business  men  and  the  Spanish 
pleasure  seekers.  Newsboys,  water-carriers,  honey-sellers,  musicians 
with  their  bagpipes  and  guitars,  and  at  night  the  private  watchmen  who 
lustily  cry  out  the  time  and  the  state  of  the  weather,  make  this  vicinity 
a  second  Naples  for  din  and  good-natured  bustle.  Of  the  great  palaces 
of  Madrid  the  residence  of  the  royal  family  is  the  most  imposing.  It  is 
470  feet  square,  100  feet  high,  built  of  granite  and  white  marble,  incloses 


MADRID.  761 

a  great  square,  is  between  beautiful  gardens  and  a  magnificent  plaza 
decorated  with  statues  of  kings  and  queens,  and  contains  extensive 
libraries,  and  a  royal  armory  wherein  are  the  armors  of  Cortes,  Colum- 
bus and  Don  John  of  Austria,  with  the  crowns  of  Gotliic  Icings  brought 
from  Toledo. 

The  whole  of  this  magnificent  pile  was  occupied  during  the  reign  of 
the  Bourbons.  Queen  Isabella,  the  mother  of  the  reigning  king,  lived 
there  in  especial  state.  She  flaunted  rich  robes  of  state  on  which  were 
the  arms  of  Castile,  her  jewels  were  royal  and  her  entertainments.  The 
princess  had  palatial  apartments  and  her  husband  and  sister's  family  also 
quartered  themselves  in  this  splendid  home.  Their  retinues,  receptions 
and  all,  despite  the  family  jars,  were  on  a  par  with  the  munificence  of 
the  ancient  sovereigns.  Her  successor,  King  Amadeus,  and  his  modest 
wife,  followed  after  Carlist  insurrections  and  scandalous  events.  He 
seemed  worthy  of  the  position.  The  palatial  pile  was  almost  deserted. 
The  royal  pair  lived  in  three  rooms,  with  their  children,  like  a  sensible, 
simple  couple  —  Queen  Isabella  had  occupied  those'  very  apartments 
alone.  The  king  went  out  like  a  private  gentlemen,  sometimes  accom- 
panied b)'  his  wife  or  a  servant.  Having  dined  with  his  wife,  smoked  a 
cigar  and  tended  to  his  affairs  of  state,  he  went  into'the  Alcala  to  see 
the  sights  and  talk  to  the  children.  "The  ministers  cried  out  against  it ; 
the  Bourbon  party  who  were  accustomed  to  the  imposing  cortege  of 
Isabella  said  that  he  dragged  the  majesty  of  the  throne  of  San  Fernando 
through  the  streets."  At  the  court  dinner  on  Sunday,  to  which  govern- 
ment ofificials  and  scientists  were  invited,  the  queen  appeared  with  the 
king,  simply  dressed,  having  spent  much  of  the  week  at  hospitals  and  at 
such  institutions  as  the  one  she  established  where  children  were  sent  for 
safe-keeping  whose  mothers  were  out  at  work.  She  spoke  Spanish  well, 
although  it  was  not  her  native  tongue.  She  was  a  kind-hearted,  sensible 
woman,  and  her  husband  was  like  his  father,  Victor  Emanuel.  But 
though  as  approachable  as  the  most  democratic  might  desire,  they  were 
not  Spanish,  and  so  they  gave  place  to  Isabella's  son,  the  mother  having 
fled  in  disgrace,  and  the  young  prince  of  Asturias,  Alfonso,  is  now  the 
master  of  the  royal  palace.  He  seems  to  pursue  a  middle  course 
between  his  mother's  habits  and  those  of  his  predecessor,  evidently 
intending,  if  possible,  to  please  both  conservatives  and  republicans. 

South  from  the  magnificent  Alcala  is  the  first  of  Madrid's  numerous 
promenades,  the  Prado.  For  several  miles  it  stretches  along,  between 
stately  houses  from  whose  balconies,  protected  by  screens  or  curtains,  the 
famous  Spanish  beauties  smile  upon  the  gay  throng  of  carriages,  horse- 
men and  pedestrians.     Here  are  seen  the  graceful  Spanish  cloak  and  the 


762  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

national  veil  and  mantilla,  although  French  styles  are  getting  to  be  prev- 
alent among  the  higher  classes.  The  northern  limits  of  the  Prado 
proper  are  fixed  by  the  fountain  of  Cybele,  the  proud  mother  of  the  gods 
being  seated  in  a  triumphal  car  drawn  by  two  great  marble  lions.  In 
the  center  of  the  boulevard  is  another  beautiful  fountain  dedicated  to 
Apollo,  and  Neptune  is  honored  in  the  south.  Minor  fountains,  gardens 
and  pieces  of  statuary  are  scattered  along  the  way,  and  the  beauties  of 
this  enticing  drive  and  walk  are  prolonged,  both  north  and  south,  into 
the  charming  suburbs  of  the  city. 

It  is  in  the  way  of  this  constant  stream  of  beauty,  fashion  and  cult- 
ure that  the  royal  museum  lays,  in  which  is  treasured,  according  to 
artistic  authorities,  a  collection  of  paintings  "  not  only  the  greatest  in  the 
world,  but  the  greatest  that  can  ever  be  made  until  this  is  broken  up." 
The  gallery  comprises  works  of  Murillo,  Velasquez,  Raphael,  Rubens, 
Teniers  and  Titian.  Murillo's  "  Martyrdom  of  St.  Andrew,"  the  instru- 
ment of  whose  death  shaped  the  great  Escurial,  is  here,  and  the  most 
wonderful  works  of  Velasquez  enable  the  artist  to  study  the  master 
here  as  nowhere  else.  Madrid  was  the  scene  of  his  greatest  triumphs. 
Here  the  king  himself  so  appreciated  his  genius  as  to  become  his  inti- 
mate and  to  confer  upon  him  the  Cross  of  Santiago,  an  honor  never 
before  accorded  to  any  but  the  highest  of  the  nobility. 

AMUSEMENTS  OF  THE  NATIVE. 

Just  outside  the  Alcala  is  the  bull  ring,  built  upon  the  site  of  an 
ancient  one.  No  great  Spanish  town  would  be  complete  without  it. 
The  bull  ring  is  a  great  open  amphitheatre,  which  was  inherited  from  the 
Romans.  The  huge  animals  which  furnish  the  blood  and  the  sport  of 
the  occasion,  mostly  come  from  the  Sierra  Morena  mountains  of  Anda- 
lusia ;  the  very  name,  "  Andalusian  bull,"  sounds  like  a  great  body  pro- 
pelling itself  forward  with  mighty  force.  The  participants  in  the  fight 
at  first  are  usually  unmounted,  and  show  proverbial  agility  in  avoiding 
the  rushes  of  the  infuriated  monster.  But  this  sport  is  merely  to  whet 
the  appetite  of  the  gay  crowd  for  the  more  exciting  contest,  in  which 
the  mounted  picadors  also  participate.  Having  partially  exhausted  his 
strength  in  vain  charges  at  his  glittering,  nimble  foes,  the  bull  is  now 
confronted  with  mounted  spearmen  as  well.  As  his  strength  fails,  more 
and  more,  if  he  has  not  yet  maimed  a  man  or  disemboweled  a  horse,  it 
is  needful  to  import  a  new  company  of  tormenters  to  thrust  him  with 
darts.  When  the  beast  refuses  the  contest  the  matador  gives  him  the 
death-blow  with  his  short  sword.     Trumpets  sound,  flowers  are  showered. 


AMUSEMENTS    OF    THE    NATIVE. 


763 


into  the  arena  by  excited  ladies,  and  the  matter-of-fact,  unromantic 
mules  are  driven  in  to  drag  away  the  dead  bodies  of  bull  and  horses. 

The  king  has  his  private  box,  as  of  old.  Even  Amadeus,  his  prede- 
cessor, of  the  simple,  homely  manners,  patronized  the  exhibition,  although 
his  tender-hearted  queen,  not  hardened  yet  to  the  sights,  stayed  away.  If 
the  "  torero"  is  fortunate  enough  to  have  given  the  bull  his  death  wound 
in  a  skillful  manner,  the  thousands  of  spectators,  as  he  makes  the  round 
of  the  arena,  almost  bury  him  beneath  piles  of  cigars,  purses,  hats,  canes 
— anything  which  comes  to  hand — while  the  ladies  shower  him  with 
praises,  not  to  say  loving  words.  The  king  himself  rewards  the  bloody 
hero  with  a  purse  of  money,  and  the  same  performance  is  repeated  as 
long  as  the  festival  of  the  bull  fights  lasts. 

Cock-fights  are  less  popular,  because  fewer  grades  of  society  patron- 


BULL  FIGHTERS. 


ize  them  ;  but  there  are  regular  theatres  where  the  cruel  sport  may  be 
witnessed,  and  the  excitement  there  evinced,  if  not  so  grand  in  its  quality 
and  quantity  as  shown  at  the  bull  amphitheatre,  isfully  as  intense.  The 
conflict  of  the  birds  usually  takes  place  in  the  daytime,  so  that  among  the 
various  spectators  the  principal  actors  in  the  bull  arena  often  appear 
dressed  in  their  red  sashes  and  gaudy  clothes.  The  theatre  itself  is 
bright  with  color — the  circular  tiers  of  chairs  are  often  red  and  flowers  are 
painted  on  the  walls.  The  pit  is  a  circular  box  in  the  centre  of  the  hall, 
surrounded  by  a  high  wire  screen.  But  why  describe  a  cock-fight !  It  is 
more  brutal,  if  anything,  though  not  so  destructive  of  life  as  the  other 


764  -  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

sport;  for  a  true  Spanish  fight  must  end  in  the  death  of  one  or  the 
other  of  the  combatants,  and  if  the  birds  are  game  the  conclusion  of 
the  conflict  sees  one  or  both  of  them  simply  bunches  of  feathers,  blood 
and  bones,  with  the  flesh  stripped  from  the  skeleton  and  the  eyes  out. 
Ladies  and  the  higher  classes,  who  would  eagerly  grace  a  bull  fight,  do 
not  attend  such  small  exhibitions  of  bloodshed.  It  is  only  where  horses, 
bulls  and  men  shed  their  blood  that  they  care  to  go. 

Madrid  contains  nearly  a  hundred  public  squares,  large  and  small, 
and  a  vast  number  of  churches,  but  having  no  cathedral,  strictly  speak- 
ing, it  ranks  in  Spain  merely  as  a  town  within  the  bishopric  of  Toledo. 
Under  the  Moors  it  was  a  mere  fortified  outpost  of  Toledo,  and  the 
Royal  Palace  stands  upon  the  site  of  the  ancient  Alcazar,  or  fortress. 
When  it  was  stormed  and  captured  by  Alfonso  of  Castile,  the  castle  and 
town  were  called  Majerit.  As  we  have  stated  he  made  Toledo  his  capital 
and  Madrid  did  not  come  into  real  prominence  until  Philip  II.  declared 
it  to  be  "  the  only  court,"  the  royal  residence  having  been  shifting 
around  from  place  to  jjlace  ever  since  Ferdinand's  time.  So  that  the 
foundineof  Madrid  dates  from  about  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  centurv. 
It  has  been  a  city  of  memorable  treaties  and  insurrections,  the  most  seri- 
ous uprising  being  that  against  Murat  and  the  French  in  1S08.  An 
imposing  group  of  edifices  now  occupies  the  site  of  an  old  church,  which 
stood  east  of  the  great  square  of  Puerta  del  Sol,  the  scene  of  the  blood- 
iest conflict  between  the  French  and  the  citizens,  while  in  a  park  of  the 
Prado  called  "the  field  of  loyalty"  is  a  memorial  shaft,  surrounded 
by  mourning   cypresses. 

COLONIAL  POSSESSIONS. 

Spain  still  retains  the  Cuba  that  Columbus  discovered,  and  it  is  the 
most  important  of  her  colonial  possessions.  The  population  which  the 
Spaniards  found  has  disappeared,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  families 
around  Santiago,  and  the  people  are  now  a  conglomeration  of  blacks, 
Creoles  and  "  peninsulares,"  or  natives  of  Spain.  Most  of  the  latter  class, 
or  Cuban  Spaniards,  originally  came  from  Aragon,  Catalonia,  Navarre, 
Castile  and  other  districts  of  Northern  and  Northeastern  Spain,  being 
traders  and  mechanics,  and  so  sturdy  and  energetic  that  they  not  only 
obtained  control  of  the  wealth,  but  the  government  of  the  island. 
"  For  a  tiiue  after  the  conquest  in  151 1  none  but  Castilians  were  allowed 
to  settle  in  Cuba  ;  but  after  the  prohibition  was  removed,  colonists  from 
all  the  provinces,  and  even  from  the  Canary  Islands,  came  thither.  The 
Biscayans    hire    out  as  mechanics  ;    the   Catalans^  who   are   numerous, 


THE    PORTUGUESE.  765 

devote  themselves  to  hard  hibor  ;  the  Asturians,  Castilians  and   Anda- 
lusians  occupy  clerkships  and  the  learned  professions." 

Between,  the  Creoles  and  the  peninsulares  there  is  the  greatest 
bitterness.  The  western  portions  of  the  island,  in  which  are  the 
immense  sugar  and  tobacco  plantations  and  factories,  are  the  most  pop- 
ulous and  fertile  districts.  The  metropolitan  center  of  Cuba's  best  life 
is  Havana,  through  which  flows  so  large  a  revenue  to  needy  Spain. 
The  city  is  almost  as  well  known  as  New  York,  having  about  half  the 
population  of  Madrid,  and  presenting,  besides  its  immense  commercial 
activity,  one  of  the  fuiest  opera  houses  in  existence.  Porto  Rico  is 
Spanish  in  the  same  way  as  Cuba,  presenting  no  distinct  type  of  national 
life,  and  therefore  is  not  exhibited  as  a  proper  picture  of  our  Panorama. 
In  the  Philippine  Islands  of  the  East  India  group,  we  have  caught  and 
given  glimpses  of  Spanish  rule,  Init  the  main  object  was  to  present  tlie 
native  and  not  the  emigrant.  The  aborigines  of  the  West  Indies  have 
disappeared  or  been  driven  along  the  pathway  of  the  Antilles  to  South 
America. 

THE  PORTUGUESE. 

The  basis  of  the  Portuguese  is  the  Lusitani,  an  ancient  tribe  of 
Celtiberians,  whose  country  Emperor  Augustus  erected  into  one  of  the 
three  provinces  of  the  peninsula.  It  did  not  include  tlie  northern 
provinces  of  the  present  countr},  but  extended  east  into  the  modern 
territory  of  Spain.  The  chief  city  of  the  tribe  was  Olisipo,  the  present 
Lisbon.  The  Goths  from  the  north  and  the  Moors  from  the  south  over- 
whelmed this  Roman  province  as  they  did  the  other  two,  but  the  most 
important  battle-grounds  after  the  coming  of  the  Saracens  were  located 
beyond  the  country  of  the  Lusitani.  The  Portuguese,  as  a  race,  rest 
more  upon  their  language  than  their  personal  appearance.  In  the  south 
they  are  dark,  tall  and  lithe,  almost  Arabs  in  their  general  features, 
while  in  the  north  they  greatly  resemble  the  natives  of  extreme  North- 
western Spain,  who  have  a  greater  proportion  of  primitive  blood  than 
those  of  the  south.  The  Portuguese  tongue,  on  the  other  hand,  has 
found  eulogists  among  all  nationalities,  having  been  variously  described 
as  a  language  of  flowers,  the  eldest  daughter  of  the  Latin,  and  the 
soft  and  voluptuous  dialect.  What  few  harsh  and  gutteral  sounds 
are  heard,  it  inherits  from  the  Arabic  which,  while  the  Moors  were 
in  power,  was  spoken  throughout  the  county  The  Portuguese  language 
is  a  most  admirable  aid  to  the  courteous  and  insinuative  manners  of  the 
higher  classes  of  the  country.  These,  in  fact,  are  more  pleasing  in  their 
address  than  those  in  the  same  plane  of  Spanish  society,  while  the  lower 


766  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

classes  are  more  ignorant  and  degraded.  But  whatever  else  may  be 
said  of  him,  the  Portuguese  is  brave,  patriotic,  hospitable  and  cheerful, 
and  hates  the  Spaniard,  and  especially  the  Castilian,  for  his  attempt  to 
subjugate  him  completely ;  and  yet,  speaking  in  general  terms,  the 
Portuguese  is  but  a  Spaniard  with  a  softer  tongue  and  a  harder  body. 

The  Portugese,  either  as  an  agricultural  or  a  commercial  race,  show 
little  of  that  spirit  of  revival  from  their  present  lethargy  which  is  seen  in 
so  many  parts  of  Spain.  Since  the  French  threatened  to  swallow  them 
during  the  Peninsular  War  they  have  transferred  their  energies  to  Brazil, 
and  if  they  ever  again  achieve  the  greatness  which  culminated  with  the 
passage  round  the  cape,  it  will  be  with  that  great  kingdom  as  a  center. 

Portugal  has  retained  an  unstable  grasp  upon  a  few  of  her  ancient 
insular  and  colonial  possessions  in  Africa  and  Asia,  as  we  have  noticed 
in  a-hdino-  alono-  the  coasts  of  the  Dark  Continent  and  amonij:  the  islands 
of  the  Indian  Archipelago. 


THE  FRENCH. 

ITHIN  the  veins  of  the  French  run  streams  of  blood  from 
Gallic  (or  Celtic),  Prankish  (Teutonic)  and  Roman  sources. 
The  aboriginal  inhabitants  were  the  Gauls  who  Avere  conquered 
by  the  Romans,  and  the  Gallo-Romans  were,  in  turn,  subdued 
by  the  Franks,  a  confederation  of  the  German  tribes  whose 
country  was  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Lower  Rhine.  It  was  not 
until  the  eighth  century  that  the  Prankish  monarchs  were  able 
to  bring  beneath  their  sceptre  the  Britons,  the  Burgundiansand 
the  Visigoths  of  Spain,  and  thus  united  all  of  modern  France 
in  one  empire.  Their  rule  was  afterwards  extended  so  as  to 
include  not  only  Prance,  but  Northeast  Spain,  a  large  part  of  Italy,  and 
Germany  to  the  Elbe.  In  fact,  as  is  well  known,  the  ambition  of  Char- 
lemagne was  to  re-establish  the  Roman  Empire,  with  France- instead  of 
Italy  as  the  center  of  power.  His  successors  were  unable,  however,  to 
keep  the  empire  intact,  and  from  it  were  formed  France,  Germany  and 
Italy.  Thus  the  Germans  and  the  Italians  retained  their  national  char- 
acteristics, and  a  new  people  and  a  new  language  were  permanently 
formed,  a  union  of  Gallic,  Teutonic  and  Italian  elements. 

FRENCH  MARRIAGES. 

It  matters  not  in  France  if  a  man  is  old  enough  to  be  a  grandfather, 
should  he  desire  to  marry  he  must  either  obtain  parental  consent,  prove 
the  opposition  is  irrational  or  that  he  is  an  orphan.  The  object  of  this 
outside  supervision  is  to  prevent  hasty  marriages ;  to  put  a  balance- 
wheel  upon  love's  reeling  brain.  These  marital  regulations  are  really  based 
upon  the  laws  of  the  nation,  and  the  process  by  which  couples  who 
think  they  are  old  enough  and  of  sound  enough  judgment  to  know  their 
own  minds,  call  upon  parents  or  guardians  to  show  cause  why  the  mar- 
riage should  not  proceed  is  legally  known  as  "a  respectful  summons  to 
consent."  With  all  these  legal  and  private  precautions  in  the  matter  of 
marriages,  the  matrimonial  alliances  of  the  French  are  not  productive  of 
greater  happiness  or  worldly  comfort  than  those  of  other  countries,  where 

767 


768 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


more  is  left  to  the  heart  and  the  instincts  of  men  and  women  than  to 
personal  worth.  And  it  is  undoubtedly  the  many  formalities  required  in 
the  various  stages  of  introduction,  acquaintanceship,  courtship  and  be- 
trothal which  has  so  decreased  the  number  of  marriages  of  late  years. 
The  birth-rate  of  France  is  also  not  only  the  lowest  in  Europe  but  in 
the  world. 

THE  BRETONS  OF  FRANCE. 

The  extreme  northwestern  departments  of  France  form  a  bold  pen- 
insula, which  extends  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean.     A  foggy,  windy  country, 

covered  with    stretches    of 
moorland,  cut  up  by   well- 
watered  and  fertile  valleys, 
with  masses  of  granite  ris- 
ino-  from  the  northern  and 
southern   districts   and 
stretching    into  the    sea — 
this,   in    brief,   is   Brittany. 
Peasants  and  fishermen, 
dressing  and  livintr  as  did 
their  forefathers  three  cen- 
turies ago,  many  of  the  peo- 
ple   still    speaking    the 
ancient  Cimbric,  or  Welch, 
language,  as  they  did  when 
their  brethren  left  them,  in 
pre-historic  times,  and  emi- 
grated across   the  English 
channel — these  are  the  Bre- 
tons of  Brittany.     So  slow 
are  they    to    change    that 
some  of  them  even  hold  to 
the     superstitions    of    the 
Druids,  those  savage  and 
mysterious  priests  who, 
Vv/hen    the  Romans  landed 
A  FARMER  OF  BRITTANY.  upou  the  coasts  of    Great 

Britain,  had  obtained  so  tyrannical  a  sway  over  the  Bretons  and  the 
Welch,  and  who  were  offering  up  human  sacrifices  in  their  sacred  and 
gloomy  groves.  Remains  of  the  Druidical  monuments,  altars,  and  sepul- 
chres, are  still  found  in  Brittany,  which  was  once  subject  to   the  same 


OUT    INTO    THE    FIGHTING    WORLD 


769 


dominion.  They  are  chiefly  located  in  Soutnern  Brittany,  and  are  inter- 
mixed with  Roman  antiquities,  mementoes  of  Caesar's  conquest  prepar- 
atory to  his  invasion  of  Great  Brittany,  or  Britain. 

The  most  remarkable  of  these  remains  is  at  Carnac,  near  Vannes, 
and  consists  of  three  groups  of  upward  blocks,  each  separated  from 
the  next  by  the  distance  of  about  half  a  mile,  yet  with  isolated  blocks 
between  showing  that  the  series  was  once  continuous.  "In  fact,  the 
destructiveness  that  has  for  centuries  been  at  work  on  these  monuments 
makes  it  difficult  to  reconstruct  the  series,  even  in  imagination.  The 
inhabitants  of  the  district  have  regarded  them  as  a  standing  cjuarry  of 
building  materials,  available  without  the  trouble  of  excavation,  and  vil- 
lages, churches,  farmhouses,  all  around,  are  massively  constructed  of  the 
Celtic  spoils.  At  length,  however,  the  spoli- 
ation has  ceased,  the  remains  are  classed 
among  'historical  monuments'  and  are 
henceforth  comparatively  safe.  What  they 
meant,  what  they  were,  no  man  can  tell. 
The  tradition  is  hardly  surprising  that  repre- 
sents them  as  an  army  of  heathen  warriors, 
stiffened  into  stone  at  the  adjuration  of  the 
patron  saint  of  the  sea.  Some  have  seen  in 
them  the  long  drawn  aisles  of  Druidical  wor- 
ship ;  but  most  modern  investigators  think 
that  they  were  ranges  of  sepulchral  monu- 
ments ;  and  the  disinterred  relics  from  be- 
neath seem  to  confirm  the  supposition."  In 
this  same  department  of  Morbihan  may  be 
seen  remains  of  Roman  villas  and  bath, 
houses,  great  broken  pillars,  and  in  an 
island  near  the  coast,  is  a  wonderful  cave  containing  a  stone  gal- 
lery of  fifty  feet  in  length,  whose  roof  and  sides  are  covered  with  engrav- 
ings and  inscriptions  which  antiquarians  have,  so  far,  been  unable  to 
decipher.  Cromlechs  and  avenues  of  upright  stones,  likewise  mysteri- 
ously sculptured  and  attributed  to  Phcenicians,  Egyptians,  Carthaginians 
and  Celts  are  found  on  the  sea  coast;  and  at  Vannes,  the  principal  town 
of  the  department,  is  a  museum  of  antiquities  which,  although  of  great 
variety,  throw  no  light  upon  the  mysteries. 


A  BEGGAR  OF  BRITTA.W. 


OUT  INTO  THE  FIGHTING  WORLD. 


Brittany  seems  to  be  the  hermitage  of   France.     Except  that  past 
ages  are    there  petrified    it  furnishes  few  connecting  strands  with  the 


49 


770  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

present.  It  has  little  historic  ground.  The  land  generally  is  so  destitute 
of  everything  but  rugged  strength — which  does  not  invite  invasion, 
generally — that  it  has  not  been  stained  with  any  great  battles,  and  the 
conflicts  upon  its  soil  are  almost  confined  to  those  with  Norman  dukes, 
who  had  been  given  Brittany  by  the  kings  of  France,  and  took  a  pride 
in  actually  possessing  it.  But  down  the  coast  to  Nantes  and  La  Rochelle, 
and  alongf  the  banks  of  the  stately  Loire  we  commence  to  elide  into 
territory  fertilized  with  the  blood  of  Catholics  and  Huguenots.  The 
home  of  the  Edict  which  so  raised  the  hopes  of  the  Protestants  and  the 
center  of  that  disastrous  emigration  of  skilled  labor  from  France  after 
its  revocation,  is  an  elegant  city  beautifully  situated  on  the  Loire,  some 
of  its  modern  districts  being  Parisian  in  their  finish  and  brilliancy.  For 
nearly  a  century  the  royal  assurance  that  Protestants  might  worship  and 
spread  their  faith,  except  in  Paris,  was  a  shining  light  to  their  souls  ; 
although  they  could  not  print  religious  books  in  cities  where  their  tenets 
were  not  held  and  were  obliged  to  observe  the  festivals  of  the  state 
religion  and  furnish  their  share  toward  its  support.  Nantes  was  the 
Vatican  of  their  faith,  but  La  Rochelle  was  its  Castle  of  San  Angelo. 

Rochelle  was  truly  the  Little  Rock  of  the  Protestant  cause,  but 
under  the  blows  of  Richelieu's  genius  and  the  royal  troops  it  was  split 
in  twain,  and  the  French  Reformation  was  temporarily  crushed.  Its 
old  fortifications  were  destroyed  and  the  present  ones  subsequently 
erected.  The  principal  streets  and  squares  of  Rochelle  are  adjacent  to 
its  great  harbor.  Of  the  scores  of  boats  which  are  annually  launched 
from  its  ship  yards  the  majority  uf  them  are  built  for  the  Newfound- 
land fishing  trade. 

Continuing  the  route  by  the  Loire,  one  finds  on  either  hand  restful 
hills  of  yerdure,  ruined  castles,  vineyards  and  villages.  This  is  the 
route  by  rail  to  Tours,  near  which  Asiatic  civilization  was  effectually 
expelled  from  Western  Europe.  Tours  happens  also  to  be  on  the 
direct  southern  route  from  Paris  toward  Bordeaux  and  Spain,  so  that 
when  the  Saracens  were  defeated  the  capital  escaped  an  invasion  of  the 
warlike  Mohammedans.  Upon  the  plain  of  Tours  is  said  to  have  fought 
the  soul  of  brave  St.  ]Martin,  within  the  texture  of  his  holy  cape,  which, 
in  its  shrine,  was  borne  to  the  battle-field.  Four  centuries  previous, 
having  converted  the  idolaters  of  Gaul,  he  now  drove  back  the  hosts  of 
southern  infidels  from  the  soil  of  France.  At  Tours  the  warrior  bishop 
had  founded  a  Christian  cathedral,  which  the  Saracens  left  to  be  pil- 
laged by  the  Huguenots  and  to  be  totally  destroyed,  with  the  exception 
of  two  towers  which  now  stand  —  the  towers  of  St.  Martin  and  of  Charle- 
magne.     "The  former  of  these  stood  at  the  western   entrance  of  the 


OUT    INTO    THE    FIGHTING    WORLD.  7/1 

church,  the  latter  at  the  end  of  the  northern  transept ;  and  their  dis- 
tance apart  shows  what  must  have  been  the  size  of  that  building  to 
which,  for  centuries,  the  people  of  France  resorted  as  to  a  Delphic  shrine." 

Other  triumphs  than  those  recorded  on  the  field  of  battle  are  found 
in  a  small  square  village,  of  small  square  houses,  surrounding  a  small 
square  or  park  which  is  fronted  by  a  small,  neat  church,  and  all  hemmed 
about  by  shade  and  fruit  trees  and  cultivated  land.  This  is  the  colony, 
or  reformatory  of  Mettray,  about  five  miles  from  Tours  on  the  opposite 
bank  of  the  Loire,  and  founded  In'  a  Parisian  lawyer  and  a  viscount,  for 
the  jjurpose  of  training,  educating,  reforming  and  "keeping  reformed" 
indigents  and  delinquents  of  irresponsible  age,  who  were  formerly  com- 
mitted by  the  courts  to  the  prisons  of  the  state.  Sevenpence  a  day  is 
j^aid  by  the  government  for  the  support  of  the  children  whom  it  sen- 
tences to  the  strict  but  fatherly  care  of  these  i^hilanthropists,  the  additional 
expenditures  found  necessary  being  met  by  the  members  of  the  "  Pater- 
nal Societv  of  Mettrav."  We  do  not  mention  the  names  of  these  faith- 
ful  friends  to  each  other  and  to  the  A-outh  of  the  world  ;  for  if  one  has 
not  heard  of  Mettray  and  its  founders  he  will  assuredly  become  familiar 
with  them  when  told  that  this  movement  is  "  the  true  parent  of  all 
institutions  intended  to  reform  and  restore  to  society,  and  not  merely  to 
punish,  juvenile  delinquents." 

Between  Tours  and  Orleans  is  the  town  of  Blois,  whose  streets  are 
flushed  with  water  from  public  fountains  which  are  supplied  by  a  splen- 
did Roman  aqueduct.  But  that  is  not  enough  to  waste  words  upon,  in 
this  land  of  Roman  aqueducts.  There  is  a  palatial  castle,  however, 
standing  upon  a  hill  and  looking  down  in  royal  magnificence  upon  the 
little  houses  and  crooked  streets  of  the  town.  Within  its  walls  was  born 
Louis  XII.,  and  here  Henry  of  Navarre  was  married.  Four  kings  held 
their  courts  at  the  Castle  of  Blois,  which  witnessed,  also,  the  murder  of 
the  duke  of  Guise,  who  held  the  reins  of  government  with  Catherine  de 
Medici,  mother  of  the  young  Charles.  It  was  the  scene  of  that  same 
Catherine's  death. 

As  the  dense  and  mighty  oak  forest  of  Orleans  comes  into  view 
and  the  magnificent  plain  sloping  toward  the  Loire,  upon  whose  verge 
it  stands,  and  then  its  Avails  and  dry  ditches,  now  softened  by  pleasant, 
shaded  boulevards,  the  Maid  appears  in  imagination,  her  slight  form  clad 
in  armor  leading  the  royal  troops  on  to  victory,  inspired  as  they  were  by 
some  mysterious  electric  current  which  went  out  from  her  young  soul. 
Orleans  has  its  commercial  advantages  and  fine  Gothic  churches,  but  to 
the  world  Joan  of  Arc  is  all  there  is  of  it.  Tlie  town  contains  three 
statues  erected  to  her  memory,  one  of  them  being  of  the  equestrian  order. 


772  PAXORA.MA    OF    NATIONS. 

THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  PYRENEES. 

Having  thus  taken  a  quick  journey  through  the  western  districts  of 
France  we  have  a  little  to  say  about  the  people  of  the  Pyrenees,  the 
shepherds  and  mountaineers  and  those  residing  in  some  of  the  neigh- 
boring villages.  More  particularly  those  aborigines,  the  Basques,  merit 
attention.  The  general  gate  to  the  Pyrenees  district,  especially  to  the 
Basque  country  of  both  France  and  Spain,  is  the  city  of  Bayonne,  in  the 
extreme  southwest  of  the  former  country. 

In  Bayonne  French,  Spanish  and  Basque  mingle  their  distinctive 
tongues — ^the  latter  being  as  much  distinguished  by  his  harsh  accents  as 
by  his  national  costume,  his  colored  sash  and  his  drooping  cap.  The 
city  has,  furthermore,  a  Jews'  quarter  (Saint  Esprit)  whose  first  citizens 
were  the  exiles  from  Spain,  sent  away  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  soon 
after  the  discovery  of  America.  In  the  year  of  American  independence 
they  became  citizens  of  France. 

Bayonne  is  strongly  fortified,  and,  though  besieged  many  times,  it 
has  never  been  captured  ;  hence  its  people  fondly  speak  of  it  as  the  "vir- 
gin city."  It  was  here,  eighteen  miles  from  the  Spanish  border,  that 
Napoleon  made  the  arrangement  with  Ferdinand  VII.  by  which  the 
crown  of  Spain  was  placed  upon  the  head  of  his  brother  Joseph.  And 
at  the  corner  of  the  city  wall  stands  a  little  stone  structure,  surmounted 
with  a  cupola,  under  which  plays  the  fountain  of  St.  Leon.  The  water 
first  sprang  from  the  ground  under  the  stimulus  of  the  precious  drops  of 
blood  which  fell  upon  it  from  the  head  of  the  decapitated  saint,  which  he 
bore  in  his  own  hands  to  that  spot.  Bayonne  has  now  one  of  the  finest 
arsenals  in  France ;  as  is  fitting,  some  may  say,  for  the  city  which  gave 
the  name  to  the  bayonet.  But  like  many  popular  tales  this  one  has 
wa>i"Cfed  for  long  years,  only  to  be  at  last  arrested  if  not  staved  com- 
pletely.  "  The  French  cross-bowmen  Avere  anciently  called  boionnicrs 
and  bayna  is  .Spanish  for  the  sheath  of  a  small  sword.  The  sheath  may 
have  given  name  to  its  contents  ;  a  supposition  which  seems  to  be  con- 
firmed by  several  facts.  The  earliest  bayonet  sheaths  were  very  elabo- 
rately ornamented,  and  the  rules  relating  to  military  costume  have  a 
great  deal  to  say  about  the  position  of  the  sheath." 

A  short  ride  by  rail  from  P)ayonne  is  Biarritz,  on  the  shores  of  the 
Bay  of  Bisca)'.  In  the  month  of  August,  before  most  of  the  tourists 
have  arrived,  the  Basques  of  Basse  Pyrenees  assemble  in  its  streets, 
crowned  with  flowers  and  ribbons,  bearing  with  them  the  violin,  tam- 
bourine, flageolet  and  drum,  and  busily  preparing  to  ])erforni  their 
national  dance,  the  "  mouchico."    This  ended,  the\' march  to  the  shore  of 


THE    PEOPLE    OF    THE    PYRENEES.  ']']'i, 

the  bay,  and  men  and  women,  joining  hands,  rush  out  to  meet  the 
mJCThtv  surf,  with  sonars  and  wild  native  cries. 

I<"rom  Biarritz  a  few  miles  is  a  little  village  which  is  near  the  bound- 
ary of  the  two  countries  and  at  the  angle  of  the  eastern  point  of  the 
bay.  It  was  once  quite  a  commercial  port,  but  the  waves  of  the  Atlan- 
tic raged  across  Biscay  for  a  week  and  dcstro\ed  its  harbor  and  itspros- 
j^ects.  W'^ithin  sight  are  wooded  and  vine-clad  slopes,  the  advance 
guards  of  the  dignified  P)Tenees.  The  red  and  wdiite  houses  of  the 
Basque  peasants  dash  llie  quiet  color  here  and  there  with  cheerful  con- 
trasts, and  from  hill  and  \allc_\'  tlu-y  swarm  to  the  small  Catholic  church 
in  tlic;  little  village  Tlie  church  is  devoid  of  ornament,  but  once 
within,  the  worshi])ers  arrange  themselves  in  so  quaint,  not  to  say  prim- 
itive, a  fashion  that  no  decorations  are  required  by  which  to  rivet  the 
stranger's  attention.  The  two  ranees  of  <r^lleries  which  run  around 
three  sides  of  the  room  are  furnished  with  comfortable  seats,  all  occu- 
pied by  men.  The  women  sit  upon  the  tloor  of  the  nave,  being  accom- 
modated with  simple  cushions  of  black  cloth  embroidered  with  crosses. 

In  a  wa\-,  this  church  is  historical,  for  in  it  occurred  the  marriage  of 
Louis  XI \'.  and  llie  /u/aii/a,  INIaria  Theresa,  daughter  of  Philip  I\'.  of 
Spain.  The  door  by  which  the  royal  couple  entered  is  now  walled  up. 
This  marriage  was  in  fulfillment  of  treaty  betv,-een  the  two  monarchs, 
concluded  the  previous  year,  the  conference  taking  place  on  a  little  island 
in  Bidassoa  river,  which  marks  the  boundary  line  between  France  and 
Spain.  This  bank  of  mud  has  been  the  scene  of  several  royal  confer- 
ences and  treaties. 

A  panoramic  view  of  the  French  and  the  Spanish  sides  of  the 
Pyrenees  would  make  one  imagine  that  the  scenes  were  laid  in  lands 
which  were  thousands  of  miles  apart.  The  northern  slopes  of  the  moun- 
tains are  divided  into  charming  valleys.  Beautiful  lakes  and  fine  pasture 
lands  lie  below,  while  orchards  and  forests  stretch  far  up  the  slopes. 
The  Spanish  side  presents  a  series  of  abrupt,  rugged  terraces  with  scanty 
vegetation. 

The  valleys  of  the  Pyrenees  cross  them  almost  invariably,  forming 
numerous  passes,  which  are  historically  famous  and  from  wdiose  great 
heights  the  remarkable  contrast  which  has  been  noticed  above  can  be 
enjoyed  in  reality.  The  inhabitants  of  the  mountains  are,  as  might  be 
expected,  rugged,  cheerful  and  independent.  In  man)-  pleasant  vales 
nestle  pretty  villages.  The  only  disagreeable  feature  of  the  whole  land- 
scape, in  fact,  are  the  large  and  fierce  shepherd  dogs,  who  consider  every 
object  not  entirely  familiar  a  deadly  enemy  to  their  herds  and  flocks. 
The  cattle  and  sheep  often  have  no  other  guardians  than  these  faithful 


774  PANORAMA    OF    XATIOXS. 

brutes  except  children,  who  will  often  be  met  far  from  any  habitation, 
knitting  contentedly,  or  engaged  on  some  lace  work.  Near  the  summits 
of  these  lofty  passes.,  sometimes  all  but  buried  in  the  shade  of  the  upper 
valleys,  are  famous  mineral  springs  to  which  the  fair-faced  ladies  of 
France  and  goiity  noblemen  resort  by  the  hundreds.  The  traveler  thus 
meets  modern  styles  as  an  offset  to  the  brightly-clad  peasants,  the  rough 
goat-herds  and  the  Spanish  muleteers. 

ROYALTY  AXD  RELIGION'. 

There  are  many  interesting  and  picturesque  little  villages  scattered 
along  the  line  of  the  Pyrenees,  but  the  beauties  of  the  mountains  com- 
pletely absorb  them  until  one  commences  to  investigate  their  historical 
attractions.  Pau,  for  instance,  in  the  Basque  province  of  Basses 
Pyrenees  is  pretty  enough,  but  the  eyes  are  drawn  from  it  to  the  soft  dis- 
tant mountains  and  a  sharp  blue  cone  which  pierces  the  sky,  called  the 
Pic  du  INIidi  d'  Ossau,  or  the  Bear;  but  the  village  contains  the  chateau 
of  Henry  of  Navarre,  and  the  chateau  the  chamber  where  Henry  I\'.  was 
born  "and  where  hangs  the  royal  cradle  under  a  canopy — a  single  tor- 
toise shell  suspended  from  a  tripod." 

Within  sight  of  the  peak  is  Lourdes,  a  shabby  town  among  the 
mountains.  Overhanging  it  is  a  great  rock  upon  which  stands  a 
ruined  castle  said  to  have  been  built  by  Julius  Caesar.  But  that  never 
could  have  attracted  hundreds  of  thousands  of  people  to  it.  The  town 
is  built  upon  a  plateau  and  contains  convents  and  churches.  Near  the 
center  of  the  plain  is  a  great  statue,  representing  a  white-robed  girl, 
standing  in  an  attitude  of  religious  ecstasy,  her  feet  resting  upon  a  rock 
wreathed  with  vines.  Extending  along  the  bank  of  the  river  Gave,  and 
at  the  foot  of  the  plateau  upon  which  Pau  is  built,  is  a  park,  and  within 
this,  near  the  river,  is  a  mass  of  rock  containing  a  grotto  crowned  with 
a  beautiful  church.  Above  the  rocky  mound  and  the  church  is  a  higher 
ridge  bearing  a  great  crucifix  upon  its  crest.  The  statue  in  the  plain  is 
that  of  "  Our  Lady  of  Lourdes,"  and  the  grotto  is  where  the  sickly  child 
of  the  poor  peasant,  according  to  her  declaration,  repeatedly  was  visited 
by  the  Holy  \'irgin,  who  caused  a  stream  to  gush  forth  from  the  cave. 
The  bishop  declared  the  miracle  authentic,  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
pilgrims  have  since  repaired  to  the  shrine,  to  have  their  bodies  healed 
and  their  souls  cleansed.  The  sacred  spring  is  covered  with  a  wire  netting. 
In  front  of  the  grotto  is  a  paved  court  extending  toward  the  river  which  is 
covered  with  pilgrims  seated  upon  wooden  benches,  standing  or  kneeling 
upon  the  stones.  Near  by  is  a  stone  tank,  from  which  a  priest  draws 
the   healing  waters,  which   are  brought  from    the  grotto  in   pipes,  and 


A    WONDERFUL    FORTIFIED    CITV.  775 

close  to  the  cave  is  a  ragged  niche  filled  witli  crutches,  canes  and  other 
proofs  of  its  miraculous  powers.  The  town  has  the  appearance  of  a  com- 
mercial mart,  for  no  one  of  the  thousands  of  devotees  who  journey  to 
Lourdes  neglects  to  carry  away  with  him  a  photograph  or  image  of  the 
Lady,  a  water  can,  cross  or  rosar)',  and  the  winding  street  is  filled  with 
shops  piled  to  the  roof  with  these  souvenirs. 

A  WONDERFUL  FORTIFIED  CITY. 

In  direct  contrast  to  the  attractions  of  Lourdes  are  those  of  Carcas- 
sonne, an  important  manufacturing  and  commercial  center  of  Southeast- 
ern France.  The  river  Aude  divides  the  place  into  the  new  city  and 
the  old,  and  although  the  brilliant  cloths  of  Carcassonne  go  even  to 
Africa  and  South  America,  it  is  to  the  mass  of  fortifications  in  the 
ancient  section  that  most  steps  are  directed.  Briefly  stated  it  occupies 
the  site  of  an  ancient  city  of  Gaul  belonging  to  a  Celtic  tribe  of  Asia 
Minor,  and  in  the  fifth  century  a.  d.,  the  Visigoths  took  it  from  the 
Romans  and  held  it.  It  commanded  the  most  convenient  routes  into 
.Spain  over  the  Eastern  Pyrenees  and  the  fortifying  of  Carcassonne  really 
commences  from  this  period.  During  the  thirteenth  century  the  French 
kings  added  the  style  of  fortifications  prevalent  in  the  middle  ages  to 
the  rugged  defences  which  the  Visigoths  had  erected  during  their  three 
centuries  of  occupancy.  So  that  by  the  towers,  portcullis,  ditches,  loop- 
holes, openings  in  the  walls  through  which  stone  and  hot  oil  were  poured 
upon  besiegers,  battlements  etc.,  one  is  able  to  trace  the  style  and  devel- 
opment of  the  science  of  fortification  for  many  centuries.  The  walls  of 
the  Visigoth,  the  Moorish  and  the  French  periods  show  the  effects  of 
mighty  sieges,  their  huge  foundations  being  in  places  battered  as  if  by 
the  shells  of  modern  mortars.  Above  the  principal  gate  of  the  fortress 
in  a  niche  is  the  "  defaced  figure  of  Carcas,  a  Saracen  woman  who, 
according  to  the  legend,  alone  remained  in  the  city  after  a  siege  of  five 
years  by  Charlemagne.  The  versions  of  the  legend  differ.  One  is  to 
the  effect  that  she  capitulated  and  presented  the  kej's  of  the  city  to 
Charlemagne  ;  another  that  Charlemagne  was  about  to  raise  the  siege 
in  despair,  when  a  tower  gave  way  and  opened  a  breach  for  his  troops." 

Northwestof  Carcassonne,  fifty  miles,  is  Toulouse,  in  reaching  which 
one  at  length  departs  from  the  wedge-shaped  district  whose  base  is  the 
Pyrenees  and  Spain.  By  the  careless  brushing  up  of  his  history  any 
one  will  remember  the  massacres  and  persecutions  which  its  citizens 
have  suffered,  and  how,  long  ages  previous  to  that,  it  was  the  capital  of 
the  Visigoths.     Its  principal    church  is    said  to  contain    the  skulls  of 


-j6  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

Thomas  Aquinas  and  St.  Barnabas,  and  relics  of  St.  Bartholomew,  the 
two  Jameses  and  Philip  of  .Spain,  a  thorn  from  the  sacred  crown,  pieces 
of  the  true  cross,  the  robe  of  the  Virgin  and  a  stone  on  which  she  laid 
the  infant  when  he  was  born.  The  first  bishop  of  Toulouse  is,  further- 
more, reported  to  have  been  born  in  Greece,  to  have  journeyed  to  Pal- 
estine, to  have  sat  at  the  feet  of  John  the  Baptist  and  of  Jesus,  to  have 
followed  Peter  to  Rome  and  to  have  been  dispatched  by  him  to  his  charge. 

THE  VINEYARD  OE  THE   EARTH. 

Leaving  behind  us  the  country  of  the  Basques,  descendants  of  the 
most  ancient  race  of  Erance,  w-e  strike  across  country  from  Toulouse, 
and  traversing  a  dreary  waste  of  sand,  fir  trees  and  thistles,  -we  suddenly 
approach  one  of  the  most  prolific  vine-bearing  districts  of  the  world. 
Its  border  lies  upon  the  western  banks  of  the  river  Gironde,  and  in 
naming  Bordeaux  as  its  center  the  story  is  partly  told.  I'^rom  near  the 
city  to  the  sea  stretches  a  long,  narrow  jjlain,  thickly  covered  with  vine- 
yards. This  strip,  which  is  as  famous  as  any  in  "  the  \'ineyard  of  the 
Earth,"  supplies  a  strong,  red  wine  which  is  the  favorite  article  for 
export,  sea  voyages  even  seeming  to  improve  its  tlavor.  Many  people 
imagine  that  when  they  drink  "  claret"  it  comes  direct  from  this  strip 
of  country  known  as  IMedoc,  but  the  truth  is  that  the  French  do  not 
recoo-nize  any  such  variety,  and  the  claret,  or  clarified  wine,  is  a  mixture 
of  several  kinds  "  the  strong-bodied  varieties  of  Spain  and  Southern 
and  Southeastern  Erance  being  mingled  (at  Bordeau.x)  with  the  ordinary 
growths  of  Gironde  to  suit  the  English  and  American  palate."  Many 
of  the  wines  receive  their  names  both  from  the  commune  in  which  they 
are  produced  and  the  particular  estate  from  whose  great  vineyards  they 
come. 

The  warm  slopes  of  the  Pyrenees,  in  the  extreme  southern  part  of 
France  are  covered  with  vineyards  from  which  are  obtained  such  famous 
wines  as  the  Muscat.  North  of  this  section  is  the  historic  region  from 
which  we  have  lately  traveled,  forming  a  portion  of  an  ancient  province 
with  Toulouse  as  its  capital.  The  wines  drained  from  the  luscious 
grapes  which  grow  from  the  650,000  acres  of  vineyards  are  rich,  but  not 
as  delicate  as  those  of  the  Gironde.  One  single  department  of  this 
section  is  said  to  yield  more  wine  than  the  entire  kingdom  of   Portugal. 

The  \'alley  of  the  Rhone  also  appears  as  a  rich  section  of  the  earth's 
vineyard.  In  the  old  province  of  Dauphiny,  now  Drome,  is  a  lofty  hill 
which  rises  from  the  river's  edge  like  a  great  dome.  Bacchus,  could  he 
have  viewed  its  terraced  sides,  upon  which  the  bright,  warm  sun  is  ever 


FROM    NICE    TO    CALAIS.  77; 


playing,  would  never  have  left  its  great  vineyards,  which  seem  to  lie  over  it 
in  a  lazy,  not  to  say  mellow  attitude  of  enjoyment.  The  wines  are  called 
the  Hermitage,  from  the  fact  that  the  richlv-laden  hill  was  formerlv  sur 
mounted  by  a  structure  which  served  as  the  retreat  of  a  Castilian  courtier 

Throughout  the  length  of  the  sunny  valleys  of  the  Rhone  and 
Saone,  clear  into  tlic  districts  of  old  Burgundy,  the  hillsides  are  simph' 
matted  with  vineyards.  The  true  Burgundy  wines  are  raised  in  the 
department  of  Cote  d'  Or,  which  is  situated  in  the  upper  valley  of  the 
Saone,  where  it  turns  toward  the  German  boundarv.  Throutrh  this 
department  runs  a  range  of  hills,  on  whose  southeastern  slopes  and 
spreading  far  over  the  plain  below  are  the  vineyards  and  rich  estates 
which  produce  the  wines  of  Burgundy.  There  are  few  more  cheerful 
sights  in  the  world  than  these  hills  of  sunny  France  when  their  thous- 
ands of  tons  of  grapes  are  ripe  for  the  harvest.  The  sun  floods  them 
with  so  golden  a  light  that  the  department  itself  has  perpetuated  the 
glorious  sight  in  its  very  name — the  "golden  side."  The  methods  of 
the  manufacture  of  Burgundy  wines  are,  however,  rude  and  often  filthy, 
and  it  is  rightly  said  that  the  "  golden  side  "  produces  some  of  the  best 
as  well  as  some  of  the  worst  varieties  in  the  world. 

One  department  intervenes  between  the  Burgundy  and  the  Cham- 
pagne district,  which  lies  among  the  headwaters  of  the  river  Seine,  in 
Northeastern  France.  The  ancient  province  of  Champagne  adjoined 
Burgundy  on  the  north.  Of  the  modern  department,  which  is  the  par- 
ticular center  of  champagne  manufacturing,  the  arrondissements  of 
Rheims  and  Epernay  produce  the  best  article.  Upon  the  slopes  of  a 
wooded  mountain  in  Rheims  and  over  an  undulating  plain  on  the  Marne 
river,  in  Epernay,  the  champagne  vineyards  sun  themselves.  In  Septem- 
ber and  October  the  grapes  are  collected  and  selected.  The  first  three 
pressings  are  placed  in  vats,  and  after  the  froth  and  fine,  pulpy  matter 
have  separated,  the  juice  is  run  into  barrels  and  left  to  ferment.  Within 
two  months  the  clear  wine  is  drawn  from  the  dregs,  and  being  skillfully 
mixed  with  the  vintages  of  previous  years,  is  allowed  to  rest  until  spring. 
The  "sparkle"  comes  from  a  second  fermentation,  which  occurs  after 
the  liquor  has  been  bottled,  and  to  obtain  which  it  is  sometimes  found 
necessary  to  add  sugar  or  brandy.  Champagne  is  rarely  exported  until 
it  is  two  years  old,  having  to  undergo  other  minor  processes. 

FROM  NICE  TO  CALAIS.   - 

We  have  a  plan  now  to  retrace  our  steps  southward,  down  the  val- 
leys of  the  Saone  and  Rhone  to  the  sea  and  then  journey  north  from 
Nice  to  Calais,  taking  a  wide  sweep  of  country  as  we  go. 


7/8  PANORAMA    OF     NATIONS. 

The  first  point  on  the  ^Mediterranean  coast  going  west  towards 
Marseilles,  which  receives  the  attention  of  travelers  (and  it  is  often  the 
last)  is  a  dense  group  of  buildings  upon  a  bold  promontory  which  extends 
defiantly  out  into  the  sea.  It  is  the  town  of  Monaco,  a  portion  really  of 
a  small  Italian  principality  governed  by  a  prince  who  established  an 
abbey  in  his  province,  abolished  all  taxes,  and,  as  an  offset  to  this  gener- 
osity extended  the  operations  of  his  gambling  establishments  from  which 
he  derived  a  truly  princely  revenue.  As  a  watering  place  Monaco  is 
almost  a  rival  to  Nice.  Nice  lies  upon  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean, 
quietly  sunning  herself,  her  ladylike  moods  being  thoroughly  enjoyed  by 
the  invalids  who  resort  to  her  for  consolation  and  strength.  Her  sur- 
roundings are  as  pretty  as  herself.  She  is  the  petted  French  child  of 
England. 

A  sister  to  Nice  is  Cannes,  a  little  to  the  west.  Lord  Brougham  made 
it  fashionable  to  Englishmen  by  living  there  and  dying  there.  The  grave 
is  in  the  town's  cemetery,  marked  by  a  large  granite  cross.  The  citadel 
of  the  "  man  in  the  iron  mask"  stands  upon  the  Island  of  Ste.  Marguerite, 
opposite  Cannes. 

And  Toulon,  still  west,  is  the  great  military  stronghold  of  the  repub- 
lic, with  vast  floating  docks  and  arsenals.  The  fortifications  were 
originally  constructed  for  the  benefit  of  the  pirates  of  the  IVlediterranean. 
The  English  forces  once  held  Toulon,  but  were  driven  out  by  Napoleon. 

MARSEILLES. 

As  the  tourist  will  have  guessed,  we  touch  at  these  minor  ports 
merely  to  prepare  him  for  Marseilles,  the  ancient  Massilia  founded  by 
Ionian  colonists  from  Asia  Minor,  600  B.  c.  Whenever  history  has 
recorded  her  acts  they  have  been  opposed  to  despotism.  She  declared 
for  Pompey  against  C:esar,  and  when  annexed  to  the  Roman  republic 
became  noteworthy  as  a  cham[)ion  of  popular  rights,  as  she  had 
become  famous  as  a  commercial  and  colonizing  city  and  a  seat  of  learn- 
ing. The  old  motto  of  the  city  was  "  Liberty  under  any  government." 
This  was  engraved  in  golden  letters  over  her  city  gate.  Louis  XIV. 
had  it  removed.  "  Under  previous  kings  that  may  have  been  possible, 
but  not  under  me,"  he  said  ;  and  the  motto  was  removed  from  the  gate, 
but  not  from  the  popular  heart.  Marseilles,  of  all  the  cities  in  France, 
seemed  authorized  to  baptize  her  grand  national  h\-mn,  which  has 
worked  so  much  good  and  so  much  ill.  It  was  born  in  the  brain  of  a 
young  officer  of  Strasburg,  it  was  sung  by  the  author  to  the  mayor's 
family,  it  flew  from  town  to  town  without  a  name,  it  entered  Marseilles, 


DESERTS    AND    RUIXS.  779 

whose  Girondists  seized  upon  it  and  bore  it  with  them  to  Paris,  scatter- 
ing its  trumpet-hke  notes  throughout  France.  Thus  it  was  named  after 
the  natives  of  the  republican  city,  "The  Marseillaise."  Even  the  Ter- 
rorists, who  guillotined  the  Girondists,  shouted  it  as  their  bloody  cry. 

To  the  north  of  the  modern  city  lies  ancient  Marseilles,  with 
crooked  and  dirty  streets  and  lanes,  several  squares,  a  singular  public 
hall  and  the  ruins  of  Roman  ramparts.  It  is  separated  from  the  great 
commercial  port  by  a  broad  avenue  which  bounds  the  city  on  that  side 
and  leads  to  a  delightful  promenade  on  the  sea  shore. 

DESERTS  AND  RUINS. 

Above  Marseilles  to  the  Rhone  is  a  desert  of  small  stones,  and  be- 
yond the  river  for  some  distance  west  is  a  plain  of  salt.  This  strange 
tract  of  Southern  France,  extending  nearly  to  the  Cevennes  mountains, 
has  been  pithily  called  "Africa  in  Europe,"  and  it  lacks  neither  the  mi- 
rage nor  the  fowl  of  lower  Egypt  to  carry  out  the  delusion.  Aries,  once 
a  Roman  city  of  importance,  may  stand  as  a  Cairo  in  ruins,  being  at  the 
apex  of  the  Rhone  delta  and  containing  an  obelisk  of  gray  granite  fifty 
feet  in  height,  which  was  taken  from  the  bed  of  the  river  in  the  seven- 
teenth century.  Aries  boasted  one  of  those  immense  amphitheatres 
whose  ruins  are  scattered  so  thickly  over  the  Roman  dominions.  Re- 
mains of  temples,  a  triumphal  arch  and  an  aqueduct,  the  Ryzantine  cathe- 
dral dedicated  to  Paul's  companion,  St.  Trophinus,  the  town  hall  de- 
signed by  Mansard  and  the  great  pagan  burning  ground  (the  ''Elysian 
Fields")  make  it  worth  one's  time  to  loiter  at  Aries.  When  these  at- 
tractions, and  others,  are  exhausted  it  may  be  noted  that  its  sausage  fac- 
tories are  famous  throughout  France  for  the  excellence  of  their  products. 

A  few  miles  inland  from  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  on  the  borders  of 
that  salt  plain  to  which  reference  has  been  made,  is  the  city  of  Nimes. 
The  city  is  unattractive  except  for  its  Roman  ruins,  which  surpass  in 
grandeur  and  i^reservation  those  of  any  other  locality  outside  of  Italy. 
Its  stupendous  amjjhitheatre  in  which  2,000  people  were  living  previous 
to  its  restoration,  and  which  has  been  used  as  a  fortress  by  \'isigoths, 
Saracens  and  Franks  ;  the  museum  of  paintings  and  antiquities  occupy- 
ing a  beautiful  and  ancient  Corinthian  temple;  the  remnants  of  Roman 
towers,  gates  and  baths,  not  to  mention  the  graceful  three-storied  aque- 
duct near  the  cit}-,  the  fountain  within  the  public  garden  which  supplied 
the  baths  with  water,  and  modern  cathedrals  and  edifices  —  these  studies 
in  ancient  and  modern  architecture  make  Nimes  one  of  the  most  attrac- 
tive places  in  Southern  France. 

Returning  to  the  river,  the  walled  citv  of  Avignon,  over  which  looms 


780  TAXORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

the  vast  palace  of  the  popes  is  seen  ;  the  scene  of  twenty-one  great  coun- 
cils of  the  church,  the  undisputed  papal  residence  for  seventy  )'ears  and 
the  home  of  the  rival  popes  of  Rome  for  fifty  more.  This  sombre 
Gothic  structure  is  no  longer  sacred  to  ecclesiastical  purposes,  it  being 
devoted  to  the  uses  of  a  prison  and  l)arracks  ;  a  sequence  to  the  con- 
finement therein  of  the  ambitious  and  unfortunate  Rienzi,  the  last  of  the 
Roman  tribunes,  who  had  laid  the  astounding  scheme  before  the  King 
of  .Spain  for  the  concpiest  of  Italy.  It  was  at  the  Church  of  Ste.  Clara 
that  Petrarch  met  his  Laura. 

On  the  way  from  Avignon  to  Lyons,  which  lies  through  the 
"  Hermitage"  wine  district,  are  Orange  and  Vienna.  The  former  exhibits 
an  out-of-doors  Roman  theatre,  a  hill-side  cut  into  many  tiers  of  seats, 
and  opposite  a  lofty  wall  whicli  served  as  the  background  for  the  stage 
scenery.  The  bright  little  town  has  also  the  remains  of  a  triumphal 
arch  to  show,  and  is  celebrated  in  history  as  the  center  of  the  principality 
of  Orange,  founded  by  Charlemagne  and  passing  into  the  hands  of 
noble  houses,  the  last  one  being  that  which  became  extinct  with  William 
III.  Frederick  I.  of  Prussia  and  a  prince  of  Holland  laid  claim  to  the 
principality,  but  by  treaty  it  was  ceded  to  France  although  the  princes 
of  Nassau-Dietz  are  allowed  to  assume  the  title  of  "  Princes  of  Orange." 

The  approach  to  Lyons  is  through  \^ienne,  the  countr_\-  from  Orange 
being  a  succession  of  rugged  landscapes  in  the  valley  of  the  Rhone, 
bordered  by  mountains  and  limestone  cliffs  in  the  distance.  Mennewas 
the  capital  of  Burgundy,  and  has  the  inevitable  amphitheatre  and  aque- 
duct which  accompany  all  ancient  cities  of  importance.  But  when 
Pontius  Pilate  was  exiled  to  this  city  from  Rome,  whither  he  had  been 
sent  in  disLjrace  because  he  had  ordered  an  unjust  massacre  of  the 
Samaritans,  Vienne  was  an  obscure  town  of  Gaul ;  here  he  committed 
suicide,  six  or  seven  years  after  the  crucifixion  of  Jesus  ;  and  a  century' 
after  Pilate's  death  the  Christian  churches  of  \"ienne  suffered  the  most 
shocking  persecutions. 

LYONS  AND  HER  WEAVERS. 

As  the  Gulf  of  Lvons  is  said  to  have  been  so  named  from  the  fury 
of  its  gales,  whicli  frequently  rage  and  roar  across  it  like  wild  beasts,  so 
the  city  of  Lyons  mi'_;ht  justly  have  been  christened  with  reference  to 
the  turbulent  character  of  its  people.  Notwithstanding  the  blood  and 
fioods  of  water  which  have  flowed  through  its  streets,  the  serene  \'irgin, 
from  the  lofty  dome  of  Notre  Dame,  which  crowns  th(-  hill  upon  which 
the  ancient  city  stood,  appears  to  be  dispensing  her  blessings  over  the 
great  city  stretching   from  the  opposite  river  bank  over  an   undulating 


I.VOXS    AM)    IIF.R    V.EAVEKS.  "Si 

peninsula,  its  outlying  suburbs  and  villas  being  lost  in  the  foot-hills  of 
the  Cevennes  Mountains,  while  far  to  the  east  are  seen  the  outlines  of 
the  mighty  Alps.  When  the  air  is  clearest  Mount  Blanc  even  rises  in  a 
mightier  serenity  antl  spirit  of  benediction. 

The  city  which  stood  upon  this  hill  dates  from  before  Christ's  time, 
and  became  the  center  of  the  four  great  Roman  roads  which  traversed 
Gaul.  It  was  pampered  by  the  emperors,  destroyed  by  fire  and  by  one 
of  the  Roman  monarchs  because  it  declared  for  his  rival,  was  the  scene 
of  Christian  persecutions  and  the  martyrdom  of  St.  IreniEus,  and  was 
razed  by  Attila  and  most  of  its  Roman  monuments  destroyed.  Rut 
from  the  time  the  four  I^oman  roads  were  made  to  center  at  Lugdununx 
the  locality  was  marked  by  nature  as  the  center  of  a  world-famed  trade 
and  commerce  ;  and  its  modern  sieges  and  insurrections  have  resulted 
frouT  the  radical  character  of  its  manufacturing  laborers. 

A  line  of  fortifications  and  forts  is  drawn  around  the  city  and  car- 
ried over  the  hills  which  command  its  suburbs.  To  the  north  of  the 
fortifications  are  two  villages  in  the  commune  of  La  Croix  Rousse,  which 
were  the  centers  of  the  labor  uprisings  of  the  jaast  fifty  years  and  which 
caused  the  authorities  to  protect  the  city  with  strong  walls  and  cannon. 
They  are  principally  inhabited  by  silk  weavers,  who  also  are  scattered 
in  other  suburbs  and  throughout  the  city.  This  class  of  the  population 
would  probably  number  150,000  hands,  but  they  are  not  crowded  into 
smoky,  greasy  factories  whose  tall  chimneys  disfigure  the  city.  The 
dwelling  of  the  master  weaver  is  his  factory,  and  here,  with  a  few  looms, 
himself,  family  and  such  hired  operatives  as  he  needs  conduct  the  busi- 
ness. Raw  silk  and  patterns  are  supplied  him  by  the  silk  merchant,  who 
really  rents  the  looms  and  pays  the  wages  of  the  hands.  The  Palais  dcs 
Beaux  Arts,  formerly  an  ancient  convent,  is  devoted  to  museums  of  art 
and  science,  chambers  of  commerce,  schools  of  agriculture  and  pattern 
designing  for  silks.  It  also  contains  an  establishment  where  the  un- 
wrought  silk  from  thousands  of  looms  is  brought  to  be  reduced,  by  heat, 
to  an  equable  weight  and  dryness.  This  system  of  silk  manufacturing 
is  cumbersome  in  the  extreme,  although  the  beauty  and  cleanliness  of 
the  city  are  enhanced,  but  it  is  forced  upon  the  merchants  of  Lyons  by 
scarcity  of  coal. 

The  beauties  of  this  principal  manufacturing  city  of  France,  with 
her  stupendous  quays,  her  great  bridges,  churches,  commercial  societies 
and  labor  tribunals,  her  squares  which  witnessed  the  dark  shadows  of 
the  guillotine,  her  gardens,  villas,  majestic  river  and  distant  wonders  of 
sky  and  mountain  —  upon  these  we  need  not  dwell  ;  for  our  interest  in 
Lvons  is  founded  upon  her  silk,  her  silk  weavers  and  the  oio-antic  efforts 


782  '  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

\vhich    are    being  made  by   arbitration,    under   the  sliadows    of    great 
ramparts  and  a  score  of  substantial  forts,  to  quiet  the  waves  of  discon- 
tent  whicli  are    continually  arising    from   the  confined    and  generally 
'  deformed  body  of  the  people. 

GLEAMS  FROM  EASTERN  FRANXE. 

The  distant  view  of  the  Alps  obtained  from  the  Church  of  Notre 
Dame,  at  Lyons,  reminds  one  that  from  that  commercial  center  went  forth 
an  influence  which  pervaded  its  valleys  and  was  felt  all  along  the  banks 
of  the  river  which  spring  from  its  heights  and  flow  toward  the  Rhone. 
Peter  Waldo,  one  of  Lyons  most  wealthy  citizens,  sold  all  his  goods 
and  gave  them  to  the  poor.  To  the  poverty-stricken  of  the  city  he  then 
commenced  to  preach,  for  which  he  and  his  followers  were  excommuni- 
cated by  the  Pope.  France,  Italy  and  Bohemia  took  up  his  cause,  and 
the  sufferings  of  the  Waldenses  or  Vaudois,  in  the  valleys  and  mountains 
of  Southeastern  France,  were  but  just  begun  when  they  were  slaughtered 
by  combined  French  and  Italian  armies  and  their  children  distributed  in 
the  villages  of  their  foes.  During  the  first  portion  of  the  present  cen- 
tury Turin,  and  later  Florence,  became  the  center  of  their  religious 
activities,  which  are  now  unshackled. 

The  river  Isere  and  the  equally  furious  Durance  river  cut  through 
the  land  of  this  hunted  people,  who,  in  France  were  driven  to  take  ref- 
uge among  the  rocks  and  caves  of  half  a  dozen  valleys.  Even  there 
they  had  no  time  to  build  fortresses,  like  that  of  Briancon  which  sur- 
rounds the  village.  The  town  itself  stands  on  a  rock  which  descends 
abruptly,  on  one  side,  to  the  river  below,  and  is  protected  by  a  mountain 
from  enemies  in  the  rear.  A  sigfht  of  this  rucrsred  little  town,  with  its 
rugged  surroundings,  is  sufficient  evidence  of  the  truth  of  the  statement 
that  the  stronghold  has  been  besieged  but  never  capitulated.  West  of 
Briancon  is  a  grand  mountain  whose  peaks  and  glaciers  have  witnessed 
amid  their  glooms,  and  glistenings  thousands  of  refugees  for  conscience* 
sake.  Briancon  is  the  principal  arsenal  of  the  French  Alps,  command- 
ing the  route  to  Piedmont,  but  Mount  Pelvoux,  to  which  the  hunted 
Vaudois  fled  is  mightier  than  it. 

North  of  the  Isere  river,  in  almost  a  direct  line  across  the  province 
of  Isere  from  Vienne,  in  a  wild  and  romantic  valley,  surrounded  by 
mountain  forests  and  rocks  is  an  ungainly  collection  of  sharp-roofed 
buildings  which  compose  the  monastery  of  La  Grande  Chartreuse. 
This  is  the  headquarters  of  the  celebrated  order  of  monks  which  has 
remained  unmolested  since  the  eleventh  century,  when  it  was  founded 
by  St.  Juno,  not  the  patron  saint  of  Prussia,  but  another  St.  Juno,  born, 


GLEAMS  FROM  EASTERN'  FRANCE.  783 

however,  in  Germany.  Amid  tliese  solitudes  the  fathers  and  brothers 
labor,  watch  and  pray,  hving  a  Hfe  of  self-denial.  Tea,  coffee  and  meat 
are  even  excluded  from  the  monastery.  Opposite  the  monastery  build- 
ing is  a  rude  structure  in  charge  of  some  sisters  of  charity,  used  as  a 
house  of  entertainment  for  lady  visitors.  But,  whether  to  the  male  or 
female  sex,  hospitality  is  not  distributed  gratis,  regular  charges  being 
made  for  meals  and  lodfdng.  The  Grand  Chartreuse  is  about  thirteen 
miles  northeast  of  Grenoble,  a  charming  town  smiling  on  the  river 
banks  at  the  glaciers  in  the  distance,  and  hemmed  in  by  natural  and 
artificial  fortresses. 

Every  mile  of  country  from  Lyons  to  Calais,  along  the  Jura  Moun- 
tains, the  tributaries  of  the  Saone  river  and  the  Meuse,  has  some  natural 
beauty  or  historic  significance.  The  Moselle  from  Germany  dips  gently 
into  French  territory  and  Vassy,  Chalons,  Metz  and  Sedan  tell  of  fierce 
fields  of  contention  and  disputed  territory.  Strasburg,  on  the  Rhine, 
and  the  province  of  Vosges,  a  little  to  the  west  but  a  portion  of  France, 
teach  the  lesson  that,  though  national  boundaries  may  divide,  the  work 
of  philanthropists  is  a  common  heritage.  The  labors  of  John  Oberlin 
among  the  peasants  and  mountaineers  of  Alsace,  by  which  he  not  only 
touched  their  consciences  but  taught  them  how  to  plow,  plant  and  reap, 
have  not  only  made  whole  communities  and  villages  prosperous,  but 
spread  his  name  over  Europe  and  America.  In  this  region  of  war  and 
philanthropy,  where  the  Meuse  has  become  almost  a  rivulet,  is  a  little 
village  in  which  stands  a  rude  stone  cottage  which  is  treasured  by  France, 
for  it  was  the  birthplace  and  home  of  Joan  of  Arc,  religious  enthusiast 
and  inspired  warrior.  "  With  touching  characteristic  sentiment  she  had 
asked  as  her  only  reward  that  her  native  village  should  be  released  from 
taxation,  and  the  boon  was  freely  accorded  for  many  generations,  the 
entry  in  the  tax-register  opposite  Domremy  being,  'cancelled  on  account 
of  La  Pucelle.' " 

An  excursion  through  the  picturesque  country  of  the  Meuse,  with  a 
divergence  to  the  west,  will  bring  one  to  Rheims,  where  the  modest 
Maid  saw  Charles  the  Victorious  receive  the  holy  unction  from  the  sa- 
cred "  ampulla,"  or  flask.  It  is  said  to  have  been  brought  down  from 
heaven  by  a  dove,  that  Clovis  might  be  anointed,  in  the  fifth  century. 
For  many  centuries  the  kings  of  France  were  thus  honored  by  the  arch- 
bishop of  Rheims.  The  beautiful  Gothic  edifice  and  famous  cathedral 
of  Notre  Dame  was  built  during  the  early  part  of  the  thirteenth  century; 
in  it  the  kings  of  France  were  crowned  for  nearly  six  centuries.  Charles, 
the  last  of  the  Bourbons,  was  anointed,  and  the  oil  then  failed  ;  although 
there  is  some  doubt  as  to  the  genuineness  of  the  article  since  the  revo- 


784 


PANORAMA   OF    NATIONS. 


lution,  when  the  ampulla  was  broken  and  thrown  away.  A  pious  indi- 
vidual, however,  is  reported  to  have  recovered  a  fragment,  with  a  small 
quantity  of  the  Clovis  oil,  which  he  presented  to  the  archbishop. 

Amiens,  in  the  department  of  Somme,  is  on  the  borders  of  old 
Normandy.  It  is  an  ancient  Roman  city,  containing  the  ruins  of  a  for- 
mer citadel,  but  it  is  chiefly  noted  for  its  gorgeous  cathedral  and  as 
being  the  birthplace  of  Peter  the  Hermit,  who  led  so  many  knights  of 
Normandy  on  disastrous  crusades. 

CHEERY  NORMANDY. 

Perhaps  the  reader  will  already  have  penetrated  our  design,  which 
has  been  to  rapidly  encompass  P>ance  and  approach  its  superb  capital 
by  way  of  Normandy,  which  embraced  the  Seine  and  held  the  key  to 


RENAISSANCE    WINDOW,    ROUEN. 

Paris.  The  Northmen,  or  Normans,  during  the  ninth  century,  repeat- 
edly ascended  the  river  with  their  great  fleets  to  carry  consternation  to 
the  city.  One  of  their  greatest  chiefs  finally  married  the  king's  daugh- 
ter, and  received  a  tract  of  land  north  of  the  river  to  the  sea,  which 
was  the  foundation  of  Normandy.  The  chief  Rollo  became  first  duke 
of  Normandy  and  the  ancestor,  six  generations  away,  of  William  the 
Conqueror.  Other  accessions  followed,  until  the  dukedom  included  that 
part  of  Northwestern  France  embraced  in  the  present  departments  of 
Seine-Inferieure,  Eure,  Calvados,  Orne  and  Manche.  Normandy  was 
joined  by  Brittany  on  the  southwest,  and  two  more  dissimilar  districts 
or  people  seldom  came  together. 

Rouen  and  Caen  were  the  chief  cities  of  Normandy,  the  former 
being  its  capital;  and  the  most  satisfactory  and  cheery  approach  to  Paris 
and  to   France  is  by  way  of  the  coast  of   Normandy,  with  its  sunny 


THE   conqueror's    HOME.  785 

watering  places  and  fresh,  quaint  looking  people.  Rouen,  even  to  its 
churches,  is  bright  with  sunshine  and  the  cheerfulness  of  its  citizens. 
There  are  no  gloomy  cathedrals  in  Rouen.  Notre  Dame,  profusely 
ornamented  and  surmounted  by  a  dome  470  feet  high,  still  has  its  inte- 
rior flooded  with  sunlight  from  130  windows.  And  yet  it  contains  tombs, 
including  that  of  Richard  Cceur  de  Lion  ;  the  dust  into  which  the  "  iron 
heart"  has  mouldered  is  now  in  the  Rouen  museum.  Near  the  cathe- 
dral is  the  Abbey  Church  of  St.  Ouen,  its  light,  lofty  tower  terminating 
in  a  crown  of  fleurs  de  lis,  and  its  bright  aspect  being  charmingly  softened 
and  mellowed  by  its  two  great  rose-windows.  Public  squares  are  not 
the  boast  of  Rouen,  but  it  contains  one  which  attracts  thousands  of 
travelers.  It  is  the  scene  of  the  burning  of  Joan  of  Arc,  and  where  her 
body  was  given  to  the  elements  is  a  drinking  fountain  without  water  and 
an  unworthy  statue  of  La  Pucelle. 

THE  CONQUEROR'S  HOME. 

Before  finally  starting  Paris-ward  it  would  be  a  sad  neglect  of  duty 
not  to  take  a  run  into  the  native  land  of  William  the  Conqueror.  Caen 
is  ten  miles  from  the  English  Channel  and  about  twice  as  far  west  of  the 
Seine's  mouth.  A  quaint  combination  it  is  of  modern  life  surrounded 
by  an  ancient  atmosphere.  It  has  fine  promenades,  broad  streets,  large 
buildings  and  beautiful  churches.  At  one  e.xtremity  of  the  town  is  a 
massive,  severe,  but  noble  looking  structure,  the  Church  of  St.  Etienne, 
built  by  William  and  in  which  he  was  buried.  Saint  Trinite,  an  elegant, 
light  and  restful  church,  stands  at  the  other  end  of  Caen.  This  was 
either  founded  by  Queen  Matilda,  or  erected  for  her,  according  to  her 
plans,  by  William  the  Conqueror.  What  a  gulf  between  the  mighty 
William  and  Beau  Brummel,  the  leader  of  the  London  fashions  !  Yet, 
in  death,  they  were  joined  at  Caen,  although  separated  by  centuries  of 
time. 

Twenty  miles  or  more  inland  from  Caen  is  a  picturesque  country  of 
river  and  wooded  cliffs.  Built  upon  such  cliffs  is  a  quiet  manufacturing 
village,  over  which,  on  a  bold  ascent,  towers  the  old  Norman  castle  of 
Falaise.  From  its  tower  a  sweeping  view  of  Normandy  may  be  obtained, 
but  no  one  mounts  into  the  gloomy  castle  chambers  for  landscape  see- 
ing— rather  to  view  the  room  in  which  William  the  Conqueror  is  said  to 
have  been  born.  The  castle  consists  of  two  portions,  the  large,  square 
Norman  keep,  standing  at  the  highest  part  of  the  rocky  eminence,  and 
a  circular  tower,  of  later  construction,  connected  with  the  former  by  a 
passage.  Around  all  is  a  line  of  fortifications  following  the  irregular  out- 


786  "     .  PANUKAMa    of    NATION'S. 

lines  of  the  hill.  In  the  keep,  so  it  is  said,  the  Conqueror  was  born,  and 
the  guides  pretend  to  show  the  very  room  where  the  event  took  place  and 
the  identical  window  from  which  his  father,  Duke  Robert  the  Mao-nifi- 
cent,  first  saw  Arlette,  the  daughter  of  the  Falalse  tanner.  The  older 
portions  of  the  castle  show  marks  of  the  sieges  which  it  has  withstood,  a 
breach  being  still  pointed  out  which  was  the  result  of  seven  da^'s'  can- 
nonade by  Henry  IV. 

Nearer  the  channel  than  Caen  and  west  of  it  is  the  town  of  Bayeux, 
which  has  been  made  historically  famous  by  the  most  elaborate  and 
gigantic  piece  of  needlework  in  the  world.  In  a  large  room  adjoining 
the  public  library,  preserved  under  glass,  is  displayed  "a  piece  of  picto- 
rial needlework  supposed  to  have  been  done  by  Queen  Matilda  and  the 
ladies  of  her  court,  representing  the  events  connected  with  the  conquest 
of  England.  It  is  worked,  like  a  sampler,  in  woolen  thread  of  different 
colors,  is  20  inches  wide  and  214  feet  long  and  has  72  divisions,  each 
with  a  Latin  inscription  designating  its  subject.  It  is  of  great  historical 
value,  since  it  not  only  e.xhibits  with  minuteness  Norman  customs  and 
manners  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest,  but  pictures  events  of  which  no 
other  record  exists  —  among  others  the  siege  of  Dinan  and  the  war 
between  the  duke  of  Normandy  and  Conan,  earl  of  Brittany." 

The  remarkable  thing  about  this  remarkable  piece  of  tapestry  is  its 
fresh,  bright  appearance,  notwithstanding  that  it  has  been  exhibited  in 
Paris  and  nearly  every  town  of  France.  The  cathedral  which  it  was 
originally  intended  to  adorn  has  been  leveled  with  the  ground.  Of  the 
historical  events  which  it  portrays  the  most  important  is  the  invasion  of 
England,  by  which  it  can  be  learned  better,  than  from  any  description  in 
words,  how  William's  cavalry  was  transported  and  the  very  construction 
of  the  Norman  weapons  and  their  spades  for  use  in  earthworks  and  forti- 
fications. The  horses  are  being  swung  out  of  the  ships  in  cranes  and 
pulleys,  and  the  spades,  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of  iron  in  those  days, 
are  only  tipped  with  that  metal.  A  great  banquet  precedes  the  battle 
of  Hastings,  which  is  depicted  with  spirit  and  vigor,  considering  that 
most  of  the  figures  are  coarsely  worked  in  green  and  yellow  colors  ;  but 
the  whole  story  is  told — the  great  cavalry  charge,  the  Conqueror  in  the 
lead,  sitting  like  a  rock  on  a  gigantic  black  horse,  the  consternation  of 
his  followers  at  his  reported  death,  the  rout  of  the  enemy  and  Harold's 
death  and  the  stripping  of  the  wounded  after  the  fray.  The  figures  in 
the  tapestry  often  suggest  an  entire  ignorance  of  anatomy,  and  the  per- 
spective is  Chinese  in  its  character,  but  the  attitudes  and  facial  lines  are 
frequently  worthy  of  a  Nast.  As  with  everything  of  interest  which 
originated  long  ago,  doubt  has  been  thrown  upon  the  authenticity  of  the 


NORMAN    GIRLS.  787 

tapestry  ,  but  whether  Matilda  and  her  ladies  did  work  it  or  not  is  of 
secondary  importance  to  the  fact,  which  is  firmly  established,  that  it  was 
made  soon  after  the  Conquest  by  somebody  who  was  directed  by  an 
intimate,  at  least,  of  the  royal  couple,  and  the  artist  was  a  close  observer, 
if  not  a  genius.  There  is  evidence  that  the  date  of  its  construction  was 
near  that  of  the  Conquest,  and  also  that  Odo,  bishop  of  Bayeux,  the 
Conqueror's  half-brother,  ordered  and  arranged  the  work  to  the  exact 
length  of  the  walls  of  the  church  round  which  it  was  to  have  been  placed. 
Still  another  delay  is  in  order  before  starting  toward  Paris  —  caused 
by  a  desire  to  visit  Mont  St.  Michael,  which  is  a  singular  cone  of  granite 
rising  from  the  English  Channel  at  the  angle  where  Brittany  and  Nor- 
mandy come  together.  The  mount,  which  shoots  from  a  level  expanse 
of  shifting  sands,  is  surmounted  by  a  castle  and  a  church;  and  lower 
down  clusters  of  houses  hang  to  it,  occupied  by  fishermen.  The  castle 
was  a  great  Norman  stronfrhold  durintr  the  middle  aoes,  and  for  three 
hundred  years  the  magnificent  spire  of  the  church,  surmounted  by  the 
image  of  St.  Michael,  the  patron  saint  of  the  coast,  has  been  a  beacon 
to  mariners  approaching  the  shores  of  France.  Monks  and  dukes  have 
made  their  pilgrimages  to  this  stronghold  of  arms  and  religion.  It  is 
from  St.  Michael  that  William  the  Conqueror  and  Harold  marched  on 
Dinan,  the  strongest  fortified  town  of  Brittany  ;  and  the  treacherous 
white  sands  around  the  mount  which  the  warriors  skirted  on  their  way 
to  Brittany  are  faithfully  depicted  in  the  Bayeux  tapestry.  Within  the 
great  castle  is  the  spacious  Gothic  hall  of  the  Knights  of  Mont  St. 
Michael,  "with  its  carved  stone-work  and  lofty  roof,  supported  by  three 
rows  of  pillars,  beautiful  in  proportion  and  grand  in  effect,  although  the 
Revolution,  as  usual,  has  left  us  little  but  the  bare  walls  ;  but  as  we  look 
down  upon  it  from  a  gallery  it  is  easy  to  picture  the  splendor  of  a  ban- 
quet of  knights  in  the  twelfth  century,  with  the  banners  and  insignia  of 
chivalry  ranged  upon  the  walls." 

NORMAN  GIRLS. 

Again,  before  returning  to  Rouen,  the  tourist  must  not  fail  to  visit 
a  few  of  the  quaint  Norman  villages,  with  their  tall,  peaked-roofed 
houses  and  neat  women,  wearing  their  lace  caps,  chatting  and  eating  in 
the  market-place.  The  caps  bloom,  like  flowers,  into  every  conceivable 
form,  from  that  of  a  helmet  to  that  of  a  Turk's  military  cap,  a  starched 
funnel  or  a  modern  bonnet.  Wandering  from  the  market  again,  we 
find  "  houses  built  out  over  rivers,  looking  like  pieces  of  old  furniture, 
ranged  side  by  side,  rich  in  color  and  wonderfully  preserved,  with   their 


788  '  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

wooden  gables,  carved  In  oak  of  the  fifteenth  century,  supported  by 
massive  timbers,  sound  and  strong,  of  even  older  date  ;  many  of  these 
houses,  with  windows  full  of  flowers,  and  creepers  twining  around  the 
old  eaves,  and  long  drying  poles  stretched  out  horizontally,  with  gay- 
colored  clothes  upon  them  flapping  in  the  wind  —  all  contrasting  curi- 
ously with  the  dark  buildings." 

But  the  little  villages,  like  the  larger  towns,  are  attractive  as  much 
for  the  many  delicate  threads  which  connect  them  with  Paris  and  modern 
life  as  for  the  unaffected  air  of  their  people  and  their  historical  glamour. 
Nearly  every  house  is  a  manufactory ;  and  though  its  inmates  keep  their 
hearts  with  the  days  of  simple,  merry  Normandy,  their  eyes  look  toward 
modern  Paris  and  their  fingers  clasp  considerable  of  her  money.  From 
Cherbourg  often  wander  wide-awake,  finely-mustached,  loosely-dressed 
French  marines,  who  leave  their  gloomy  iron  clads  at  anchor  in  the  great 
harbor  to  gossip  with  the  pretty  maidens  of  Normandy  in  the  market 
places.  The  girls  may  have  walked  in  from  the  country  with  their 
baskets  of  vegetables,  or  from  the  sea  shore  with  their  shining  captives. 
Their  eyes  are  brighter  than  their  fish  and  their  cheeks  fresher  than 
their  vegetables,  and  yet  they  will  tell  you  that  though  many  of  their 
products  of  sea  and  land  reach  Paris,  they  never  have  been  there,  but, 
some  day,  hope  to  reach  the  beautiful  city;  and  their  hope  is  not  unreas- 
onable, as  one  will  see  by  glancing  at  any  good  map  of  France,  for  no 
matter  how  small  the  town  there  is  the  railroad  which  runs  to  Paris. 

THE  APPROACH   TO  PARIS. 

Having  encompassed  Paris  we  are  now  at  liberty  toapproach  it  from 
any  direction.  If  we  come  from  the  southeast  we  must  stop  at  the  town 
of  Fontainebleau,  with  its  royal  pleasure  palace  and  gardens  embedded 
in  its  solid  square  miles  of  forest.  The  artificial  and  natural  charms  of 
this  royal  retreat  date  from  the  tenth  century,  when  the  chateau  was 
founded.  Two  centuries  later  it  was  rebuilt,  subsequently  enlarged, 
fell  into  decay,  repaired  and  embellished  and  from  the  sixteenth  century 
all  the  monarchs  of  France  added  something  to  it.  Historically  it  is  fa- 
mous for  scenes  which  are  guide  posts  to  the  domestic  happiness,  the 
miseries,  the  supposed  necessities  of  state  in  the  life  of  Napoleon, and  it 
was  from  Fontainebleau  that  he  siirned  the  act  of  abdication.  Here  also 
the  emperor  had  deta  aed  Pope  Pius  as  a  prisoner  for  nearly  two  years. 
Treaties  and  important  state  transactions  and  magnificent  fetes  under 
the  Louises  and  Napoleons  have,  after  Versailles,  made  Fontainebleau 
the  most  fitting  approach  to  that  great  city  which  so  fascinatingly  com- 
bines stupendous  historical  events  with  irrepressible  gayety. 


A  bird's-eye  view.  789 

"The  gardens  of  Fontainebleau,"  it  is  pithily  said,  "will  fascinate  the 
lovers  of  elaborate  arrangement  and  orderly  primness,  but  are  not  other- 
wise remarkable  except  for  their  great  fish  ponds.  On  the  whole,  they 
scarcely  repay  a  walk  round,  especially  when  outside  them  stretches  the 
niignificent  forest,  with  its  heathery  slopes,  dark  fir  woods,  vast  expanses 
of  green  sward,  planted  with  beech  and  oak,  and  a  surface  broken  into 
wild  picturesque  gorges  by  the  scars  and  rocky  projections  of  the  sand- 
stone." 

A  score  of  miles  nearer  Paris,  going  in  the  same  general  direction,  is 
Vincennes,  a  fortress  where  are  trained  the  best  marksmen  of  the  French 
army,  and  which  has  likewise  a  chateau  and  park.  The  castle,  a  repre- 
sentative of  the  middle  ages,  is  rectangular  in  shape,  and  was  once  sur- 
rounded by  nine  great  towers.  Only  one  now  remains,  170  feet  high, 
with  walls  seventeen  feet  thick.  From  the  time  of  Phillippe  de  Valois 
until  the  days  of  Louis  XV.  the  chateau  was  a  royal  residence.  It  then 
became  a  prison  for  such  personages  as  Henry  IV,  the  Prince  of  Conde, 
Cardinal  de  Retz,  Mirabeau  and  the  Due  d'  Enghien  who  was  shot  in 
the  moat  of  the  castle. 

We  may  still  verge  to  the  west  and  enter  the  city  by  the  Orleans 
railway  or  still  further  west  by  way  of  Versailles.  Without  another 
delay,  except  to  dwell  for  a  moment  upon  the  attractions  of  Versailles 
and  its  kingly  palace,  we  shall  approach  the  environs  of  Paris  from  the 
southwest.  The  road  from  the  capital,  ten  miles  distant,  becomes  an 
avenue  in  Versailles,  dividing  the  miniature  Paris  into  two  parts.  The 
palace,  formerly  priory  and  castle,  under  the  princely  treatment  of  three 
Louises  reached  its  present  state  of  magnificence  and  down  to  the  time 
of  the  Revolution  was  one  of  the  residences  of  the  court.  The  Revolu- 
tion was  born  in  the  palace  of  Versailles  by  the  meeting  of  the  states  — 
general  therein.  With  the  passing  over  of  the  blackest  clouds  of  that 
storm  the  palace  became  a  museum,  filled  with  pictures  of.  French  heroes 
and  monarchs  and  scenes  in  their  careers.  The  gardens,  terraces,  aven- 
ues, squares  and  public  fountains  of  Versailles  are  stately  rather  than 
picturesque.  In  Versailles  King  William  was  proclaimed  Emperor  of 
Germany  and  the  capitulation  of  Paris  signed ;  to  escape  the  fury  of  the 
revolutionists  of  the  capital  the  sittings  of  the  National  Assembly  were 
also  transferred  to  Little  Paris. 

A  BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW. 

It  is  from  the  direction  of  Versailles  that  one  obtains  the  best  bird's- 
eye  view  of  Paris.  The  city  lies  in  a  hollow,  encircled  by  two  ranges  of 
hills,  the  inner  ones  being  the  lowest  and   occasionally  falling  within  the 


790*  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

municipal  limits.  The  outlying  heights  are  from  two  to  four  miles  from 
the  city  walls  and  upon  them  are  posted  the  forts,  or  their  ruins,  which 
command  every  approach  to  Paris.  Mount  Valerien  to  the  west,  over- 
looking one  of  the  railroads  to  Versailles,  is  the  highest  point  from  which 
Paris  may  be  viewed.  The  Seine  is  seen  entering  from  the  southeast, 
winding  among  its  great  buildings,  boulevards  and  parks,  and  divid- 
ing its  bewildering  magnificence  into  two  unequal  parts,  the  northern 
being  much  larger,  and  then  sweeping  boldly,  so  as  almost  to  wash  the 
heights  of  St.  Cloud,  it  flows  northeast  past  scores  of  pretty  suburbs  and 
villages.  Just  as  it  seems  destined  to  pursue  an  unvarying  course 
toward  Calais  it  bends  like  the  neck  of  a  stately  swan  toward  the  green 
fields  and  kind  people  of  Normandy. 

OLD  PARIS. 

In  his  Commentaries,  Julius  Caesar  is  the  first  historian  to  notice  a 
■collection  of  imul  huts  built  mostly  upon  two  islands  in  the  river  which 
we  now  call  the  Seine.  This  was  the  chief  settlement  of  the  Parisii,  a 
Gallic  tribe,  which  he  conquered.  Those  islands  are  still  where  Ccesar 
saw  them,  but  their  mud  huts  have  given  place  to  the  Cathedral  of  Notre 
Dame,  the  Palais  de  Justice,  a  grand  hotel  and  other  beautiful  relio-ious 
and  secular  edifices.  An  elegant  bridge  connects  the  two  islands,  from 
which  may  be  seen  that  Notre  Dame,  the  most  impressive  of  Parisian 
churches,  with  its  ancient  rose-windows  and  massive  towers.  Near  by 
rises  the  arrowy  spire  of  Saint  Chapelle,  a  blazing  and  glittering  pile, 
built  by  St.  Louis  to  contain  the  relics  which  he  had  brought  from  the 
Holy  Land,  but  which  was  chiefly  devoted  to  royal  marriages,  christen- 
ings and  coronations.  This  church  is  within  the  precincts  of  the  Palace  of 
Justice,  an  immense  structure  containing  various  courts  of  law,  and  upon 
this  ancient  ground  of  mud  huts,  within  hailing  distance  of  the  Palace,  is 
the  prison  of  the  Conciergerie,  scene  of  the  sorrow  and  rage  of  Marie 
.Antoinette,  Danton  and  Robespierre,  and  of  the  heart-rending  suspense 
which  racked  the  bodies  and  souls  of  the  prisoners  during  the  Reiii-n  of 
Terror.  Here  prisoners  are  still  confined,  pending  their  trial,  and  La 
Force  is  yet  the  greatest  of  the  prisons  of  Paris. 

NORTH   OF  THE  SEINE. 

It  is  but  a  short  walk  from  the  nucleus  of  ancient  Paris  to  the  cen- 
ter of  the  modern  city.  On  the  opposite  or  northern  bank  of  the  river, 
where  Caesar  found  scarcely  a  hut  of  mud,  are  the  modern  palaces  of  the 
Tuileries  and  the  Louvre,  in  the  famous  gardens  of  the  Tuileries,  with 


NOkrii  OF  Tiif:  SEINE.  "  791 

the  restored  Hotel  de  Villa  which  is  directly  across  from  the  upper  end 
of  the  Island  of  La  Cite.  In  the  vicinity  of  the  Tuileries  is  the  Palais 
Royale,  the  extensive  court  which  it  surrounds  having  echoed  to  the 
trumpet  tones  of  Desmoulins,  who  cast  that  vast  wave  of  fury  against 
the  Bastile,  whose  former  gloomy  walls  are  now  remembered  by  the 
handsome  public  square  which  is  opposite  the  Place  Royale.  It  is  known 
as  the  Place  de  la  Bastile,  and  is  a  short  distance  directly  east  of  the  Place 
de  r Hotel  de  Ville,  for  many  ages  the  scene  of  public  executions  and 
the  spot  at  which  some  of  the  bloodiest  deeds  of  the  Revolution  were 
perpetrated. 

The  Place  de  la  Concorde  connects  the  gardens  of  the  Tuileries  and 
the  thousand  feet  of  ruins  composing  the  old  palace  with  the  Champs 
Elysees,  that  grand  popular  avenue,  at  the  western  extremity  of  which 
is  Napoleon's  Arch  of  Triumph,  the  largest  and  grandest  of  its  kind  in 
the  world.  It  is  also  the  boundary  of  the  magnificent  district  of  Paris 
in  that  direction. 

The  Place  de  la  Concorde  is  worthy  of  facing  this  arch  of  architect- 
ural triumph,  but  like  all  the  other  ambitious  and  successful  works  of 
beauty  which  grace  the  city,  the  Revolution  has  cast  its  shadow  and  dashed 
the  blood  of  Paris  over  its  marble  monuments  and  into  the  waters  of  its 
fountains.  In  the  center  of  the  square  is  an  obelisk  covered  with  hiero- 
glyphics which  stood,  over  thirty-three  centuries  ago,  in  front  of  a  great 
temple  of  Thebes.  It  was  placed  there  by  Rameses  II.,  one  of  those 
hoary  monarchs  whose  greatness  we  only  feel  through  all  the  mists  of 
ages,  and  may  have  been  brought  almost  face  to  face  with  the  monument 
to  Bonaparte's  fame  in  order  to  teach  the  lesson  of  the  weakness  of  human 
achievement.  The  shaft  of  the  Egyptian  king  marks  the  site  of  the 
guillotine  which  cut  short  the  lives  of  Louis  XVL,  Marie  Antoinette, 
Philippe  Egalite,  Danton,  Robespierre  and  a  host  of  others. 

On  the  Champs  Elysees,  within  sight  of  the  Place  de  la  Concorde  is 
the  Palace  of  Industry,  or  the  Paris  Exposition,  constructed  originally 
for  the  world's  fair  of  1855  and  now  a  permanent  exhibition.  The  ex- 
position of  1867  was  held  on  the  Champ  de  Mars,  the  military  parade 
ground  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  just  around  a  bend. 

The  city  residence  of  the  President  of  the  Republic,  the  Elysee 
Palace  overlooks  the  avenue,  while  further  away  from  the  river  than  we 
have  been,  north  of  the  Tuileries  and  Louvre,  are  the  most  convenient, 
tasteful  and  magnificent  theatres  of  Europe,  and  just  on  the  outskirts  of 
this  center  of  comedy  and  tragedy,  tears  and  laughter,  music,  song  and 
dance,  is  the  center  of  no  insignificent  section  of  the  financial  activity  of 
Europe,  the  Bourse  and  Tribunal  of  Commerce — a  square,  Roman-like 


792 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


Structure,  supported  by  a  stately  array  of  pillars  and  approached  by  a 
grand  stairway. 

In  the  theatre  district  between  the  Palais  Rojale  and  the  Grand 
Opera  House  is  the  Place  Vendome,  with  a  second  column  of  Trajan 
in  its  center,  commemorative,  however,  of  Napoleon's  campaign  of 
1805  ;  the  before-mentioned  place  of  amusement  also  fronts  upon  a 
square  which  would  seem  more  magnificent,  if  admiration  were  not 
drawn  from  it  to  the  structure  which  outshines  it  as  the  sun  does  the 
moon. 

Not  far  north   of  the   Champs   El)-sees   is  an   imposing  structure 

raised  upon  an  ponderous 
platform,  surrounded  b\-  a 
colonnade  of  pillars,carved, 
frescoed  and  gilded.  If  it 
was  not  built  by  some  of 
the  old  masters  of  Greece, 
it  is  a  wonderful  and  mod- 
ern imitation  of  their  best 
work.  The  Madeline  is  a 
Christianized  Grecian  tem- 
ple, one  of  the  triumphs 
of  modern  architecture, 
although  not  original  in  its 
character 

SOUTH    OF    THE 
SEINE. 

The  district  which  lies 
on  the  southern  bank  of 
the  .Seine  opposite  the 
islands  which  were  the  nu- 
cleus of  old  Paris,  and 
A  MODERN  FRENCH  PAINTER.  whicli  correspouds   to    the 

modern  city  from  the  Place  de  la  Bastille,  or  Ouartier  St.  Antoine, 
to  the  Arch  of  Triumph,  is  covered  with  gardens,  military  grounds, 
scientific  institutions  and  churches.  The  immense  wine  market  is  near 
the  river  on  the  opposite  shore  from  the  arsenal.  A  short  distance  from 
the  Seine  but  directly  south  of  the  great  church  of  Notre  Dame,  on  the 
Island  of  I. a  Cite,  is  the  College  of  France,  one  of  whose  objects  is  to 
apply  science  to  industry,  and  for  that  purpose  furnishes  the  public  with 


1 

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ST.    VINCENT    DE    PAUL.  793 

gratuitous  lectures.  Another  stratum  is  also  reached  by  its  free  lectures 
in  the  departments  of  philosophy  and  letters. 

The  Institute  of  France,  across  the  river  from  the  Tuileries,  is  the 
result  of  two  centuries  and  a  half  of  the  country's  best  thought,  being  a 
combination  of  five  academies,  whose  specialties  are  the  maintenance  of 
the  native  tongue  in  its  purity;  the  study  of  universal  history  and  com- 
parative philology,  of  the  sciences,  of  the  arts  and  of  moral  philosophy 
and  affairs  of  state.  The  parent  of  the  Institute  was  the  French  Acad- 
emy founded  b)'  Richelieu.  This,  and  the  other  academies  which  were 
merged  into  the  Institute,  continued  until  abolished  by  the  republican 
convention  of  1793,  but  were  consolidated  under  the  different  names. 
National,  Imperial,  and  France,  by  the  Director)',  Napoleon  and  Louis 
XVIII.  respectively. 

The  Pantheon,  or  Church  of  Ste.  Genevieve  (Paris'  patron  saint) 
looms  up  from  beyond  the  College  de  France  and  the  other  educational 
institutes  and  edifices  in  this  vicinity.  It  is  in  the  form  of  a  mighty 
Greek  cross,  united  under  the  dome  which  rises  nearly  200  feet.  The 
Pantheon  was  originally  built  as  a  monument  to  celebrated  Frenchmen, 
and  still  contains  the  tombs  of  Rousseau,  Lagrange,  Lannes  and  Vol- 
taire, with  man)'  others. 

ST.  VINCENT  DE  PAUL. 

Among  the  scores  of  other  churches  which  it  has  been  impossible  to 
describe  is  that  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  To  worthily  commemorate  the 
grand  character  of  Vincent  de  Paul  it  could  not  be  too  stately  or  too 
beautiful.  Although  patronized  by  cardinals  and  royal  families,  he  chose 
to  labor  among  peasants,  convicts  and  beggars,  endeavoring  to  relieve 
them  bodily,  mentally  and  spiritually.  In  this  field,  also,  so  disinterested, 
able  and  tender  were  all  his  ministrations  that  he  received  the  assist- 
ance of  counts  and  nobles  in  establishing  missions  among  the  poor  and 
hospitals  for  the  sick.  In  much  of  his  ecclesiastical  work  he  was 
the  adviser  of  Cardinal  Richelieu  ;  but  the  proximity  of  such  a  lumi- 
nary did  not  dim  him.  He  continued  to  be  the  apostle  of  thieves 
and  sinners.  Wherever  sin,  famine  and  sufferinsf  were  creatinsf 
the  greatest  havoc,  there  was  \'incent  de  Paul.  The  crowning 
work  of  his  life  was  the  founding  of  the  order  of  Sisters  of  Charity 
and  a  hospital  for  the  poor  of  Paris.  A  royal  edict  obliged 
every  beggar  to  enter  this  institution  or  to  work  for  a  living. 
This  great  and  good  man  was  canonized  seventy  years  after  his 
death. 


794 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


ST.  VINCENT  DE  PAUL. 


VICTOR    UUtJiJ. 


795 


VICTOR  HUGO. 


There  was  another  mighty  man  of  Paris  and  of  F"rance,  whom  the 
world  claims  as  one  of  her  geniuses,  and  who  was  as  different  from  St. 
Vincent  de  Paul  as  the  rushing  whirlwind  is  from   the  broad,  steady- 


BUST  OF  VICTOR  HLGO. 


flowing  river.  Victor  Hugo  was  precocious,  and  not  the  only  exception 
to  the  saying  (which  no  doubt  issued  from  the  jealous  soul  of  some 
average,  disappointed  mortal)  that  he  who  is  early  ripe  is  early  rotten. 
Before  he  was  thirty  years  old  he  was  famous,  and  continued  to  add  to  his 


796  PAXOKAiMA    OF    NATIONS. 

fame  for  over  half  a  century.  His  mother  was  a  native  of  La  \'endee ; 
his  father  was  high  in  the  good  graces  of  Napoleon.  He  lived  a  por- 
tion of  his  time  with  his  mother  in  Paris,  the  balance  with  his  father  in 
Italy  and  Spain,  or  followed  his  own  inclinations  ;  that  is,  he  was  his 
own  master  until,  as  an  outspoken  member  of  the  Assembly,  he  offended 
Napoleon  and  was  banished  from  France  for  life.  He  took  up  his  res- 
idence in  the  Isle  of  Jersey,  and  although  he  did  not  return  to  his  native 
land  for  twenty  years,  he  flooded  Europe  with  political  pamphlets,  phil- 
osophical dissertations,  poems,  novels  and  dramas,  which,  in  turn, 
enraged,  bewildered  and  charmed  the  world.  Whatever  he  did  created 
a  sensation,  and,  genius  though  he  was,  he  perhaps  strove  too  often 
after  the  sensational  at  the  expense  of  leaving  a  less  enduring'  mark 
than  if  he  had  been  less  conscious  of  himself.  As  a  lyric  poet  and  a 
novelist,  he  has  been  crowned  as  king  by  the  French  people.  His  death, 
in  May,  1885,  extinguished  a  living  light,  both  bright  and  warm,  whose 
influence  will  be  felt  for  generations  to  come. 

THE   MILITARY  QUARTER. 

The  western  portion  of  this  district  of  churches  and  colleges  (where 
also  are  the  magnificent  Luxembourg  gardens  and  palace,  with  the 
Archiepiscopal  palace)  is  the  military  quarter  of  Paris.  Next  to  the 
Archiepiscopal  palace  near  the  Seine  is  the  soldiers'  asylum,  with  its 
spacious  courts,  the  Hotel  des  Invalides.  Within  the  limits  of  the 
Invalides  is  the  great  porphyry  sarcophagus  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte, 
standing  directly  under  the  masterly  dome  of  the  Church  of  St.  Louis. 
To  the  south  of  the  asylum  is  the  military  school,  and  adjoining  its 
erounds  and  frontincr  on  the  river,  is  the  famous  Champ  de  Mars,  scene 
of  historical  events  and  grand  military  reviews.  For  one  week  after 
July  7,  1790,  an  army  of  men  and  women  was  seen  day  and  night,  upon 
the  grounds,  working  like  maniacs  in  their  eagerness  to  get  all  in  readi- 
ness  for  the  grand  festival  in  honor  of  the  king  who  was  to  bow  to  the 
constitution  of  the  people. 

BOULEVARDS  AND  PARKS. 

The  Paris  Observatory  is  the  rear  guard  of  this  vast  district,  which 
is  a  union  of  church,  school  and  arms.  With  even  this  imperfect  sketch 
of  the  wonders  of  Parisian  glory  in  all  the  departments  of  modern  civil- 
ization—  not  even  mentioning  her  scores  of  great  hospitals,  hotels, 
manufactories,  libraries  and  museums  —  we  must  say  a  word  about  her 
boulevards,  parks  and  theatres. 


THEATRES    AND    DELICATE    ECONOMY.  797 

The  most  famous  of  the  boulevards  are  within  the  limits  of  the  old 
city  walls  and  cover  the  district  already  described  from  the  Church  of 
the  Madeline  to  the  Place  de  Bastile.  Here  are  the  most  beautiful  Par- 
isian stores,  the  banking  houses,  theatres,  centres  of  gossip  and  of  trade. 

We  have  already  noticed  the  avenue  of  the  Champs  Elysees  and 
the  triumphal  arch  standing  in  it,  or  rather  in  the  Place  de  I'Etoile,  into 
which  the  stately  thoroughfare  expands.  From  this  square  radiate  ten 
broad  avenues,  the  most  magnificent  of  which  is  the  avenue  Bois  de 
Boulogne,  divided  into  road  ways,  bridle  paths,  footwalks,  bordered  with 
bright  and  ingenious  gardens  and  fringed  with  villas  and  private  grounds. 
The  avenue  leads  to  a  park  of  the  same  name,  in  which  art  and  nature 
seem  to  strive  for  the  prize  of  beauty  and  which  is  one  of  the  most  fav- 
orite resorts  of  all  classes.     It  is  outside  of  the  fortifications. 

Other  popular  places  of  resort  are  the  zoological  gardens,  near  the 
wine  market,  with  their  wonderfully  perfect  menagerie,  which  are  on  the 
direct  route  from  the  Place  de  Bastile  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  and 
the  park  of  Vincennes,  east  of  the  city.  This  is  in  line  with  the  greatest 
attractions  of  the  city,  and  is  not  an  ignoble  conclusion  of  the  pleasure 
seeking.  Besides  its  historic  and  military  attractions  it  contains  a  race 
course,  a  large  artificial  lake  and  numerous  other  means  of  recreation. 

For  miles  along  the  Seine  on  either  side  the  quays  are  paved  and 
beautified,  and  afford  noble  promenades.  Even  the  sewers  of  Paris  hav'e 
within  the  last  thirty  years  been  transformed  into  things  of  wonder,  not 
to  say  magnificence,  as  the  mains  generally  follow  the  chief  thoroughfares 
of  the  city  and  the  connections  correspond  to  the  minor  streets. 

THEATRES  AND  DELICATE  ECONOMY. 

We  already  know  where  the  theatres  of  Paris  are.  The  Theatre 
Francaise  leads  all  the  rest,  not  only  in  the  magnificence  of  its  appoint- 
ments but  the  brilliancy  of  its  companies.  Moliere,  or  the  company 
which  he  directed,  founded  it  two  centuries  ago.  The  Opera  House 
stands  close  behind  it,  the  two  being  under  the  direct  patronage  of  the 
government ;  other  places  of  amusement  are  also  assisted  from  the 
national  treasury,  the  government,  on  its  part,  levying  a  generous  tax 
upon  all  the  receipts  for  the  benefit  of  the  public  charities.  So  that  if 
Paris  is  gay  and  spends  her  millions  in  amusing  herself,  her  gayety 
becomes  a  continual  blessing  to  the  poor,  which  can  be  said  of  few  great 
cities. 

Another  peculiaritv  has  been  noticed  of  the  Parisian.  Although 
he  is  fond  of  good  clothes  and  dies  upon  "  all  work  and  no  play,"  he  has 


798  PANORAMA    OF    NATIOxN.S. 

Studied  the  science  of  economy  in  every  phase.  There  is  perhaps  no 
one  in  the  world  who  looks  better  and  appears  to  live  better  on  a  smaller 
sum  than  the  Parisian.  Nothing  goes  to  waste,  and  yet  though  he  may 
have  to  count  the  cost  of  every  cent  there  is  little  of  that  heart-rending 
"pinching"  to  be  observed  among  the  proud  poor  which  is  seen  in  other 
cities.  Just  so  many  vegetables  served  up  in  their  daint)'  dishes,  nicely 
seasoned  and  cooked,  so  much  meat  and  so  much  wine.  A  ereat  deal 
of  chatting  and  laughter  makes  the  meals  go  further  and  accomplishes 
more  than  if  rushed  down  with  the  rapacity  of  the  Englishman  or  the 
speed  of  the  American.  As  proficients  in  the  art  of  practicing  a  delicate 
economy  the  French,  and  the  Parisian  in  particular,  are  unapproachable. 
The  assertion  has  been  made  by  some  that  the  French  are  not  hearty 
enough  to  fight  the  battle  of  civilization  against  Englishmen,  Germans, 
Russians  and  Americans,  but  the  monuments  of  greatness  which  they 
have  reared  in  Paris  alone  would  seem  to  indicate  that  so  far  they  have 
possessed  considerable  stamina. 

It  may  be  that  their  lightness  of  spirit  and  the  peculiar  faculty  they 
have  of  making  everything  so  appetizing,  turn  the  smaller  quantities  of 
food  which  they  consume  into  more  than  the  average  amount  of  blood 
and  brain.  The  Parisian  bread  carrier  is  ofttimes  enousjh  to  make  one 
long  for  one  of  her  tremendous  loaves — not  an  uncouth,  dirty  man, 
with  black  hands,  is  the  bread  carrier,  but  a  dainty  girl  in  a  frilled  cap,  a 
neat  bodice  and  a  pretty,  clean  apron,  the  latter  being  filled  with  the 
fresh  loaves,  which  are  also  loaded  into  a  basket  strapped  to  her  shoul- 
ders, like  so  many  sticks  of  cordwood. 

Next  in  demand  to  the  bread  carriers  are  the  wine  merchants. 
They  are  of  all  grades,  although  since  the  Bastile  is  gone,  St.  Antoine 
is  no  more,  and  the  other  squalid  and  criminal  quarters  have  been  cut 
up  into  great  streets  and  squares,  and  connected  with  aristocratic  Paris, 
there  are  few  Defarges  such  as  Dickens  described  in  his  Tale  of  Two 
Cities.  The  trade  is  getting  into  more  respectable  hands  ;  the  Defarges 
are  growing  less  in  number,  while  the  mirrored  restaurants  and  cafes  on 
the  streets  off  from  the  central  boulevards  of  Paris,  and  frequented  by 
the  fashionables,  artists,  scientists,  students  and  business  men  of  the 
city,  are  becoming  more  and  more  the  mainstays  of  the  wine  merchants. 
The  great  center  of  the  wine  trade  is  the  market,  which  we  have  already 
noticed  and  in  which  500,000  casks  of  wine  can  be  stowed.  It  is  one 
of  the  most  bustling  places  in  all  this  bustling  city. 

Across  the  river,  perhaps  half  a  mile  from  it,  forming  a  triangle  with 
the  Hotel  de  Ville  and  the  Tuileries  as  the  base,  is  the  Central  Market. 
It  covers  twenty  acres  of  ground  and  consists  of  a  dozen  immense  pavil- 


THEATRES    AND     DELICATE    ECONOMY.  "99 

V 

ions,  connected  by  covered  streets.  Underneath  the  pavilions  are  great 
tanks  for  Hve  fish  and  cool  vaults  for  the  storage  of  vegetables  and  fruits. 
Underground  railways  connect  them  with  railroad  termini,  so  that  the 
produce  can  be  conveniently  delivered  and  the  garbage  removed. 

The  business  man  of  Paris  is  usually  circulating  somewhere  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Bourse  or  the  Bank  of  France.  Here  are  found  the  other 
financial  institutions  and  the  railway  offices  of  the  great  trunk  lines;  the 
headquarters  of  national  financiers,  the  bondholders,  the  capitalists,  the 
schemers,  where  such  enterprises  as  the  Suez  and  the  Panama  Canals  are 
launched  tipon  the  money  market  of  France  and  the  world.  The  Bank 
of  France  has  branches  in  all  the  departments  of  the  republic  and  in 
Algiers,  ar.d  from  it  issue  all  the  government  notes. 

The  Bourse  and  Chamber  or  Tribunal  of  Commerce  are  also  so 
closely  connected  with  the  government  that  they  are  considered  national 
institutions.  Members  of  the  latter  body  are  elected  by  the  chief  rrer- 
chants  of  the  cit)'  or  town  who  are  named  by  the  mayor  or  perfect. 
There  is  a  chamber  of  commerce  in  every  city  and  considerable  town  in 
France,  which  is  consulted  by  the  government  on  all  matters  of  public 
interest,  such  as  taxation  and  the  improvement  of  land  and  water  ways. 
When  not  volunteered  such  advice  can  be  demanded,  so  that  a  member 
of  the  Tribunal  of  Commerce  becomes,  in  a  certain  sense,  an  integral  part 
of  the  government,  bound  to  further  its  aims  toward  public  prosperity. 

SUPPLE  AND  MUSCULAR  PEOPLE. 

The  predominating  trait  of  the  French  is  suppleness  —  which  never 
excludes  strength.  The  Italian  and  Celtic  elements  predominate  in  their 
character,  their  language  being  the  most  important  of  the  Romanic 
tongues.  The  Celtic  elements  were  lost,  however,  in  the  flood  of 
Frankish  words  which  poured  from  the  north  and  those  of  Latin  origin 
which  came  from  the  south.  It  is  the  unison  of  the  Teutonic  muscul- 
arity with  the  Italian  suppleness  which  has  made  French  people  and  the 
French  language  what  they  are.  The  rise  of  the  troubadours,  who  sung 
their  songs  of  chivalry  in  the  southern,  or  Provencal  dialect,  had  much 
effect  in  molding  the  tongue  into  graceful  lines.  The  crusades  introduced 
some  Arabic  terms  and  when  Frenchmen  began  to  cultivate  the  natural 
sciences  Greek  and  Latin  terms  crept  in.  But  it  was  not  until  the  mid- 
dle ages  that  the  Franko-Romanic  dialect  of  the  north  and  the  Provencal 
tongue  were  welded  into  one  harmonious  language,  which  has  no  super- 
ior as  a  medium  for  communicating  the  most  diverse  of  ideas  and  cover- 
ing the  greatest  range  of  sentiment.     In  the  province  of  light  literature 


8oo 


TANOKAMA    OK    NATIONS. 


French  writers  are  unrivalled;  and  yet  Calvin  is  not  the  only  divine  of 
France  who  has  illustrated  the  weight  of  his  native  language  as  a  judg- 
ment trumpet  and  inspirer  of  awe.  Balzac  and  Descartes  show  the 
French  as  careful  and  profound  philosophers,  Voltaire  and  Rousseau  as 
versatile  geniuses  capable,  with  their  supple  language,  of  touching  every 
phase  of  human  life  except  that  in  which  reverence  is  crowned  as  king. 
Montesquieu  was  broad,  masculine  and  keen.  After  placing  the  Dumas, 
Hugos,  Sues,  Vernes,  Corneilles,  Racines  and  Molieres  in  a  group, 
imagine  opposite  them  Lamartine,  Guizot,  Thiers  and  Taine,  as  histor- 
ians, Comte,  the  Positive  philosopher,  Cuvier,  Laplace,  Lagrange, 
Bastiat,  DeTocqueville  and  a  host  of  others,  eminent  in  scientific  and 
social  questions ;  and  then  answer  the  question  whether  the  French  are 
not  intellectually  muscular  as  well  as  versatile. 

One  of  the  most  conclusive  evidences  of  their  healthful  elasticity  as 
a  nation  is  the  wonderful  vigor  with  which  they  rebounded  from  the 
crushing  defeat  of  the  Franco-Prussian  war ;  not  only  evincing  no 
depression  of  spirits  but,  while  repairing  their  losses  at  home,  lifting  a 
great  debt  from  their  shoulders  and  continuing  to  increase  in  national 
wealth  in  a  ratio  which  excited  the  admiration  of  the  world. 


THE  GERMANS. 

[he  origin  of  the  name  German  is  somewhat  doubtful,  although 
for  several  centuries  about  all  that  was  known  of  the  Teutonic 
tribes  was  that  a  warlike  people  lived  beyond  tlie  Rhine  who 
fought  with  spears,  viz.:  " ger  "  (spear)  "mann"  (man).  Sub- 
sequently, when  the  Romans  came  to  know  more  of  them,  it 
was  learned  that  they  were  light-haired  and  powerfully  built, 
blue-eyed,  independent,  tireless  in  war,  industrious  agricultur- 
ists, lovers  of  chastity  and  superstitious.  They  had  bards  and 
priests,  sacred  groves,  and  w^orshiped  gods  and  giants.  The 
God  of  War  was  their  chief  divinity.  They  elected  their  chiefs, 
who  were  often  believed  to  be  descended  from  Woden.  The  Franks, 
the  Goths,  the  Vandals,  the  Teutons  and  the  Burgundians  were  all  Ger- 
man tribes  which  are  intimately  connected  with  the  history  of  Germany, 
France  and  Rome. 

It  is  not  our  purpose  to  go  into  details  regarding  the  mythical  and 
ancient  history  of  Germany,  or  to  trace  the  gradual  steps  by  which  her 
small  states  were  united  into  one  empire.  The  Germans  are  not  the 
result  of  a  conglomeration  of  races  but  are  a  combination  of  kindred 
tribes,  some  of  which  have  always  given  rulers  to  the  country.  When 
Charlemagne,  the  great  Frank,  ruled  over  them,  their  empire  was  con- 
solidated by  the  subjection  of  the  Saxons,  the  last  of  the  German  tribes 
which  refused  to  submit  to  him.  He  also  compelled  them  to  become 
Christians.  But  during  the  weaker  reign  of  subsequent  rulers  the  power 
of  the  king  depended  on  the  dukes  who  elected  him,  and  their  influence 
has  ever  since  been  great.  To  this  must  be  added,  during  the  last  cent- 
ury, the  gradual  advance  of  the  cause  of  popular  government.  Yet  the 
strong  traits  of  the  German  Empire  and  the  German  people  are  the 
same  as  when  they  were  yet  unwelded  tribes;  a  love  of  discipline  and 
thoroughness,  combined  with  a  love  of  independence,  and  a  genius  for 
war  were  added  to  a  stern  family  affection. 

8oi  51 


802  ,  PANORAMA    OK    NATIONS. 

•  THE  GOVERNMENT  AND  THE  ARMY. 

The  Bund,  or  reunion  of  the  German  States,  which  was  consoli- 
dated in  1 87 1  by  the  King  of  Prussia  accepting  the  sovereignty  of  Ger- 
many, was  formed  for  the  protection  of  the  territory  of  the  Bund  and 
for  the  care  of  the  welfare  of  the  German  people.  The  Federal  Coun- 
cil, or  the  Upper  House  of  the  empire  (Bundesrath),  is  composed  of 
members  who  are  annually  appointed  by  the  governments  of  the  various 
states.  Unless  the  territory  of  the  empire  is  attacked  the  Emperor  is 
required  to  obtain  the  consent  of  the  Bundesrath  before  he  can  declare 
war,  make  peace  or  enter  into  treaties  with  foreign  countries.  He  is, 
however,  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  and  navy  and  superintends 
the  execution  of  the  laws.  The  Emperor  appoints  the  committees  for 
the  army  and  navy,  except  one  who  is  appointed  by  Bavaria  ;  all  the 
other  committees  are  elected  by  the  Federal  Council.  Each  committee 
consists  of  representatives  of  at  least  four  states  of  the  Empire. 

The  members  of  the  Reichstag,  or  Lower  House,  are  elected  by 
the  people  for  a  term  of  three  years,  at  the  average  rate  of  one  deputy 
for  every  100,000  inhabitants.  All  imperial  laws  must  receive  the  sanc- 
tion of  both  of  these  bodies  and  the  Chancellor  of  the  empire.  The 
Reichstag  may  be  dissolved  by  the  Federal  Council  with  the  consent  of 
the  Emperor,  but  not  oftener  than  once  during  each  session.  A  new 
election  must  take  place  within  sixty  days  after  such  dissolution. 

The  Imperial  Chancellor  is  president  ex  officio  of  the  Bundesrath, 
and  he  is  also  the  disbursing  officer  of  the  imperial  revenues.  He  is 
required  to  make  an  annual  statement  to  both  the  Bundesrath  and  the 
Reichstag. 

The  military  system  of  Germany  is  that  which  was  in  force  in  Prus- 
sia. Every  German,  capable  of  bearing  arms,  must  serve  in  the  stand- 
ing army  from  his  twenty-first  to  his  twenty-eighth  year ;  and  for  five 
years  more  he  must  be  in  the  landwehr.  In  war,  every  soldier  is 
bound  to  obey  the  Emperor,  unconditionally.  In  times  of  peace  the 
Bavarian  troops  have  their  own  organization  and  are  not  subject  to  the 
Emperor's  orders.  The  sovereigns  of  the  other  states  select  the  lower 
grades  of  ofificers,  while  the  higher  ones  are  appointed  by  the  Emperor. 

EDUCATIONAL    DRILL. 

Army  discipline  is  carried  into  the  educational  domain  and  for  at 
least  five  years  every  German  child  is  obliged  to  go  through  with  a 
course  of  mental  training  which  in  many  countries  would  be  considered 
unbearable.     The  system  of  instruction  is  much  the  same  as  that  of  the 


EDUCATIONAL    URILI,.  803 

United  States,  there  being  common  elementary  schools,  Latin  schools, 
Real  school  sintended  to  educate  those  in  the  higher  branches  who  can  not 
take  a  university  course,  the  gymnasiums  covering  the  ground  of  our 
hieh  schools  and  lower  collctres,  and  the  universities  to  which  students 
graduate  from  the  gymnasiums.  The  conflict  in  the  system  comes  as  to 
the  precise  relation  of  the  Real  schools  to  the  gymnasiums  and  uni\er- 
sities  ;  the  former  are  divided  also  into  higher  trade  schools  and  higher 
common  schools,the  chief  distinction  between  them  and  the  gymnasiums 
being  that  more  attention  is  given  to  the  natural  sciences  and  practical 
arts  than  to  classical  training.  The  features  most  prominent  in  these 
departments  of  the  German  system  are  found  in  the  scientific  and  classi- 
cal courses  of  our  colle<res  and  universities.  The  order  of  advancement 
for  tiie  German  who  is  designed  for  a  university  training  is  through  the 
common  school,  Latin  school  a^id  gymnasium. 

The  foundation  of  the  popular  schools  of  Germany  is  always  accorded 
to  Charlemagne.  This  great  King  was  a  stern  but  a  good  father  to  all 
classes,  and  a  monk  who  wrote  in  his  time  says  that  upon  a  certain  occa- 
sion he  visited  one  of  the  schools  he  had  founded  and  saw  that  the 
sons  of  the  nobles  were  far  behind  the  children  of  poor  parents  in  schol- 
arship. Dividing  the  poor  children  from  the  rich,  he  first  addressed  the 
former,  thanking  them  for  having  obeyed  his  commands  and  promising 
them  bishoprics  and  abbeys  if  they  continued  in  their  industrious  ways. 
To  the  already  abashed  scions  of  nobility  he  turned  with  an  angry  coun- 
tenance :  "  Ye  high-born  sons  of  my  most  illustrious  nobles  !  "  he  roared, 
"  Ye  asses  and  coxcombs  !  In  the  pride  of  your  birth  and  your  posses- 
sions, you  despise  my  commands,  and  give  yourselves  up  to  idleness,  riot 
and  disorder;  but"  —  and  here  he  raised  his  hand  with  a  threatening 
gesture — "  by  the  King  of  Heaven!  if  you  do  not  straightway  make 
up  by  diligence  for  your  former  neglect,  you  have  little  good  to  expect 
at  the  hands  of  Karl." 

The  first  German  university  was  founded  at  Prague,  within  the 
present  limits  of  Austria,  in  1348.  To  the  Hapsburgs  isdue  the  univer- 
sity of  \'ienna  and  the  Palatine  Elector  Rupert  made  Heidelberg 
possible. 

But  Charlemagne  made  the  system  possible  which,  in  its  rounded 
proportions,  came  from  the  patient  hands  of  Frederick  William  HI., 
King  of  Prussia. 

The  gymnasium  student  commences  to  ape  the  manners  of  the 
university  student,  beginning  to  smoke  and  drink,  and  being  unhappy 
unless  he  can  be  the  member  of  some  mysterious  society.  He  is  no 
longer  subject  to  corporeal  punishment  and  looks  exultantly  forward  to 


8o4  PANORAMA    OK    NATIONS. 

the  time  when  it  is  something  of  an  honor  to  brave  not  only  the  univer- 
sity laws  but  those  of  the  state. 

The  gymnasiast  who  aspires  to  be  a  typical  German  student  has 
already  a  score  of  songs  at  his  tongue's  end,  as  no  university  gathering 
is  complete  without  them.  Students'  songs  are  students'  songs  the  world 
over,  but  one  rests  upon  safe  ground  when  he  asserts  that  in  no  country 
in  the  world  is  so  large  a  proportion  of  them  patriotic  and  fit  to  be 
sung  in  private  parlors  as  those  poured  out  by  hearty  German  students 
over  their  wine  and  beer;  and,  though  no  defense  is  attempted  of  drink- 
ing customs,  it  should  always  be  remembered  that  German  wine  is  very 
gentle,  and  (as  a  student  writes)  "that  their  beer  is  far  more  mighty  of 
the  hop  than  of  the  malt." 

There  are  meetings  within  doors  and  meetings  without,  and  special 
"  Commers,"  which  are  celebrated  by  an  excursion  on  rafts,  or  on  horse- 
back and  in  carriages,  to  some  neighboring  town.  The  revelers  are  at- 
tired in  their  most  fantastic  colored  costumes,  with  their  naked  swords 
in  hand,  and  their  long  pipes  in  mouth,  and  as  they  approach  their  des- 
tination are  usually  welcomed  by  the  discharge  of  artillery,  for  the  vil- 
lao-ers  are  aware  that  as  long-  as  the  students  are  in  their  midst  fun  and 
money  \v\\\  freely  circulate.  The  usually  sleepy  waiters  of  the  village 
inn  are  bustling  to  and  fro,  preparing  viands,  the  cooks  are  ruthlessly 
slaughtering  bird,  beast  and  fish,  every  house  flies  a  flag  or  is  hung  with 
a  festoon,  while  the  pretty  girls  show  their  beaming  faces  and  their  bright- 
est ribbons  as  the  noisy  cavalcade  rushes  past.  For  twenty-four  hours 
the  whole  village  is  turned  upside  down  and  inside  out ;  not  a  drop  of 
blood  runs  stagnant  in  man,  woman  or  child. 

People  who  have  a  tendency  to  pick  (laws  in  anything  which  has  a 
reputation  for  comparative  perfection  often  sneer  at  the  liberty  which  is  _ 
allowed  the  student  of  the  university,  making,  among  other  hypercritical 
statements,  the  one  that  the  higher  educational  institutes  of  Germany 
are  merely  mediums  by  which  the  professors  advertise  their  learning;  in 
a  word  that  the  universities  are  more  for  the  professors  than  the  students. 
The  preliminary  drill  is  as  strict  as  if  the  student  were  a  soldier;  all  at 
once  his  bonds  are  loosened,  a  feast  is  spread  before  him,  made  up  chiefly 
of  substantial,  and  he  can  eat  or  not,  as  he  chooses.  Philosophical, 
scientific  and  historical  pabulum,  taken  from  world-wide  sources,  is  offered, 
and  the  student  may  take  it  or  go  off  and  drink  beer  or  fight  a  duel. 

It  is  true  enough  that  the  Germans  have  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  after  one  has  arrived  at  man's  estate  he  ought  to  know  what  he 
needs  in  the  way  of  education,  and  if  he  does  not  choose  to  avail  himself 
of  the  best  privileges  which  the  nation  can  offer,  it  is  quite  certain  that 


EDUCATIONAL    DI'.ILL.  805 

he  has  not  the  necessary  enthusiasm  and  strength  of  will  to  be  a  credit 
to  himself  or  the  university.  The  average  age  of  German  university 
students  is  also  greater  than  in  most  other  countries,  so  that  anything 
but  freedom  would  be  doubly  ridiculous — freedom,  within  limits. 

Each  university  has  its  governing  bodies,  such  as  Select  and  Great 
Senates,  with  the  rector  at  the  head.  There  are  regular  professors  and 
those  who  are  privileged  to  lecture  upon  special  topics  ;  from  the  latter 
body  are  often  recruited  most  valuable  members  of  the  salaried  faculty. 
The  oldest  professor  of  each  faculty  is  the  dean.  Universities  have 
not  only  their  governing  boards  but  their  courts  of  justice,  their  magis- 
trates and  beadles,  all,  however,  conforming  and  in  direct  connection 
with  the  laws  and  officers  of  the  empire.  The  chief  beadle  lives  near 
the  college,  and  the  prison  is  in  the  upper  part  of  his  house.  If  neces- 
sary he  can  arrest  without  a  warrant,  but  must  report  at  once  to  the 
magistrate  of  the  university.  Various  offenses  against  academical  and 
state  laws  are  punishable  by  reproof,  fine,  incarceration,  and  expulsion 
for  from  one  year  to  five  years,  with  a  publication  of  the  nature  of  the 
disgrace  in  every  univ^ersity  of  Germany.  The  university  court  of  jus- 
tice may  in  its  discretion  also  have  the  offender  confined  in  an  ordinary 
state  prison.  The  student  is  given  great  latitude  as  to  attending  lectures, 
but  he  is  made  to  feel  that  he  is  still  amenable  to  a  double  set  of  laws  ; 
and  the  penalties  are  especially  severe  if  he  joins  a  revolutionary  union, 
which  is  not  of  great  rarity.  The  secret  university  societies  have  made 
the  government  much  trouble,  but  upon  several  occasions  have  united 
in  one  grand  spirit  of  patriotic  action,  which  has  made  it  possible  for  the 
true  German  to  forget  a  hundred  rough  pranks  in  the  splendid  vigor 
and  heart  of  the  student. 

In  fact,  the  association  of  the  university  "  burschenschafts"  had  no 
small  part  in  giving  direction  to  the  movement  of  national  independence 
which  resulted  in  the  freedom  of  Germany  from  Napoleonic  dominion. 
It  was  during  the  few  years  preceding  the  great  battle  of  Leipsic  that 
German  students  betook  themselves  so  feverishly  to  gymnastics  and 
sword  exercises.  Each  student,  in  becoming  a  member  of  the  g-reat 
Burschenschaft,  bound  himself  to  become  a  soldier,  and  at  once  went 
into  training.  A  broad  patriotism  for  the  German  Fatherland  and  the 
German  speech  rested  upon  faithfulness  to  the  Prince.  But  revolu- 
tionary tendencies  in  the  shape  of  such  constitutional  declarations  as 
"the  law  of  the  people  shall  be  the  will  of  the  Prince"  soon  gave  birth 
to  bolder  utterances  and  even  to  bloody  deeds.  In  1819  a  university 
student  murdered  the  Russian  Counsellor  of  State,  persuaded  that  the 
deed  was  justified  by  patriotism  ;  unsuccessful  attempts  of  a  like  nature 


8o6  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

were  made  ;  mistaken  ideas  of  liberty  beclouded  the  moral  natures  of 
thousands  of  German  youth  ;  a  republicanism  such  as  even  America 
might  be  proud  of  also  walked  forth  from  the  university  associations  ; 
but  even  the  average  of  the  utterances  of  German  students  turned  so 
far  away  from  the  conservatism  upon  which  the  country's  institutions 
were  founded  that  the  governments  of  both  Prussia  and  Germany 
destroyed  the  Burschenschaft,  and  thereafter  exercised  an  untiring 
censorship  over  the  university  societies. 

Yet,  even  in  the  matter  of  attending  lectures  the  student  is  bound 
by  certain  general  rules.  It  is  optional  with  him  what  course  he  will  at- 
tend, but  he  must  give  notice  to  the  professor  who  has  it  in  charge,  when 
he  has  determined.  In  the  German  states  the  student  mustattend  a  cer- 
tain number  of  lectures  in  order  to  be  entitled  to  the  state  examination  ; 
and  his  so-called  departure  certificate  which  accords  him  that  privilege, 
not  only  vouches  for  his  scholarship,  but  has  something  to  say  of  his 
moral  conduct  and  as  to  whether  he  has  ever  participated  in  any  unlaw- 
ful combination  of  a  political  nature.  The  professor  is  not  only  bound 
to  the  state  to  deliver  a  certain  number  of  lectures  per  week,  but  it  is  his 
duty  to  deliver  special  lectures  within  his  department,  whenever  a  suf- 
ficient number  of  students  assure  him  of  an  adequate  remuneration  for 
his  trouble. 

STUDENTS'  NICKNAMES. 

The  German  universities  are  as  particular  as  the  American  colleges 
to  make  a  freshman  feel  his  inferiority.  He  is  called  a  fox  and  is  made 
to  perform  many  little  services  for  the  "  old  moss  heads,"  as  they  call  them- 
selves. The  seniors  are  also  known  as  "old  houses."  It  was  formerly 
the  custom  of  the  seniors  to  require  the  foxes  to  black  their  boots  and 
to  write  out  their  college  notes. 

"The  student  receives  different  names  according  to  the  duration  of 
his  abode  at  college.  While  he  yet  vegetated  in  the  gymnasium  he  was 
a  Frosch  —  a  frog.  In  the  vacation  which  lay  between  the  time  of  his 
quitting  the  gymnasium  and  entering  the  university  he  chrysalized  him- 
self into  a  mule,  and  on  entering  the  university  he  becomes  a  Kameel  — 
a  camel.  This  happy  transition-state  of  a  few  weeks  gone  by,  he  comes 
forth  finally,  on  entering  a  Chore  —  a  fox,  and  runs  joyfully  into  the  new 
student  life.  During  the  first  half-year  he  is  a  gold  fox,  which  means 
that  he  has  rich  gold  in  plenty  yet ;  or  he  is  a  fat  fox,  meaning  that  he 
yet  puffs  himself  up  with  gold.  In  the  second  half-year  he  becomes  a 
Brand-fuchs,  or  fox  with  a  brand,  after  the  foxes  of  Samson.  The  fox 
is  then  over,  and  they  wash  the  eyes  of  the  new-baked  young  student, 


DUELS.  807 

since  during  the  fox-year  he  was  held  to  be  blind,  not  being  endued  with 
reason.  From  young  Bursche  (student)  he  advances  next  to  old 
Bursche,  and  then  to  Be-inossed  Head,  the  highest  state  of  honor  to 
which  man  can  attain."  The  student  is  dubbed  a  brand-fox  because  of 
a  certain  ceremony  through  which  he  is  put  by  his  superiors. 

DUEL.S. 

One  of  the  most  common  forms  of  oppression  by  which  the  Old 
Houses  assert  their  superiority  over  the  foxes  is  to  pretend  to  discover 
cause  for  a  duel  in  something  which  is  said  or  done ;  and  if  the  fresh 
young  man  should  be  worked  into  such  a  state  of  defiance  as  actually  to 
accept  the  challenge,  he  may  be  coolly  ignored  as  being  unworthy  of 
attention.  If  equals  desire  to  bring  a  duel  one  has  only  to  call  the  other 
"dummen  Junger,"  or  "stupid  youth  "  and  the  business  is  done,  unless 
a  retraction  follows.  If  the  offense  or  injury  calls  for  some  graver  form 
of  insult,  "  Infamen,"  or  "infamous  fellow"  is  the  applied  epithet. 
The  weapons  usually  chosen  are  long,  flexible,  two-edged  swords  with 
square  ends  and  basket  hilts.  Pistols  or  heavy,  crooked  sabres  are 
employed  when  one  of  the  parties  is  not  a  student,  or  the  cause  of  dis- 
pute is  very  serious.  If  the  student  fights  with  a  military  man  he  uses, 
the  straight  sabre. 

Most  of  the  duels  between  the  students  are  hatched  at  their  general 
meetings,  which  are  held  weekly.  It  is  customary  for  them  to  divide 
into  corps,  or  companies,  according  to  nationalities  or  provinces,  and 
few  meetings  will  be  concluded  without  a  whole  table  being  pitted  against 
another,  not  only  in  the  display  of  wit  over  their  beer,  but  in  the  more 
exciting  display  of  flashing  blades.  But  duels  are  unlawful ;  so  these 
differences- are  usually  settled  in  a  large  rented  room  of  some  suburban 
inn.  When  the  floor  of  the  room  is  found  marked  with  a  certain  chalk 
character,  it  is  known  by  any  subsequent  comers  that  the  quarters  may 
be  occupied  by  rival  swordsmen  for  at  least  two  duels. 

At  the  appointed  time  each  participant  is  conducted  into  a  cham- 
ber by  his  witness  and  second,  and  clothed  in  the  dueling  costume,  which 
consists  usually  of  a  cap  to  protect  the  face,  a  glove  and  quilted  cover- 
ing for  the  arm  and  high  stuffed  leather  trousers.  Before  hostilities 
actually  commence  the  duelist  also  puts  on  a  neckcloth,  which  sometimes 
reaches  to  his  nose,  so  that  a  small  portion  of  his  face  and  his  breast  is 
the  only  part  of  his  body  really  exposed. 

Being  equipped,  the  swordsmen  are  conducted  into  the  hall,  and 
while  the  seconds  are   marking  out   the   lines  within   whicli   they  must 


8o8  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS.      ' 

fight  and  arranging  the  other  preliminaries,  the  principals  march  up  and 
down,  each  supporting  his  mighty  sword  arm  upon  his  witness.  The 
duelists  may  decide  to  fight  with  small  caps  or  with  large  caps,  with 
cravats  or  without  cravats,  with  bandages  or  without  them  ;  they  may 
also  have  the  contest  terminate  with  a  certain  number  of  rounds,  if  the 
suro"eon  does  not  decide  that  a  wound  is  too  serious  to  warrant  further 
action,  or  the  trial  may  end  with  a  wound  which  draws  blood  within  a 
definite  number  of  rounds.  The  students  are  closely  attended  by  their 
witnesses  and  seconds,  the  umpire  standing  some  distance  away  between 
the  combatants,  scoring  and  the  end  of  each  round  on  a  chair  which 
stands  before  him.  The  seconds  are  armed  with  short,  strong  rapiers, 
with  which  they  strike  the  swords  apart  when  a  stroke  has  been  delivered, 
give  advice  and  encouragement  and  see  that  the  opponent  presents  his 
sword  at  such  an  angle  that  his  champion  will  not  fall  upon  its  point 
when  he  lunges  forward.  They  must,  in  fact,  be  remarkably  skillful 
themselves,  their  object  being  to  protect  their  combatant  without  inter- 
fering with  the  strokes  of  the  adversary.  The  duties  of  the  witnesses, 
who  stand  on  the  right  side  of  the  rivals,  are  confined  to  arranging  dis- 
ordered costumes  and  supporting  weary  right  arms  when  a  halt  has  been 
called. 

Except  the  duels  with  the  crooked  sabre,  in  which  the  heavy,  keen 
weapon,  having  reached  its  point,  is  drawn  suddenly  downward  with  great 
force,  these  contests  seldom  result  seriously.  But  as  we  have  noticed, 
there  are  strict  academical  laws  against  them,  and  as  a  neat  reward  is 
offered  to  those  beadles  who  have  prevented  and  detected  the  greatest 
number  of  them,  the  most  secret  chambers  and  grounds  are  often  rudely 
invaded  by  these  hounds  of  the  law.  Upon  their  approach  the  outpost 
whom  the  students  have  engaged  gives  notice  of  the  threatened  danger, 
and  the  dueling  costumes  are  torn  from  the  bodies  of  the  students, 
there  is  a  great  scattering  through  doors  and  windows,  into  the  woods, 
and  each  one  finds  his  way  back  to  the  university  as  best  he  can. 

The  beadles,  however,  often  approach  in  disguise,  as  peasants  and 
sportsmen,  and  not  unfrequently  a  wholesale  capture  is  made  and  the 
delinquents  are  marched  off  to  the  university  prison  in  the  attic  of  the 
chief  beadle's  house.  In  some  universities  the  confinement  is  not  so 
strict  but  that  the  prisoner  may  drink,  smoke,  and  chat  with  his  acquaint- 
ances whom  the  magistrate  admits,  and  after  a  few  days  he  may  attend 
lectures,  returning  to  his  prison  at  night ;  in  others  books  and  visits  are 
denied,  the  student  can  not  leave  the  prison  and  during  the  daytime  his 
bed  is  even  carried  away  so  that  he  can  not  lie  down  and  smoke  his  sen- 
tence away. 


DUELS. 


809 


Sword  bouts  and  drinking  bouts  do  not  comprise  the  student's  life  ; 
neitlier  is  all  said  when  he  makes  one  of  the  great  throng  which  pours 
forth  to  the  dancing  garden.  He  is  invited  to  the  homes  of  professors, 
becomes  a  welcome  member  of  a  city  famil)',  and  joins  reading  circles, 
musical  and  social  clubs.  He  takes  long  walks  and  rides  with  his  com- 
I^anions  through  the  surrounding  country  and  in  winter  enjoys  one  of 
the  sledging  processions,  which  issue  forth  from  most  university  towns  to 


■"'«i, 


«>v.. 


'  '\&-' 


c^iy^^a^ 


the  thundering  cracks  of  heavy  whips,  lighted  on  their  way  by  a  mass 
of  torches.  And  lastly,  life  at  a  German  university  is  not  child's  play. 
While  the  student  is  at  his  work  his  brain  buzzes  with  the  strain  ;  from 
his  necessities  spring  many  of  his  uproars  and  pranks,  and  although  he 
is  not  called  upon  to  be  a  boor  or  a  rough  there  is  a  fascination  in  the 
irrepressible  height  which  his  spirits  reacli  when  he  has  once  set  out  to 
scour  the  rust  of  stud)-  hours  from  his  \ariegatetl   nature. 


8io 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


HEINE. 


GREAT    UNIVERSITY     LIGHTS.  8x1 

GREAT  UNIVERSITY  LIGHTS. 

Although  a  native  is  received  into  the  university  through  the  gymna- 
sium, only  foreigners  are  admtitecl  without  examination.  When  the  stud- 
ent has  received  his  certificate  of  maturity,  he  not  only  can  enroll  himself 
in  any  university,  but  can  continue  his  course  at  any  number  where  he 
thinks  he  can  obtain  the  most  benefit.  He  can  board  and  lodge  where 
he  pleases,  and  is  virtually  his  own  master.  The  regular  course  of  study 
is  four  years,  some  of  the  universities  requiring  five  years  to  complete 
the  medical  course.  Dismissal  from  one  university  does  not  bar  one  out 
from  another,  but  expulsion  is  final. 

Most  of  the  great  literary  lights  of  German)-  have  availed  them- 
selves of  the  privilege,  studying,  gleaning  and  experimenting  at  several 
universities  before  returning  to  enter  the  world  of  letters.  The 
mighty  Goethe  went  to  Leipsic  and  Strasburg  to  study  law,  but  found 
that  love,  philosophy,  architecture,  anatomy  and  anything  but  legal 
studies  look  hold  of  him.  He  also  fied  to  Wetzlar  that  he  might,  if  he 
would,  drain  the  law  libraries  there;  but  instead  he  wrote  the  "  Sorrows 
of  Werther."  There  is  nothing  like  the  free  range  of  university  life  in 
Germany  to  teach  a  young  man  wherein  his  strength  lies;  for  the  best 
of  everything  is  spread    before  him  in  one  university  or  another. 

Bonn,  IJerlin  and  Gottingen  succeeded  in  imposing  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Law  upon  Heine,  Germany's  greatest  lyric  poet,  but  he  met 
Schlegel  at  the  former  university  and  discovered  that  he  could  not  live 
outside  the  charmed  circle  of  literature.  Furthermore  he  became  a 
violent  democrat,  and  on  account  of  some  letters  addressed  to  Count 
Von  Moltke  found  it  advisable  to  spend  the  balance  of  his  life  in  Paris. 
•  Next  to  Goethe,  Schiller  is  recognized  as  Germany's  greatest  poet. 
Under  the  patronage  of  a  duke  he  tried  to  press  his  soul  into  legal  and 
medical  fetters,  but  could  not.  Although  he  passed  the  examination  for 
a  military  surgeon  by  the  time  he  was  of  age,  the  publication  of  "The 
Robbers"  during  the  same  year  told  where  his  enthusiasm  had  been.  A 
few  years  thereafter  he  was  drawn  to  Leipsic,  in  which  famous  university 
town  he  met  contemporaries  worthy  of  his  friendship.  Schiller  was  after- 
wards invited  to  Weimar  by  the  Grand  Duke,  Karl-August,  and  formed, 
for  many  years,  one  of  a  famous  quartette,  having  as  companions  Goethe, 
Herder  and  Wieland.  The  ducal  palace,  the  town  church  and  public 
library  still  show  frescoes  illustrating  their  works,  and  striking  busts 
which  add  a  charm  to  the  frescoes.  Herder's  tomb  is  in  the  town 
church  and  the  bodies  of  Goethe  and  Schiller  lie  in  the  grand-ducal 
burial  vault. 


8l2  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

HEIDELBERG. 

The  university  of  Heidelberg  is  the  oldest  of  the  German  institutes 
after  those  of  Prague  and  Vienna.  It  stands  in  the  center  of  the  town 
which  wanders  for  nearly  three  miles  along  the  banks  of  the  rushing 
Neckar  River,  gleaming  waters  and  the  vine-clad  hills  on  the  further 
shore  to  attract  the  eyes  on  one  side  and  the  beautiful  suburban  gar- 
dens and  lightning-rifted  castle  of  the  Electors  Palatine  on  the  other. 
The  university  is  a  plain  structure,  the  library  comprising  over  200,000 
volumes,  and  the  museums  being  contained  in  two  separate  buildings. 
The  university  has  a  world-wide  reputation  for  the  completeness  of  its 
departments,  the  castle,  is  almost  as  celebrated  as  the  university,  and  the 
beer  tun,  in  the  cellar  of  the  deserted  castle,  has  become  as  notorious  as 
either. 

The  castle  ruins  almost  throw  their  fantastic  shadows  down  the 
face  of  the  rocky  hill  upon  the  houses  of  the  town.  The  castle  proper 
has  as  companion  pieces  two  towers  which  show  that  the  engines  of  war 
are  almost  as  mighty  as  those  of  nature,  and  behind  it,  upon  the  same 
broad  terrace,  are  masses  of  older  palaces  and  towers,  the  entire  pile  rep- 
resenting different  styles  of  architectures  prevalent  during  three  or  four 
centuries.  Next  to  the  Alhambra  of  Granada,  the  Castle  of  Heidel- 
berg has  been  pronounced  the  most  magnificent  ruin  of  the  middle  ages. 

In  the  valley  below  rushes  the  Neckar.  The  mountain  of  All  Saints, 
with  its  ruined  convent  for  a  head  dress,  rises  from  the  farther  bank. 
P2astward  the  valley  is  shut  in  by  hills  ;  westward  the  sweep  over  the 
plain  of  the  Rhine  is  free.     Beyond  rise  the  blue  Alsatian  mountains. 

The  dark  paths  of  the  castle  gardens  and  their  shadowy  glens  lead 
through  valleys,  fields  and  vineyards  to  the  dense  beech  woods  of  the 
Odenwald  and  beyond  the  mountains  themselves.  These  are  fascinating 
and  favorite  walks  for  the  students  and  villagers,  and  once  upon  the 
heights  the  picturesque  and  historical  plain  of  the  Rhine  is  before  you. 
In  the  distance  is  Worms  where  the  mythical  Siegfried  sought  the  hand 
of  Kriemhild  and  where  the  unquestionable  Luther  fought  a  greater  bat- 
tle than  the  "  Nibelungen  Lied"  ever  recorded.  Toward  the  south  is 
ancient  Swabia,  and  now  the  German  may  look  boldly  over  into  France. 

LEIPSIC. 

Around  Leipsic,  the  university  city  of  Saxony,  circled  many  of  the 
whirlpools  of  the  Reformation.  Luther,  the  intellectual  general  of  the 
movement,  was  a  native  of  Saxony,  and  his  first  disciples  were  the  students 
of  the  Wittenberg  university,  in   which   he   taught   as   the  professor  of 


LEIPSIC.  8 1 3 

scholastic  philosophy.  The  text  of  the  Latin  theses  which  he  nailed  on 
the  door  of  the  old  Schlosskirche  nov;  appears  on  the  bronze  doors  of  the 
new  church,  while  heroic  statues  of  himself  and  the  scholarly,  more  gentle 
Melanchthon  stand  near  the  town  hall.  In  the  church  the  two  are 
buried  tosjether,  the  two  intellectual  leaders  of  the  Reformation  in  Ger- 
many — and  if  any  of  the  princes  of  the  German  states  can  claim  the 
questionable  honor  of  defending  religious  liberty  with  the  sword  they  are 
surely  those  of  Saxony.  Maurice  of  Saxony  established  the  principle  of 
liberty  of  worship  for  all  the  states  of  Germany,  and,  while  the  first 
bursts  of  public  passion  were  raging,  Luther  owed  his  safety  to  Frederick 
the  Wise.  Under  his  protection  he  was  lodged  in  a  castle,  and  given  that 
security  and  quiet  which  enabled  him  to  translate  the  New  Testament. 
The  university  of  Wittenberg,  afterwards  merged  with  that  of  Halle, 
welcomed  him  when  he  again  entered  actively  into  the  fight  and  over 
her  he  always  hovered  as  over  a  favorite  child  ;  but  the  learned  profes- 
sors of  the  Leipsic  university  took  up  his  work,  and  brought  as  power- 
ful weapons  to  bear  as  any  of  the  royal  protectors  of  Lutheranism. 

The  university  of  Leipsic  was  founded  during  the  first  part  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  and  having  retained  its  landed  estates  in  the  city,  it  is 
a  very  wealthy  landlord,  and  is  enabled  to  support  hundreds  of  poor  stu- 
dents who  are  found  worthy  of  assistance.  It  is  great  in  all  its  depart- 
ments, and  its  professors  have  been  among  the  most  eminent  scholars  of 
Germany.  The  university  buildings  form  an  imposing  pile.the  most  prom- 
inent being  the  Augusteum,  which  contains  a  great  hall,  lecture  room,  mu- 
seum and  libraries.  The  structure  is  300  feet  in  length  and  three  stories 
high. 

Hahnemann  studied  in  the  university,  and  after  he  had  practiced 
his  profession  for  several  years,  he  returned  to  Leipsic,  with  his  confi- 
dence shaken  in  the  old  system.  His  family  were  suffering  with  disease 
and  he  was  obliged  to  prescribe  for  them  according  to  methods  in  which 
he  did  not  believe.  Virtually  abandoning  his  profession,  although  he 
was  struggling  with  poverty,  he  devoted  himself  to  translating  foreign 
medical  works.  It  was  while  thus  eno-aaed  that  he  obtained  the  clue  to 
the  law  of  Similia  similibiis,  which  is  the  foundation  of  the  system  of 
homceopathy.  Leipsic  feels  that  he  is  one  of  her  sons,  and  has  a  monu- 
ment erected  to  him. 

Of  all  the  great  men  who  have  been  citizens  of  Leipsic,  John  Bach, 
the  musician,  is  among  the  greatest.  He  died  in  Leipsic,  and  his  mon- 
ument commemorates  the  blessed  fact  that  he  lived  to  inspire  more  peo- 
ple than  the  most  eloquent  of  orators.  The  city  which  so  long  has 
been  a  treasury  of  genius  and  learning  is  one  of  the  leading  book  cen- 
ters of  Germany,  as  well  as  the  foremost  of  its  commercial  marts. 


8 14  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

The  downfall  of  Napoleon  dates  from  Leipsic,  1813,  rather  than 
from  Waterloo,  181 5.  Here  he  was  overpowered  and  smothered  by  the 
overwhelming  forces  of  Prussia,  Austria  and  Russia.  Though  the  Old 
Guard  fought  with  a  dash  which  will  always  inspire  enthusiasm  as  long  as 
there  is  a  history  of  war,  and  the  entire  army  of  France  were  heroes 
worthy  of  being  defenders  of  their  own  soil,  the  invaders  were  expelled 
and  Germany  became  free. 

AGRICULTURISTS. 

Perhaps,  next  to  her  soldiers  and  her  scholars,  Germany  is  most  noted 
for  her  peasantry.  The  government  earnestly  supports  agricultural 
colleges  and  the  people  have  made  of  farming  a  scientific  study.  It  is 
singular  how,  even  among  the  most  ignorant  of  the  peasantry,  the  latest 
methods  of  irrigation  and  rotation  of  crops  have  been  disseminated. 
The  holdings  are  generally  so  small,  however,  that  the  most  improved  of 
farming  implements  do  not  cut  a  figure.  But  when  each  agricultural 
village  sends  its  representatives  to  Leipsic,  or  some  other  city  where  the 
annual  congress  is  held,  it  receives,  with  the  return  of  its  honored 
citizens,  the  result  of  the  combined  experience  of  thousands  of  farmers 
and  scientists.  The  consequence  is  that  not  a  square  foot  of  land  which 
can  be  cultivated  goes  to  waste  ;  as  the  majority  of  the  young  men  serve 
in  the  army  the  women  form  the  bulk  of  the  peasantry,  which  fact,  also, 
accounts  for  the  care  which  is  taken  that  the  profits  of  husbandry  do  not 
leak  away  in  driblets  of  waste. 

Every  province,  furthermore,  has  it  general  society,  consisting  of 
members  from  all  the  rural  districts.  They  are  publicly  questioned  by 
a  general  committee  as  to  lay  of  land,  methods  of  irrigation,  ways  of 
manaeine  cattle,  results  obtained  from  various  methods  of  <rraftinir  etc., 
etc.  Statements  are  compared,  discussions  are  in  order,  changes  and 
improvements  are  suggested,  and  the  farmers  go  home  to  discuss  the 
discussions  among  themselves  and  in  their  local  gatherings  and  instruct 
their  wives  and  daughters — or,  likely  enough,  give  orders  to  them. 

Although,  as  he  runs,  the  German  agriculturist  is  a  remarkably 
intelligent,  industrious  citizen  his  home  is  not  what  it  should  be.  On 
account  of  the  value  of  land  he  can  not  afford  a  garden,  his  yard  being 
monopolized  by  the  cows,  and,  within,  his  house  is  dark  and  contracted, 
it  being  one  of  many  which  are  crowded  into  the  narrow  lane  of  a  dirty, 
old  town.  But  his  fioors  are  white  and  sanded  and  he  can  offer  you 
coffee,  black  bread  and  rolls  in  the  early  morning,  a  cold-meat  luncheon 
in  the  forenoon,  and  a  dinner  of  meat,  vegetables  and  dessert.  In  season, 
he  furnishes  his  table  with  apples,  plums,  grapes  and  pears ;  for  there 


■J 


2! 
< 

'J 


AGRICUI-TURISTS.  815 

are  few  farmers,  however  small,  who  have  not  their  orchards,  and  nearly 
every  village  has  an  experimental  nursery  of  fruit  trees. 

If  the  cattle  and  pigs,  geese,  hens  and  chickens  were  not  so  near, 
and  the  dining  room  table  were  not  put  to  so  many  uses,  and  the  drink- 
ing vessels  corresponded  to  the  mcniths,  the  fare  of  the  average  German 
farmer  would  be  appetizing  enough  ;  but  though  there  is  plenty  there  is 
not  freedom.  The  cattle,  sheep  and  pigs  are  obliged  to  be  penned,  as  a 
rule;  there  is  no  room  for  them  to  roam.  In  summer  the  children  and 
women  go  daily  to  the  pasture  and  cut  green  fodder  —  grass  and 
clover.  Most  of  the  land  is  devoted  to  pasturage.  It  is  carefully  sown 
to  clover  and  the  best  of  grasses,  and  tended  with  the  same  regard  to 
individual  blades  and  leaves  as  the  florist  gives  to  his  most  valued  hot- 
house products. 

Occasionally  it  happens  that  the  pasture  land  is  irregular  and  does 
not  incline  at  a  convenient  angle  for  irrigation.  Then  the  men  and 
women  remove  the  entire  turf  and  layer  of  good  earth.  Next  they  take 
away  enough  unproductive  subsoil  to  obtain  the  proper  pitch,  so  that 
the  water  may  run  over  the  field.  The  meadow  is  graded,  the  fertile  soil 
thrown  over  it,  the  turf  relaid  and  the  trenches  formed  through  which 
the  water  is  to  be  distributed.  Sometimes  a  well  is  dug  on  the  upper 
side  of  the  inclined  plane  from  which  the  water  is  run  into  the  supply- 
ing canal  which  crosses  the  field,  whether  of  grass,  grain  or  vegetables. 
At  the  bottom  of  the  field  is  the  receiving  canal.  Between  the  two, 
crossing  at  right  angles,  are  the  narrow  furrows  for  distribution.  There 
is  a  science  of  grading  the  land  so  that  the  water  will  reach  every  part 
without  disturbing-  the  soil  ;  there  is  a  science  in  knowino-  when  to 
flood  a  field,  so  that  the  crops  will  not  be  chilled  ;  there  is  a  science  in 
the  entire  industry.  Snow  water  should  not  be  used,  as  it  has  a  tend- 
ency to  dissolve  the  earth  and  carry  away  its  richest  particles.  "After 
the  crops  are  gathered  and  the  land  clear,  the  water  overflows  two  or 
three  times  a  week  during  the  autumn,  till  frost  comes.  In  spring  it  is 
done  in  the  night,  two  or  three  times  a  week,  when  it  is  dry  and  warm 
enough  not  to  freeze,  as  this  would  injure  the  grass  ;  again,  in  June,  just 
before  haying  time,  as  thus  the  stems  are  rendered  softer  and  the  mow- 
ing easier.  Then  for  the  fourth  and  last  time,  fifteen  days  after  the 
mowing  is  finished,  and  when  the  stubble  is  dry  and  decayed,  so  that  it 
will  not  take  in  nourishment  which  is  destined  for  the  new  shoots,  the 
whole  is  overflowed  quite  often  till  fifteen  days  before  the  grain  harvest 
commences." 

A  meadow  thus  coaxed  and  cultivated  will  yield  enormous  crops  of 
feed,  many  fold  greater  than  if  left  to  the  tender  mercies  of  the  cattle 


8i6 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


and  sheep.  The  number  of  animals  which  it  will  support  is  increased 
enormously,  and  with  this  increase  another  advantage  is  derived.  Not 
only  are  the  animals  housed  and  all  manures  carefully  preserved  to  fer- 
tilize grain-field,  orchards  and  gardens,  but  the  rich  fluids  from  the 
heaps,  which  most  husbandmen  allow  to  run  to  waste,  are  collected  into 
trenches,  drawn  by  suction  pipes  into  carts  and  employed  as  an  inval- 
uable fertilizer. 

There  are  few  exceptions  among  the  German  agriculturists  to  this 
ceaseless  round  of  bringing  feed  to  the  animals,  and  fertilizers  to  the 
fields  ;  in  short,  they  allow  nothing  to  take  care  of  itself.  But  in  some 
of  the  villages  the  cattle  of  the  poor  are  allowed  to   crop  the  grass  by 


A  VILLAGE  GKOUP. 


the  wayside  for  a  few  hours  daily,  the  balance  of  their  sustenance  being 
obtained  through  the  efforts  of  the  children  and  the  women,  who  scour 
hill  and  vale  with  knives  and  sickles,  cutting  blades  and  tufts  of  grass 
which  have  been  overlooked  by  the  harvesters  and  putting  them  into 
baskets  or  cloths.  In  the  forests  they  may  be  seen  gathering  the  cones, 
which  fall  from  the  fir  trees,  to  use  for  fuel. 


THE  FORESTS  OF  GERMANY. 

The  peasants  and  villagers  are  very  particular  what  they  do  in  the 
forests,  for  if  not  actually  government  property  they  are  under  its  super- 


THE  FORESTS  OV    GERMAN V.  817 

vision  and  control.  The  preservation  and  cultivation  of  timber  lands 
have  been  as  carefull)-  studied  as  the  science  of  agriculture,  and  there 
are  few  timber  tracts  of  any  extent  in  the  empire  through  which  one  can 
pass  without  discovering  miniature  forests  and  groves,  neatly  fenced, 
which  are  destined  to  take  the  place  of  the  giants  which  are  constantly 
being  felled.  The  most  extensive  forests  are  found  in  Central  and 
Southern  Germany,  and,  at  different  times  and  by  different  writers,  they 
have  all  been  merged  into  the  depths  of  the  Hercynian  Forest,  the  bug- 
bear even  of  old  Rome. 

The  blackest  member  of  this  dense  Hercynian  Forest  is  the  Black 
Forest,  which  for  ninety  miles  throws  a  mighty  covering  of  pine,  beech 
and  fir  trees  nearly  to  the  summit  of  a  mountain  chain.  The  forest 
stretches  from  near  Heidelberg,  in  Northern  Baden,  along  the  valley  of 
the  Rhine  almost  to  the  Swiss  boundary.  Within  it  rises  the  great  Danube, . 
and  the  black  woods  of  fir,  whose  branches  are  so  intertwined  that  the 
very  twitter  of  the  birds  has  a  mufiied  sound,  have  given  birth  to  more 
giants,  hobgoblins  and  robbers  to  frown  upon  the  dreams  of  childhood 
than  all  other  localities  upon  the  surface  of  the  earth.  But  the  Black 
Forest  is  not  all  shadow,  from  which  horrors  issue.  For  eight  months 
in  the  year  the  summits  of  the  mountains  above  it  wear  their  caps  of 
snow,  and  from  its  feet  creep  pretty  valleys  clad  with  grass  and  vines, 
for  as  many  months.  The  Rhine  side  of  the  forest  pitches  the  rivers 
down  the  steep  rocks  with  tumult  and  roar  of  waters  ;  its  eastern  slopes 
shed  them  oH  so  gently  that  they  flow  through  the  cool  shades  of  the 
fragrant  woods  with  just  murmur  enough  to  prove  them  alive. 

The  Black  Forest  spreads  out  from  the  mountains  for  several  miles 
on  either  side,  and  openings  in  it  are  planted  to  small  fields  of  rye,  oats 
or  potatoes,  with  here  and  there  a  saw-mill  humming  and  screaming  on 
the  bank  of  a  picturesque  stream  ;  or  a  farm  hou.se,  with  its  wide  project- 
ing roof  and  balcony  beneath,  appears  ;  or  a  whole  village  containing 
factory  buildings  where  the  rye  straw  is  being  turned  into  hats  and  some 
of  the  forest  timber  into  clocks.  Most  of  the  strength  of  the  Black 
Forest,  however,  goes  into  the  masts  and  timbers  of  ships. 

But  the  important  manufacturing  processes  go  on  in  the  little  forest 
houses.  Whatever  the  denizens  of  the  Black  Forest  might  have  once 
been,  they  are  now  as  harmless  as  the  canar)'  birds  which  they  raise  in 
the  aviaries  beneath  their  porcelain  stoves.  This  is  a  great  business  with 
the  foresters  and  can  almost  be  included  among  the  manufactures.  But 
while  the  birds  are  trilling  in  their  tropic  heat,  or  hopping  merrily  about, 
the  women  are  braiding  straw  or  making  and  polishing  different  parts  of 
clocks  and  watches.      When  the  straw  has  been  braided  it  will  be  taken 


8l8  PANORAMA    UK    NATIONS. 

to  the  factory,  thrown  into  a  vat,  boiled  in  the  dye  and  dried  and  ironed 
by  men.  In  such  a  factory  also  can  be  seen  flowers,  wreaths  and 
bouquets,  fashioned  and  colored  most  beautifully  by  these  forest  peasant 
women.  In  the  clock  and  watch  factory  it  is  noi'oed  that  the  women  and 
men  there  employed  are  merely  putting  the  pieces  together  which  are 
made  in  the  cottages.  Neither  are  the  clocks  all  common  in  appearance, 
many  of  them  being  placed  upon  fine  bronze  and  marble  stands.  When 
it  is  statecfthat  about  180,000  of  these  wooden  clocks  are  e.xported  yearly 
from  the  Black  Forest  to  all  parts  of  Europe  and  America,  no  one  will 
say  that  we  have  wasted  words  upon  a  very  insignificant  topic. 

Furthermore,  the  busy  women  and  children  of  the  Black  Forest 
send  out  many  of  those  wooden  sets  of  villages,  with  those  pyramidical 
fir  trees,  which  have  pleased  the  children  of  all  lands.  The  spinning 
wheel,  with  wool  or  flax  upon  the  distaff,  is  busy,  when  the  women  can 
snatch  time  from  their  farm  ai  J  household  labors ;  the  men  give 
much  of  their  attention  to  the  raising  of  cattle,  the  country  being  better 
fitted  for  that  branch  of  husbandry  than  for  agriculture.  And  yet,  not- 
withstanding there  are  few  people  who  are  more  industrious  and  cheer- 
ful than  these  dwellers  in  the  Black  Forest,  their  houses  are  meanly  fur- 
nished and  their  bill-of-fare  rests  upon  pork,   black  bread,  coffee  and 

potatoes. 

The  lace  makers  of  Saxony,  and  many  of  the  industrial  classes  all 
over  Germany,  are  home  manufacturers.  Cotton  and  woolen  fabrics, 
class  and  iron  manufactures  and  other  branches  which  flourish  in  the 
large  cities,  have  been  drawn  into  the  whirl  of  machinery.  The  toys  of 
the  Black  Forest  and  the  Hartz  Mountains  have  their  uses,  and  so  do 
the  gigantic  guns  of  Herr  Krupp. 

Their  manufacture  has  founded  a  city.  In  the  works  and  in  the 
mines  over  20,000  men  are  employed.  A  railway  system,  a  telegraph 
system,  p-mting  and  lithographic  establishments,  a  fire  brigade,  hospi- 
tals, mansions  and  good  dwelling  houses  are  parts  of  Herr  Krupp's 
wonderful  machine.  He  speaks  of  his  furnaces  in  four  figures  and  the 
enoines  which  supply  the  blasts  which  run  his  four-score  giant  hammers, 
and  are  behind  the  roaring,  belching,  hissing  and  deafening  monster 
which  we  call  works,  are  pushing  the  whole  grand  machine  forward  with 
the  power  of  ten  thousand  horses.       His  foundries  are  at  Essen. 

THE  HIGH  AND  LOW  GERMANS. 

It  was  in  the  vicinity  of  Essen  and  Munster  and  westward  along  the 
Rhine  that  the  old  Saxon  sprung  up  as  a  written  dialect,  which  was 
spoken  in  the  lowlands  of  Central  Germany  from  the  Rhine  to  the  Elbe. 


THE    GERMAN    AM)    THE    RHINE. 


819 


The  Saxons  were,  and  still  are,  the  most  prominent  representatives  of 
the  Low  Germans,  or  those  inhabiting  the  lowlands  of  Germany.  North 
of  them  were  the  Frisians,  who  were  also  Low  Germans,  and  who 
formed  so  important  an  element  in  the  com[)Osition  of  the  Dutch. 

The  most  ancient  confederation  of  (jermanic  tribes  was  called  the 
Suevi.  They  were  mentioned  by  Cc'esar  as  living  between  the  Elbe,  the 
Vistula  and  the  Baltic,  in  what  would  now  be  Northern  Prussia.  Sub- 
sequently they  appear  in  Southern  Germany  as  the  Swabians.  The 
Bavari  were  also  settled  east  of  them  on  the  Lower  Rhine.  The  Swab- 
ians, Bavarians,  Alsatians  and  Swiss  belong  to  the  High  German  division. 
There  is  still  a  modern  Low  German,  but  from  Luther's  time  the  High 
German    of    the   south,    and   the    middle    High  German,  which    closely 


WATCHING  THE  RlH.Mi. 

resembled  the  Saxon,  have  been  formed  into  the  lantruaee  which  is  now 
recognized  as  classical.  His  translation  of  the  Bible  had  its  effect  in 
making  of  the  various  German  tribes  a  united  people,  and  since  his  day 
the  distinction  between  High  and  Low  Germans  has  not  been  so 
marked. 

Perhaps  in  Luther  and  the  Rhine  maybe  found  the  two  influences 
which  made  United  Germany  possible. 

THE  GERMAN  AND  THE  RHINE. 

The  Rhine  is  the  national  cord  which  binds  Germany  more  firmly 
together  than  even  her  constitution.  There  are  High  and  Low  Germans, 
Bavarians  and  Hanovarians,  but  they  are  all  agreed  that  the  Rhine  is 
the  dearest  river  in  the  world,  and  if  only  one  thing  could  be  left  to  the 
Fatherland  every  strong  native  voice  would  shout,  "  The  Rhine  !  The 
Rhine!  Take  all  but  the  Rhine!"  The  river  is  like  the  most  pleasing 
type  of  the  national  character  —  broad,  deep,  rugged,  tender,  impetuous 


820  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

yet  controllable.  Primarily  it  draws  its  life  from  the  glaciers  and  cold 
streams  of  the  Alps.  As  it  rushes  along  toward  the  Fatherland  it 
receives  hundreds  of  tributaries,  until,  no  longer  able  to  contain  its  vast 
supplies,  it  spreads  out  into  the  fickle  Lake  of  Constance.  Somewhat 
subdued  in  its  impetuosity,  it  flows  steadily  toward  France,  but  as  if 
suddenly  determining  upon  another  course,  turns  abruptly  to  the  north 
and  becomes  the  loved  one  of  Germany.  If  there  is  any  one  part  more 
than  another  to  which  the  national  heart  clings  and  over  which  it  swells, 
where  "  The  Watch  on  the  Rhine"  will  burst  forth  from  German  lips 
and  echo  along  steep  rugged  banks,  among  ruined  fortresses  and  heavily 
laden  vineyards,  it  is  that  portion  of  the  splendid  riverwhich  lies  between 
Mainz  and  Bonn. 

But  others  than  the  Germans  have  become  drunk  with  the  glories 
of  the  Rhine.  One  of  the  greatest  of  our  American  poets  and  most 
mellow  of  scholars  exclaims  :  "  O,  the  pride  of  the  German  heart  is 
this  noble  river  !  And  right  it  is  ;  for  of  all  the  rivers  of  this  beautiful 
earth,  there  is  none  so  beautiful  as  this.  There  is  hardly  a  league  of  its 
whule  course,  from  its  cradle  in  the  snowy  Alps  to  its  grave  in  the  sands 
of  Holland,  which  boasts  not  its  peculiar  charms.  By  heavens  !  If  I 
were  a  German  I  would  be  proud  of  it,  too ;  and  of  the  clustering  grapes 
that  hang  about  its  temples,  as  it  reels  onward  through  vineyards,  in  a 
triumphal  march,  like  Bacchus  crowned  and  drunken.  Bvit  I  will  not 
attempt  to  describe  the  Rhine ;  it  would  make  this  chapter  much  too 
long.  And  to  do  it  well,  one  should  write  like  a  god,  and  his  style  flow 
onward  royally  with  breaks  and  dashes,  like  the  waters  of  that  royal 
river,  and  antique,  quaint  and  gothic  times  be  reflected  in  it." 

FOLK   LORE. 

To  every  old  castle  which  hangs  fondly  over  the  banks  of  the 
Rhine,  as  if  loth  to  give  up  the  ghost,  some  weird  tale  of  genius  or  giant, 
or  of  bold  knight  and  fair  lady,  is  attached.  There  is  scarcely  a  foot  of 
ground  which  does  not  add  its  mite  to  the  folk  lore  of  Germany;  and 
since  many  good  people  have  become  religious,  the  old  ideas  of  sprightly 
dwarfs  and  helpful  fairies  have  been  strangely  entangled  with  the  God 
and  Christ  and  angels  of  their  faith.  The  Lord  himself  is  supposed  to 
come  to  earth  and  in  various  forms,  during  the  silent  watches  of  the  night. 
mysteriously  repair  the  leaking  roof  of  the  godly  widow,  caulk  and  paint 
the  old  boat  of  the  good  fisherman  and  put  together  the  barrels  of  the 
pious  cooper.  The  ghosts  still  haunt  the  castles,  the  fairies  hide  in  the 
forests  and  the  gnomes  delve  in  the  mountains,  but  the  number  of  charac- 
ters is  increased.      Each  city  also  has  its  wonderful  story  to  tell.      For 


FOLK     LORE.  82 1 

instance  there  is  Mainz,  that  massive,  warlike  city,  which  has  presented  a 
•o-rim,  stern  front  ever  since  Drusus  built  his  castle  before  Christ  lived. 
There  is  still  to  be  seen  a  mass  of  stones,  supposed  to  be  his  monument, 
and  the  remains  of  a  vast  Roman  aducduct.  The  town,  with  its  ponder- 
ous fortifications,  might  remind  one  o(  how  much  that  is  Roman  lies  at  tlie 
base  of  the  German  character.  Gutenberg  was  born  here  also.  But  the 
quaint  old  German  frau  will  tell  you  that  Mainz  is  noted  because  when 
the  Emperor  Constantine  was  marching  from  it  the  Holy  Cross  appeared 
to  him;  that  the  city  is  famous,  not  that  Charlemagne  should  have  been 
born  in  it  and  should  have  built  his  palace  of  "Ingelheim"  just  within  its 
walls,  but  that  an  angel  should  have  visited  him  and  given  him  warning 
of  an  attempt  upon  his  life.  The  tale  is  spiced  with  magic  herbs  which 
■enabled  the  king  to  understand  the  language  of  birds,  with  contests  with 
mvsterious  knights  in  dark  forests  and  all  the  etceteras.      Charlemagne 

p  ^..  .,  ,  ,."^ 


SCENE  ON  THE  RHINE. 


made  the  hills  and  valleys,  opposite  to  the  palace  which  he  called  Angel's 
Home,  to  glisten  with  vineyards,  and  filled  immense  cellars  with  their 
rich  products  ;  and  another  story  runs  that  from  his  mighty  tomb  in 
Aix-la-Chapelle  the  great  king  steps  forth  annually,  when  the  harvest  is 
at  hand,  and  l)lesses  the  villages,  the  cottages  and  the  vineyards  which 
he  loved  so  well  and  which  sleep  so  peacefully  on  the  banks  of  the 
Rhine. 

The  tomb  from  which  Charlemagne's  gigantic  ghost  is  said  to  stalk 
is  in  a  beautiful  cathedral  in  Aix-la-Chapelle,  which  is  in  Rhenish  Prussia 
near  the  Belgium  boundary,  and  at  the  time  of  the  great  monarch  s 
death  was  a  convenient  point  from  which  to  survey  his  mighty  dominions. 
Charlemagne's  chair,  his  portrait,  and  the  pictures  of  other  German  em- 
perors who  were  crowned  here  previous  to  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  cent- 
ury, are  also  on  exhibition  in  the  cathedral  or  the  town  hall.  Once  in 
seven   years    it   is   customary  to  expose   to  public  view  a    collection  of 


822  PANORAMA    OF    NATICJNS. 

relics  which  Charlemagne  received  from  the  patriarch  of  Jerusalem 
and  a  Mohammedan  caliph.  They  are  usually  preserved  in  a  tower  at 
the  west  end  of  the  church. 

THE  HARTZ  MOUNTAINS. 

Leaving  the  Rhine  to  creep  between  the  high  embankments  of  the 
Netherlands,  or  to  break  through  them  with  its  cruel  vigor  of  the  spring- 
time, we  pass  to  another  region  which  is  redolent  with  gnomes  and 
fairies.  The  Hartz  mountains  are  not  even  recorded  on  many  maps,  but 
who  does  not  know  of  the  Brocken,  upon  which  the  witches,  under  the 
masterly  leadership  of  Goethe,  celebrated  their  annual  meeting  during 
Walpurgis  Night.  From  their  sides  of  granite,  limestone  and  sand- 
stone are  shed  the  waters  of  the  Weser  and  the  Elbe,  and  the  Brocken, 
as  the  pivot  of  the  range,  has  been  washed  into  those  swelling  lines 
which  give  it  the  appearance  of  a  stupendous  ant-hill  built  up  in  the 
clouds,  or  a  distant  world  which  might,  any  moment,  set  out  to  roll  in 
space. 

THE  BROCKEN  AND  CxOETHE. 

When  Mephistopheles  suggests  the  desirability  of  a  broomstick  tO' 
ascend  the  mountain,  where  a  visit  was  to  be  paid  to  the  witches,  Faust 
replies  : 

While  fresh  upon  my  legs,  so  long  I  naught  require 

Except  this  knotty  staff.     Besides, 

What  boots  it  to  abridge  a  pleasant  way' 

Along  the  labyrinth  of  these  vales  to  creep, 

Then  scale  these  rocks,  whence,  in  eternal  spray, 

Adown  the  cliffs  the  silvery  fountains  leap: 

Such  is  the  joy  that  seasons  paths  like  these  ! 

Spring  weaves  already  'in  the  birchen  trees; 

E'en  the  late  pine-grove  feels  her  quickening  powers; 

Should  she  not  work  within  these  limbs  of  ours? 

In  other  words,  Faust  not  only  desired  to  drink  in  the  beauties  of 
the  Brocken,  but  he  could  see  no  reason  why  they  should  not  use  their 
own  good  German  legs.  Readers  of  the  immortal  tragedy  know  what 
they  found,  and  there  are  few  of  a  fanciful,  wonder-loving  disposition  who- 
have  not  met  the  gnomes  of  the  Brothers  Grimm,  which  little  misshap- 
pen  workmen  originated  to  so  great  an  e.xtent  in  the  folk  lore  of  the 
natives  of  the  Hartz.  Even  these  delving  philologists,  one  of  them,  at 
least,  among  the  greatest  of  his  age,  could  not  exclude  from  their  literary- 
life  the  quaint  conceits  and  honest  beliefs  of  the  common  people. 

The  Brocken  is  ascended  from  the  pretty  mountain  village  of  Ilsen- 


THE    liKOCKKX    AND    GOETHE. 


823 


berg,  with  the  black  pipes  of  the  foundries  pouring  forth  smoke  and 
flames  in  defiance  of  the  trees  which  cluster  around.  The  climb  is  usu- 
ally made  without  even  the  staff  with  which  Goethe  was  assisted  and 
brings  one  through  glades  and  pastures,  forests  of  pine,  over  carpets  of 
moss  and  fir  cones  and  wild  gardens  of  roses,  forget-me-nots  and  purple 
heath,  with  moss  and  creepers  covering  the  rocks  which  overhang  the 
pathway.  Black  charcoal  burners,  both  men  and  women,  are  seen 
working  near  masses  of  felled  trees,  and  further  along,  it  may  be,  there 


will  be  found  a  miniature  forest  of  fir  trees,  a  few  inches  in  height,  which 
in  years  to  come  will  furnish  their  grandchildren  with  work.  The  tiny 
trees  are  surrounded  with  little  fences,  and  as  they  grow  will  be  placed 
further  apart. 

Much  of  the  course  of  the  Brocken  is  determined  by  the  windings 
of  the  Use,  but  as  we  approach  the  Blocksberg,  a  spot  haunted  by  witches 
and  spectres  from  time  immemorial,  the  path  leaves  the  stream  and  the 


824  PANORAMA    OF     NATIONS. 

scenery  becomes  wilder  and  grander.  Great  blocks  of  granite  and  mossy 
boulders  shut  out  the  keen  air,  \Yhich  comes  to  us  with  a  touch  of  relief 
when  we  reach  a  more  exposed  point.  (  )f  course  Hans  Christian  Ander- 
sen has  had  his  story  about  the  Brocken,  especially  about  the  Blocks- 
berg,  which  enormous  rock  looks  with  such  a  secure  air  over  the  sur- 
rounding country.  He  says  that  the  beautiful  maiden  Use  fled  to  it  with 
her  bridegroom  when  the  Deluge  carried  the  waters  of  the  northern  seas 
to  the  verv  base  of  the  Brocken.  ,-\t  the  summit  of  this  famous  rock  is 
an  inn,  and  in  the  hostelry  is  a  visitor's  book  which  contains  verses  and 
sketches  by  not  a  few  noted  men  and  by  thousands  of  would-be  wits. 
The  genial  Danish  poet  and  story-teller  left  his  mark  in  it  himself  and 
did  not  ilisdain  to  carve  liis  name  on  the  pine  trees  of  the  mountain. 
He  also  drank  in,  with  quiet  enjoyment,  as  thousands  have  done  before 
and  since,  stories  about  those  Immense  granite  blocks,  the  Witches' Altar 
and  the  Devil's  I^ulpit.  In  a  few  simple  words  Andersen  describes  the 
summit  of  the  Brocken  :  "  It  gives  me  an  idea  of  a  northern  tumulus 
on  a  grand  scale.  Here  stone  lies  piled  on  stone  and  a  strange  silence 
rests  over  the  whole.  Not  a  bird  twitters  in  the  low  pines  ;  roundabout 
are  white  grave  flowers  growing  in  the  high  moss,  and  stones  lie  in 
masses  on  the  sides  (jf  the  mountain  top.  We  were  now  on  the  top,  but 
everything  was  in  a  mist  ;  it  began  to  blow,  and  the  wind  drove  the 
clouds  onward  over  the  mountain  top  as  if  they  were  flocks  of  sheep." 

In  a  clear  day,  when  the  clouds  have  condescended  to  float  among 
the  lower  forests  of  pine  like  a  lot  of  white  clothes  thrown  down  there 
to  dry,  the  towns  of  Brunswick  and  Hanover  appear  as  dots  on  the  dis- 
tant plains  ;  Init  pine  hills  and  mountains  hide  most  of  the  watering- 
places  and  mining  villages  of  the  Hartz,  and  a  descent  must  therefore 
be  made  to  see  what  they  are  like. 

THE  HARTZ  TOWNS. 

The. Hartz,  in  fact,  is  being  recognized  as  a  delightful  collection 
of  charming  associations  and  invigorating  scenes.  There  are  Goslar, 
and  Clausthal,  and  Harzburg,  making  with  the  Brocken  almost  a  paral- 
lelogram, but  all  different.  In  Goslar  once  lived  German  emperors  and 
sat  the  German  Diet.  It  was  a  commercial  city  with  its  guilds,  and 
massive  warehouses  and  breweries,  and  later  a  famous  mining  center. 
One  of  the  imperial  palaces,  erected  by  Hcmry  III.,  in  the  eleventh  cent- 
ury, is  parti)'  in  ruins  and  partly  used  as  a  granar)-  and  store-house. 
The  streets  are  roughly  paved,  but  the  old  houses  bear  upon  their  front- 
ages and  gables,  their  doors  and  heavy  timbers,  carvings  of  vines  and 


TFIE    HARTZ    TOWNS. 


825 


flowers,  mermaids  and  dragons,  which  stand  out  clear  and  quaint  while 
stone  and  brick  are  crumbling-.  Neither  must  the  building  be  large  in 
order  to  be  artistically  embellished.  The  gables  of  a  small  dwelling  house 
are  as  likely  to  be  scrolled  and  fringed  with  elaborate  designs  as  the  front 
of  an  imposing  old  town  hall,  or  an  ancient  royal  palace  transformed 
into  a  hotel. 

In  the  suburbs  of  the  town  are  public  gardens  where   patients  take 
e-xercise,     breathe  ^  _ 

good  air,  ami,  hist  of  _-    - 

all,  tlriiik  some  kind 
of    wonderful    water.       — -^ 

Near  it  is  one  of  tliose         -  -_ 

ol  d    m  i  n  e  s    wliosc  :       . 

c  h  a  m  I.)  e  r  s    r  e  a  c  h  -    ^^  W^^ 

erandlv  out    and      -  -     "-  _ 

down ,  an  d  wh  ich,    ^'  '-'  1^^-  ':. 

■when     they    were  ;  <',r--.  .     ■' 

worked  at  their  best, 
made  Goslar  great 
and  famous.  Within 
a  few  miles  are  ex- 
tensive fields  of  slate. 
Burly     German    ofti- 

■cers,     dreamy    meta-       "^^^jf     \  „_j^  '     '"'J^    i  ^'< 

physicians  and  poets, 
p  o  n  d  e  r  o  u  s  mer- 
chants, lank  students 
with  knapsack  and 
song,  and  ailing  no- 
blemen and  ladies, 
brush  against  grimy 
miners,  iron-workers, 
and  charcoal  men  and 


m 


i1*h  u 


.iid 


Mi, 


Vs/ 


^*  ^  -4 


J- 


women  coming  from 

the  m  o  u  n  t  a  i  n  s,  or 

y  o  u  n  g     girls     i  n  old  germax  gateway. 

clumsy  wooden  shoes,  laden  with   huge  paniers  of  fire  wood.      Here,  as 

at  Harzburg  and  other  villages  in  the  vicinity,  the  artist  has  lingered  long 

enough    to   notice    the  similarity   in    the  outline  of    peasants,  houses, 

children,  pigs  and  dogs  to  those  old-fashioned  toys  which  have  failed  to 

charm  tew  of  us  —  those  villages  in  wt^od  and  paint  which  come  so  uicely 


826  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

packed  and  stand  so  squarely  on  the  ground  when  we  put  them  together. 
Even  the  fir  trees  of  the  Brocken  are  larger  types  of  the  green  wooden 
trees  of  our  childhood.  They  were,  in  fact,  carved  by  the  German 
children  of  the  Harz  mountains  for  other  children,  the  world  over,  and 
they  find  their  models  at  home,  as  evidently  do  other  artists  for  more 
skillful  work.  We  should  call  the  manufacturers  of  these  toy  villages, 
the  artists  who  turned  the  country  into  stiff  wood  and  bright  paint,. 
amonij-  the  most  wonderful  of  the  fairies  —  thev  have  brought  such  floods 
of  joy  to  the  little  ones  from  such  dry  material.  The  little  forest  which 
we  saw  fenced  around  as  we  ascended  the  Brocken  is  not  much  larger  than 
our  toy  trees,  but  it  is  royal  property,  like  the  mines,  and  will  not  change 
its  general  form  ;  and  when  our  children  who  are  now  playing  with  the 
toys  in  other  lands  travel  as  men  and  women  to  the  valleys  and  villages 
and  mountains  of  the  Hartz  they  will  understand  the  felicitous  expression 
which  has  been  applied  to  this  region,  "the  toy  country  of  Northern 
Germany." 

Though  the  mountains  of  the  Hartz  have  fertile  valleys,  with 
clinging  herds  of  fat  cattle,  their  fairies,  spirits,  gnomes  and  mines  are 
what  have  made  them  famous.  Rich  deposits  of  iron,  copper,  silver, 
zinc  and  lead  have  been  worked  for  over  nine  hundred  years,  but  most 
of  the  mines  date  from  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries.  The 
veins  of  ore  spread  over  a  great  area  and  penetrate  to  an  unknown 
depth,  for  one  of  the  mines,  at  least,  has  been  worked  into  the  earth 
for  half  a  mile  and  is  still  productive.  To  reach  the  silver  ore,  on 
account  of  the  extreme  hardness  of  the  stone,  fires  are  built  against  the 
face  of  the  vein,  so  as  to  act  upon  the  arsenic  and  sulphur,  and  decom- 
pose the  rock. 

The  mines  of  the  Hartz  region,  which  are  provincial  property, 
employ  between  30,000  and  35,000  persons.  The  mining  towns  are  given 
over  entirely  to  this  industry,  and  no  business  is  conducted  in  them  but 
that  connected  with  mining  and  metallurgy.  One  of  them,  where  the 
council  meets  which  has  general  charge  of  the  mines,  has  a  mint  and  a 
school  of  mines. 

The  representative  mining  town  of  the  Hartz  is  Clausthal,  contain- 
ini^r  the  Government  School  of  Mines  and  the  Museum.  A  visit  to  the 
latter,  with  its  collections  of  minerals,  models  of  machinery,  and  its  tiny 
shafts  and  oalleries,  illustrates  the  geological  formation  of  the  land  and 
every  process  required  to  get  the  ore  from  the  ground  and  smelt  it. 
Everything  is  run  Ity  water  power  and  every  rill  of  the  region  is  put  to 
use. 

To  master  the  entire  svstem  the  students  who  attend  the  school  are 


THE    HARTZ    TOWNS.  827 

obliged  to  work  with  the  miners,  learning  the  use  of  their  tools  by  actual 
practice.  The  descent  is  down  steep  ladders  for  several  hundred  feet, 
side  galleries  leading  out  at  intervals,  from  the  small  shaft.  Lanterns 
flash,  sparks  of  light  fall  from  specks  of  silver  ore  and  the  sound  of  ham- 
mer and  pick  is  mingled  with  "  Gliick  auf,"  or  "  Good  luck  to  you."  The 
wish  may  come  from  a  woman  ;  for  there  are  women  miners  in  this  region, 
as  well  as  charcoal  women  and  woods-women.  In  one  of  the  rest- 
ing places,  or  caverns,  of  the  galleries  there  is  (or  was  not  long  ago) 
a  chamber  about  ten  feet  long,  hewn  out  of  the  rock,  carefully 
proportioned  and  in  the  center  of  which  is  a  chair  or  throne  made 
out  of  rough  silver  ore,  in  memory  of  an  English  cluke  who  once 
visited  there. 

But  such  a  tour  as  this,  underground,  gives  one  very  little  general 
idea  of  the  workings  of  the  mine.  One  flash  of  the  lantern  reveals  in  an 
opening  several  half-naked  men,  some  of  them  in  pools  of  water,  work- 
ing in  the  most  cramped  of  positions;  another  lights  up  the  gloom  of 
a  second  shaft  as  far  as  the  rays  will  penetrate  and  there  seems  to  be  an 
infinity  of  space  beyond.  Echoes  and  shadows  are  dancing  around  in 
the  most  weird  confusion.  There  is  a  mental  conflict  between  the  desire 
to  appear  unconcerned,  the  wish  to  be  wholly  interested  and  the  instinct 
to  feel  oppressed  as  one  creeps  along  through  slippery  passage  ways ; 
and  peace  does  not  succeed  this  war  of  emotions  when,  in  order  to 
breathe  the  upper  air,  he  is  obliged  to  take  his  stand  upon  a  small  piece 
of  wood  attached  to  an  enormous  beam,  and  grasping  an  iron  ring  above 
him,  be  drawn  into  a  narrow  slit  of  earth,  which  he  is  assured  leads  to 
the  regions  above. 

Descending  from  the  Brocken,  and  going  toward  the  east,  a  mac- 
adamized road,  with  the  not  unusual  accompaniments  of  fine  carriages, 
houses  and  grounds,  points  the  way- to  Wernigerode,  the  resort  of  many 
a  wealthy  merchant  and  nobleman  and  the  summer  residence  of  not  a 
few  who  go  there  to  enjoy  the  mountains  and  the  old  town  which  is  fast 
disappearing  in  the  new.  Beyond  this  aristocratic  place  are  the  smoky 
valleys  of  a  mining  territory  and  the  great  caves  of  Riibeland.  One  of 
these  magnificent  chambers  is  entered  through  an  opening  in  the  rock, 
high  above  the  roofs  of  the  town,  and  descending  by  staircases  and 
ladders  an  excursion  of  miles  mav  be  taken  undersfrouml,  the  chief 
attraction  being  the  stalactite  formations  whose  curious  shapes  can  be 
tortured  into  the  resemblance  of  everything  under  the  sun.  From  the 
caves  of  Riibeland  to  a  promontory  of  the  mountains  is  not  far,  but 
from  this  point  the  telescope  brings  Berlin  itself  into  the  range  of  vision 
and  indeed  much  of  Northern  Germany. 


828  PA.NMJRAMA    OF    NATION'S. 

MANUFACTURE  OF  GERMAN  BEER. 

Beer  is  a  fermented  but  not  a  distilled  liquid.  It  is  among  the  most 
ancient  of  drinks,  and  has  been  made  from  beans,  peas,  rice,  wheat  and 
barley.  The  Egyptians  were  manufacturing  a  wine  from  barley  in  the 
fifth  century  b.  c,  and  that  seems  to  have  been  the  grain  generally  em- 
ployed by  the  Celts,  Germans  and  Britons  in  the  manufacture  of  their 
beer,  which  is  virtually  the  same  thing.  In  ale  the  yeast  of  the  liquid  is 
sent  to  the  surface;  in  beer  it  falls  tt)  the  bottom.  Ale  is  the  Eno-lish 
drink  ;  beer  is  the  German  drink — all  of  which,  and  much  more,  the 
reader  probably  knows.  But  so  much  of  a  general  nature  is  due  an 
article  which  is  of  such  wide-spread  consumption  and  whose  froth,  in  Ger- 
many, is  almost  as  common  as  air. 

Like  everything  else  which  she  undertakes  to  do,  Germany  has 
made  a  thorough  study  of  beer-making.  Whatever  may  be  said  of  its 
consumption  the  skill  shown  in  its  manufacture  is  something  to  be  ad- 
mired. Bavaria  leads  in  the  industry,  'it  is  a  state  which  is  founded 
upon  beer,  for  two-thirds  of  its  revenue  is  derived  from  that  source. 
The  true  lager  beer  originated  in  that  kingdom,  and,  in  some  respects, 
is  still  a  monopol)-.  Lager  beer  is  literally  "  store  beer,"  and  in  Bavaria 
it  acquires  the  right  to  that  title  by  being  allowed  to  slowly  ferment  in 
cool  cellars.  The  liquor  which  is  generally  sold  in  this  country  is 
"draught  beer,"  and  contains  less  alcohol  than  the  Bavarian  varieties, 
and   most  of  those  made  in  Germany. 

Much  of  the  popularit)-  of  the  German  beer  is  due  to  the  fact  of 
the  excellence  of  the  water  employed.  It  must  contain  much  salt  and 
lime,  so  as  to  counteract  the  tendency  toward  decomposition  of  any 
animal  or  vegetable  matter  which  it  may  hold.  So  that  two  things 
must  lie  aimed  at  :  the  presence  -of  these  purifying  and  preserving 
agencies  and  the  absence  of  anything  liable  to  putrefy.  The  waters 
employed  in  the  most  e.xtensive  breweries  contain  at  least  sixty  grains 
of  earthy  salts  dissolved  in  each  gallon. 

BAVARIA  AND  WURTEMBERG. 

As  Bavaria  perhaps  leads  the  world  in  the  manufacture  and  con- 
sumption of  beer  (per  capita),  so  does  she  stand  in  the  front  rank  of 
states  in  the  province  of  education.  The  university  of  Munich  stands 
third  in  importance,  the  polytechnic  school  leads  them  all  in  point  of 
size  and  the  Bavarian  newspapers  are  able  and  independent.  She  has 
one  of  the  most  extensive  picture  galleries  in  Europe. 

In  a  certain  sense,  Bavaria  stands  alone  among  the  German  states. 


COLOGNE.  829 

Catholicism  has  always  been  the  dominant  relij^ion,  and  until  1812 
Bavaria  was  frequently  an  ally  of  France  against  both  Prussia  and  Aus- 
tria. She  stood  between  Austria  and  Prussia  as  Belgium  stood  between 
Germany  and  France.  But  when  French  rule  became  distasteful,  she 
joined -the  Germanic  leagues,  and  during  the  Franco-Prussian  war,  to 
the  surprise  of  the  Emperor  of  France,  she  supported  the  King  of  Prus- 
sia and  entered  actively  into  the  campaign.  Even  now,  Bavaria  is  a 
kingdom  within  an  empire. 

West  of  Ba\aria  is  Wiirtemberg,  one  of  the  leading  states  of 
Southern  Germany  and  its  capital,  Stuttgart,  has  a  considerable  book 
trade,  numerous  paper  mills,  type  foundries,  etc.  Its  old  palaces,  its 
town  hall  built  in  the  fifteenth  century,  its  schools  and  museums,  its 
manufactories  of  wool,  cotton  and  scientific  instruments  mark  it  as 
another  of  those  old  German  cities,  flourishing  materialU'  and  intellect- 
ually. A  large  public  garden,  one  of  the  finest  in  the  empire,  and  the 
King's  summer  palace  and  gardens  make  it  a  royal  place  for  pleasure 
seekers. 

COLOGNE. 

While  pursuing  this  subject  of  manufactures  in  rather  a  desultory 
fashion,  mixing  toy-making  and  mining  with  fairies  and  romance,  and 
beer  with  education,  we  must  rest  a  moment  at  Cologne,  which  is  sepa- 
rated from  bJavaria  by  only  a  few  little  provinces.  Now  we  imagine 
that  an  uneasiness  is  working  in  the  reader's  mind,  born  of  the  fear  that 
the  thread-bare  tale  will  be  expanded  to  cover  the  intricacies  of  the 
manufacture  of  cologne  and  the  glories  of  the  gigantic  Gothic  cathedral. 
But  it  should  be  of  more  interest  to  learn  that  Cologne  was  once  a  Ro- 
man caul])  and  afterwards  a  town  where  was  born  Agrippina,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Germanicus  and  the  mother  of  Nero.  Upon  the  present  site  of 
Cologne  she  induced  her  husband,  Claudius,  to  found  a  colony,  during 
the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era.  "  The  town  then  received  the 
name  of  Colonia  Agrippina,  which  it  still  retains  in  part.  The  founda- 
tions of  the  Roman  walls  remain  and  may  be  traced  through  the  heart 
of  the  city.  Some  suppose  that  traces  of  the  Roman  descent  of  its  in- 
habitants may  be  found  in  their  features  and  complexion.  Down  to  the 
time  of  the  French  revolution  the  leading  citizens  were  styled  patricians 
and  the  two  burgomasters  wore  the  consular  toga  and  were  attended  by 
lictors."  When  the  city  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  French,  during  the 
revolution,  it  was  found  that  one-fourth  of  its  people  were  beggars, 
although  Cologne  haci  once  been  an  important  commercial  link  between 
the  north  and  the  south  of  Europe  and  the  far  East.     This  evil  was  par- 


830  PANORAMA    (JK    NATIONS. 

tially  corrected  before  the  city  was  restored  to  Prussia,  and  since  it  has 
been  voted  a  member  of  the  railroad  world  some  of  its  former  prosperity 
has  returned  ;  but  the  grreat  number  of  churches  which  survive  the  French 
occupancy  and  the  Roman  Catholic  faith  which  is  breathed  from  the  very 
air,  carnival  celebrations  and  all,  still  uphold  its  claim  to  the  title  of  the 
Northern  Rome. 

FAMILY   LIFE. 

The  German  who  has  served  his  time  in  the  army  brings  a  military 
spirit  to  bear  upon  his  private  affairs.  It  is  with  him  either  order  or 
obey.  Army  life  also  throws  the  uncultured  man  in  contact  with  edu- 
cated superiors,  who  make  their  calling  a  stepping  stone  to  political  and 
civil  honors.  But  whether  in  army,  private  or  civil  life  the  same  dis- 
cipline is  maintained,  plentifully  enlivened  with  seasons  of  recreation. 

Heretofore  the  German  has  been  viewed  as  a  man  of  the  world  — 
as  the  soldier,  student,  fanner,  manufacturer,  traveler  and  the  miner. 
His  life  at  home  is  the  simplicity  of  his  character  spread  out  in  detail. 
His  greatest  horror  is  that  he  shall  do  something  which  is  artificial  and 
the  result  is  that  he  is  often  artificially  brusque  and  rude.  He  is  prone 
to  eat  with  a  knife  when  a  fork  is  at  hand  and  would  serve  his  purpose 
better.  He  talks  loudly  and  uses  violent  expressions,  not  always 
because  that  is  his  individual  tendency  but  because  he  is  a  German,  with 
the  national  character  to  uphold.  For  the  same  reason  he  lets  his  wife 
drudge  at  home  when  he  could  afford  to  make  life  easy  for  her  ;  it  would 
not  become  the  German  to  make  any  lot  an  easy  one.  His  is  a  world  of 
discipline  and  why  should  not  hers  be? 

Though  her  social  station  may  be  high  the  woman,  in  order  to  be  a 
model  German  wife,  must  be  an  expert  at  wrangling  with  the  butcher 
and  the  grocer,  a  frequenter  of  the  kitchen,  and  a  wielder  of  flat  irons. 
The  result  is  that  she,  too,  is  often  disagreeably  plain  and  simple.  Her 
duties  call  for  loose  wrappers,  not  over-clean,  and  except  she  dresses  for 
a  promenade  or  a  ball  she  thinks  it  affectation  to  strive  to  please  by  dress- 
ing in  a  becoming  manner  at  home.  As  she  grows  older  she  becomes 
even  more  defiant.  It  would  be  unbecoming  the  simple  German  wife  of 
a  German  husband  to  hide  the  bald  patches  of  her  scalp  or  her  red, 
gaunt  throat.  The  German  woman  fades  at  a  comparatively  early  age; 
she  has  enjoyed  none  of  those  bold  exercises  of  sword,  parallel  bar, 
walking,  army  drill  and  open  air  life  which  have  given  her  husband  so 
splendid  a  physique.  In  this  regard  she  is  far  behind  the  English  and 
American  woman. 

Even  to  the  table,  where  most  nationalities  have  agreed  to    appear 


FAMILY    LIFE.  83  I 

better  than  they  are  away  from  it,  the  husband,  wife  and  children  bring 
all  their  boisterous  ways  and  loud  talk.  In  whatever  costume  the  lady 
of  the  house  appears,  the  man,  especially  if  it  be  an  after-breakfast  meal, 
will  have  dressed  himself  in  uniform.  But  it  is  not  at  all  certain  that 
the  family  will  eat  together  ;  that  will  depend  greatly  upon  the  occupa- 
tion of  the  man  and  the  school  hours  of  the  children.  The  dinner  some- 
times lasts  three  or  four  hours.  Notwithstanding  the  family  provisions 
are  kept  strictly  under  lock  and  key  by  the  mistress  who  acts  under  the 
exacting  eye  of  her  general-in-chief,  there  is  always  a  bountiful  suppl)-  of 
hearty  food.  Bread,  butter,  eggs,  milk,  coffee,  vegetables,  soups,  meats, 
dumplings,  bee  •  and  wine,  all  march  to  their  graves  to  the  tune  of 
loud  voices  and  laughter.  The  servants  are  noisy  and  are  apt  to  be 
too  familiar,  or  abject  under  the  treatment  of  the  master  of  the  house; 
but  in  their  dress,  their  language  and  their  ways  they  conform  to  the 
national  standard  of  studied  simplicity  or  inherited  brusqueness.  To  do 
anything  un-Germanlike  would  be  to  have  the  whole  town  laughing  at 
you,  as  a  native  nurse  once  told  a  foreigner  who  desired  to  have  her 
chikl  treated  according  to  her  own  notions. 

Coffee  is  served  at  four  o'clock  and  supper  between  seven  and  nine. 
The  latter  is  the  pleasantest  meal  of  the  day,  being  usually  a  re-union. 
It  is  a  lunch  of  bread  and  butter,  meats,  cheese,  sardines,  hard-boiled 
eggs,  with  tea,  beer  or  wine — sometimes  with  all  of  them.  "  All  the 
housewives  as  autumn  wanes,  lay  in  a  goodly  store  of  vegetables  to  last 
through  the  winter  months,  when  nothing  of  the  kind  is  to  be  pro- 
cured for  love  or  money.  Potatoes  are  banked  up  in  the  cellars  ;  cab- 
bages, carrots  turnips  and  onions  are  buried  in  layers  of  mold,  whence 
your  cook  wih  extract  them,  uninjured  by  damp  or  frost,  for  the  daily 
meal.  Vegetables  of  the  finer  sort,  such  as  French  beans,  peas,  etc., 
are,  as  they  come  into  season,  preserved  for  winter  use  in  tins,  which  are 
hermetically  sealed  by  a  man  who  comes  to  solder  them  down."  All 
this  hearty  food,  spiced  and  greased  and  vinegared,  and  washed  down 
with  Rhine-wine  and  Bavarian  beer,  nourishes  the  vigorous  body  and 
brain  of  the  German  fighter,  but  it  plays  havoc  with  the  woman,  who 
never  gets  the  start  in  health  which  her  brother  does  in  his  younger 
years.  So  much  is  his  food  a  part  of  the  German  that  the  pertinent 
question  to  those  who  return  from  a  ball,  dinner  or  supper  is  not  as  to 
what  was  worn,  but  what  was  eaten.  The  common  form  of  inquiry  is, 
"  What  did  you  get?" — a  blunt,  German  question. 

Aside  from  the  clubs,  theatres  and  other  amusements  common  to 
other  people,  the  true  German  has  his  own  enjoyable  garden.  He  erects 
a  summer  house  in  his  yard,  on  some  prominent  spot,  and  Sunday  after- 


832  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

noon  he  is  sure  to  be  found  there,  with  his  spouse  and  daugliters,  contem- 
platively smoking  while  his  wife  knits,  or  presides  over  the  coffee  table. 
At  times  the  prosperous  citizen  will  have  established  his  summer  house 
in  the  suburbs  of  the  city.  As  the  family  food  is  usually  cooked  in  town 
and  has  to  be  brought  out  in  baskets,  along  hot  dusty  highways,  when 
applying  for  a  position  the  common  query  of  the  maid  of-all-work  is, 
"  Have  you  a  garden?"     If  you  have,  the  bargain  is  off. 

In  these  garden  scenes,  during  the  family  rambles  and  Sunday 
excursions,  home  life  is  seen  in  its  most  agreeable  forms  of  simplicity. 
The  big  German  is  not  abashed  at  being  discovered  hand  in  hand  with 
his  matronly  wife.  Though  they  speak  harshly  to  their  little  ones,  or 
rap  them  smartl)'  on  their  backs  (as  they  may  consider  dutiful ),  they  have 
the  most  charminof  words  of  endearment,  in  the  uttering  of  which  there 
is  no  hypocrisy.  "My  little  heart,"  "my  beautiful  one,"  "  my  pretty 
one,"  "  my  little  love,"  "  little  mother,"  "  sweetheart  "  and  a  score  of  other 
caressing  terms  are  bandied  about  from  parents  to  children,  from  lover 
to  lover,  in  such  a  graceful,  unaffected  fashion  as  to  make  one  forget  the 
gutterals  and  hissings  of  the  language. 

Wherever  an  elderly  German  woman  or  a  couple  is.  there  also,  or 
within  hailing  distance,  will  generally  be  a  youth  and  maiden,  enjoying 
their  betrothal  period,  as  other  lovers  do  when  outside  eyes  are  not  upon 
them.  They  have  become  so  used  to  affectionate  demonstrations,  with- 
out privacy,  that  this  characteristic  will  follow  them  through  life.  On  a 
Rhine  steamer,  on  the  cars,  on  the  street,  lo\e-making  and  love-talking 
eo  on  with  a  coolness  which  is  startling  to  manv.  Before  the  mar- 
riage  is  arranged,  the  "caution  "  must  be  decided  upon,  which  is  a  sum 
of  money  which  the  man  must  deposit  as  a  guaranty  that  his  wife  shall 
live  in  a  becoming  style  in  case  of  his  death.  If  foresight  is  shown 
for  the  possible  widow,  the  probable  maiden  lady  of  high  standing  is 
also  provided  for. 

The  Protestant  noHes  of  Germany  have  instituted  retreats  for 
maidens  of  their  standing  who  are  thought  beyond  the  pale  of  matri- 
mony. Lands  have  been  purchased  and  houses  built,  fisheries,  forests 
and  farms  contributing  to  support  the  institution.  Each  noble  who  has 
contributed  his  share  toward  the  original  Investment  is  entitled  to  pre- 
sent his  maiden  as  a  member  of  the  retreat.  The  inmates  are  uniformed 
in  black  silk  gowns,  with  the  sign  of  their  order  across  the  breast,  and 
can  obtain  leave  of  absence  from  the  superior  to  enter  society  for  three 
or  six  months  annually.  They  have  a  standing  in  the  community,  and 
marriage  is  not  quite  out  of  the  question  when  they  can  appear  stamped 
with   the  badge  of  nobility.     These  retreats,  or  "  Stifte,"   as   they  are 


KKUI.IN.  833 

called  in  German,  often  become  very  wealthy  and  prove  fcjrtunate  finan- 
cial investments.  It  is  said  that  the  ladies  of  these  retreats  evince  a 
pride  of  blood  which  is  not  shown  in  so  marked  a  dei^ree  in  nian\-  cir- 
cles of  Cierman  society. 

Hut  despite  the  ceremonials  of  a  noble  and  courth'  circle,  now  and 
then,  the  German  character,  whether  dissected  within  the  walls  of  the 
private  house  or  the  palace  at  Berlin,  is  one  of  simplicity  —  sometimes, 
as  we  have  ventured  to  say,  offensively  rough.  The  men  of  standing 
in  Germany,  from  the  Emperor  down,  despite  their  political  views,  have 
never  seemed  far  away  from  the  people  because  of  this  very  trait.  Her 
great  scholars,  poets  and  scientists,  even  her  statesmen  of  iron  purpose, 
although  they  may  be  learned,  mystical,  analytical  and  cruel,  still  exhibit 
to  the  world  beneath  the  outer  crust  a  certain  rugged  childlikeness, 
which  is  a  refined  form  of  that  earnestness  which  often  deteriorates  into 
rudeness. 

BERLIN. 

The  German  life,  in  all  its  diversity  and  intellectual  muscularity,  is 
portrayed  in  Berlin,  a  massive,  square  city,  set  down  on  a  sandy  plain 
and  cut  in  two  by  a  sluggish  river,  and  further  divided  by  broad  streets 
which  stretched  regularly  through  the  city,  as  if  made  for  the  majestic 
tramp  of  the  imperial  army.  Unterden  Linden,  a  splendid  street  with  a 
double  avenue  of  linden  trees,  is  where  the  majority  of  visitors  are  taken 
to  see  the  most  of  the  empire's  capital.  Nearly  opposite  the  great 
university  is  the  royal  palace,  and  directly  opposite  a  magnificent  bronze 
statue  of  Frederick  the  Great.  The  names  of  Fichte,  Hegel  and  Schel- 
ling  cling  to  the  university,  their  fame  going  along  more  modestly  than 
that  of  Frederick  upon  his  great  horse.  On  each  side  of  the  royal 
palace  are  the  fine  public  squares  called  Lustgarten  and  Schlossplatz. 

Opposite  the  Lustgarten  is  one  of  the  hundreds  of  institutes  in 
which  the  German  people  take  a  just  pride  ;  it  is  the  old  museum,  built 
upon  a  former  bed  of  the  river,  the  entrance  being  through  a  number  of 
imposing  porticoes,  ornamented  with  statues  and  bronze  figures.  Its  col- 
lections of  vases  and  coins  and  its  sculpture  and  picture  galleries  are 
celebrated  over  Europe'.  In  the  rear  of  the  old  museum  is  the  new  one 
containing  antiquities  of  the  northern  nations  and  of  Egypt,  an  entire 
hall  decorated  with  paintings  by  pupils  of  Kaulbach,  casts  of  famous 
statues  and  art  collections  of  all  descriptions.  The  Egyptian  depart- 
ment is  not  only  very  complete  but  is  unique  in  its  arrangement,  it  being 
exhibited  in  a  court  which  is  modeled  after  an  Egyptian  temple.  In  the 
Linden  is  also  the  national  gallery  of  paintings  and  other  famous  col- 

53 


834  PA.\()KA\r.\    ()!■     NATION'S. 

lections.  The  ]\o)al  Theatre,  the  Itahaii  Opera  House,  the  statelv 
parks,  and  elegant  plcasure-yardens  both  within  the  city  and  its  suburbs, 
show  the  i)leasuredoving  side  of  the  people.  In  one  of  the  most  charm- 
ing of  the  suburban  parks,  is  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  Humboldt, 
who  was  a  native  of  the  cit\-.  The  city  is  adorned,  from  one  extremity 
to  the  olhrr,  with  masterpieces  of  architecture  and  art  b\-  the  famous 
Schinkel.  whose  g(Miius  took  a  rennirkabl)- witle  range;  for  he  not  only 
excelled  as  a  historical  painter  and  sculptor,  his  works  being  collected  in 
a  special  museum,  but  he  was  the  architect  of  some  of  the  finest  public 
works  of   Berlin. 

The  capital  is,  preeminentl\-,  the  imjjerial  city  of  Gerinanw  not  only 
in  the  narrow  but  the  L  road  sense  of  tlie  word.      Kings,  artists,  scholars 


MUSEU^r  AT  BERLIX. 


and  poets  appear  in  their  marble  pallor  in  the  parks,  on  public  buildings 
and  in  palaces  and  private  houses.  There  are  royal  libraries,  royal  pal- 
aces, royal  theatres  and  streets  named  after  the  kings.  On  King's  street 
is  the  Commercial  Exchange  of  Berlin,  one  of  the  worUl's  great  centers 
of  trade.  It  is  near  the  i)ostoffice,  and  is  a  square,  massive  building, 
presenting  a  grand  front  of  pillars  and  groups  of  statuary.  The  churches 
of  Berlin  are  many,  but  perhaps  the  most  noteworthy  is  the  Roman 
Catholic  Hedwigskirche,  situated  in  the  rear  of  the  Italian  Opera  House, 
and  built  in  imitation  of  the  Roman  PantheoiT 

Berlin  is  a  worth)-  subject  for  a  book,  l.)ut  it  should  be  added,  as  a 
tribute  to  its  enterprise  and  the  national  unity  of  the  empire,  that  since 
it  became  the  capital  of   United   Germany  no  cit)'  in   Europe  has  taken 


SOME    FAMOUS    CKRMAX    CITIES.  j:!35 

oreater  strides  in  c\cr)-  direction,  and  no  people  ha\e  evinced  greater 
pride  in  their  governmental  center  than  have  the  Germans  for  the  best 
representative  of  their  greatness. 

SOME  FAMOUS  GERMAN  CITIES. 

iM-ankforl-on-thi-Main,  formerl)-  the  capital  of  Germany,  is  rich  in 
historic  associations,  as  well  as  the  center  of  a  portion  of  the  Rothschild 
activities.  The  founder  of  the  great  banking  house  and  his  children 
after  him  were  born  in  Jews  street,  most  of  the  old  buildings  of  which 
have  Ijcen  [Hilled  down.  Cioethe  square  contains  a  statue  of  I'Vankfort's 
illustrious  citizen  and  Germany's  great  man.  I'Vankfort  once  led  the 
German  cities  in  the  publishing  business,  and  possesses  among  its  artis- 
tic attractions  a  monument  in  honor  of  the  art  of  printing.  Schiller  has 
jjeen  commemorated  in  marble,  several  trmes,  in  the  .squares  and  public 
gardens,  the  most  noteworth\-  representation  being  the  superb  bust  in 
Berthmann's  pleasure  grounds.  The  council  house  where  the  German 
emperors  were  elected,  the  Church  of  St.  Bartholomew  where  they  were 
crowned  for  150  years,  and  that  of  Katharine,  where  the  first  Lutheran 
sermon  was  preached  more  than  three  centuries  and  a  half  ago,  are  places 
of  interest,  white  the  promenades  and  watering  places  around  the  city 
delight  as  well  as  interest.  The  belt  of  promenades  and  parks  connect  the 
old  gates  of  the  city  and  furnish  a  picturescjue  view  of  the  river  and  distant 
mountains.  They  alone  would  make  Frankfort  a  delightful  pleas"ure 
resort.  The  ])icture  galleries,  museums  and  libraries,  and  its  financial 
importance  as  being  the  scene  of  operations  of  many  of  the  wealthiest 
Jewish  houses  in  Europe,  bring  to  it  a  great  variety  of  nationalities. 
Business,  pleasure,  scholarship  and  art  meet  together  most  harmoniously 
in  hrankfort  ;  of  all  .\merican  cities  it  most  resembles  Boston. 

DrescUn,  the  capital  of  Saxony,  has  received  man)- baptisms  of  fire, 
but  is  still  a  beautiful  cit)'.  It  is  celebrated  as  one  of  the  greatest  art 
centers  in  luirope.  The  Academy  of  Fine  Arts  is  near  the  bank  of  the 
Elbe  River.  The  Japanese  palace  was  built  as  a  summer  residence  by 
one  of  tlie  kings,  but  is  now  used  as  a  museum.  It  contains  a  galler)- 
of  paintings,  in  which  all  the  European  schools  are  represented  by  their 
greatest  masters  ;  collections  of  antique  sculpture,  coins  and  pottery,  a 
museum  of  natural  hist  or)-  and  the  public  library,  especially  com- 
plete in  Iiistorical  works.  In  the  royal  palace  is  a  collection  of  rare  antl 
costl)-  carvings,  jewels  and  relics,  gathered  by  the  princes  of  .Saxon)-. 
Michael  Angelo's  magic  art  is  seen  in  some  wonderful  specimens  of  carv- 
ings. Dresden  has  few  monuments,  and  perhaps  its  most  notewortly 
architectural  work  is  the  great  bridge  across  the   Elbe,  which   conner   s 


S36  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

the  old  and  the  new  cities  and  from  which  an  impressive  view  of  the 
city  may  be  obtained. 

Breslau,  in  Southeastern  Prussia,  on  the  Oder  River,  is  the  most 
important  wool  market  of  Europe  and  one  of  tlie  greatest  in  the  world. 
The  river  is  navigable  from  the  city  to  the  sea.  Breslau  is  also  connected 
by  railway  with  Sa.xony,  Bohemia  and  other  districts  famous  for  their 
wools  and  woolen  goods,  as  well  as  with  Berlin,  Vienna  and  all  the  im- 
portant cities  of  Germany,  Austria  and  Russia.  It  is  in  fact,  second 
only  to  Berlin  as  a  commercial  city  and  is  the  natural  emporium  for  the 
products  of  the  agricultural,  manufacturing  and  mineral  districts  in  whose 
midst  it  lies.  Breslau  is,  in  short,  a  prosperous,  well  lighted,  well  paved, 
well  built  city  —  one  of  the  universit)-  cities  —  and  although  Polish  in 
origin  is  now  German  to  the  core. 

Hamburg  is  one  of  the  three  free  cities  of  Germany  and  just  in  the 
position  to  be  a  great  marine  port.  The  Elbe  River  which  commences  to 
expand  at  this  point  into  the  North  Sea  receives  the  Alsteras  a  tributary, 
and  numerous  canals  connect  the  rivers,  thus  enabling  bar>res  to  dis- 
tribute  goods  to  every  warehouse  in  the  city.  Hamburg's  railway 
connections  with  the  cities  of  the  empire  are  very  complete,  and  her 
steamship  lines  communicate  with  European,  North  and  South  American 
ports.  The  city  is  an  important  manufacturing  point,  ship-building 
being  one  of  its  leading  industries. 

From  this  grand  city  of  canals  and  ships  came  Mendelssohn,  the 
genius  with  the  sweet  soul  which  so  aptly  came  forth  in  the  solemn 
beauty  of  sacred  music. 

Bremen  is  the  twin-sister  of  Hamburg,  a  free  cit)-  like  it,  a  marine 
port  and  the  greatest  ship-building  point  in  Germany.  Although  Ham- 
burg is  the  larger  and  wealthier  city,  Bremen  is  the  more  important  port 
of  emigration.  Bremerhafen,  at  the  mouth  of  the  River  Weser  and 
thirty  miles  distant  from  the  city,  is  the  real  port,  as  the  stream  has 
become  too  shallow  for  vessels  of  great  draught  to  ascend. 

OSTREICH,  OR  AUSTRIA. 

In  Charlemacrne  s  time  most  of  Western  Austria  south  of  Bohemia 
was  called  Ostreich,  the  East  Mark,  the  East  Country,  or  the  eastern 
frontier  of  Germany.  The  Great  Karl  drove  back  an  invading  tribe  of 
fierce  Huns  and  annexed  this  district  to  his  dominions  as  a  shield 
between  them  and  the  empire.  This  frontier  land  was  further  e.xtended, 
and  although  it  was  at  one  time  conquered  by  the  Hungarians,  with  the 
exception  of  a   period   of  fifty  years,  the   Emperor  of  Germany  held  it 


OSTKlilCH,    UR    AfSTKIA.  837 

for  260  years,  appointing^  princes  to  rule  over  it  either  as  a  margrave  or 
a  duchy.  The  rulers  of  the  duchy  were  continually  quarreling  with  the 
Hungarians,  who  were  infidels  and  of  an  alien  race,  and  finally  with  the 
extinction  of  the  ruling  line,  the  last  member  of  which  fell  in  battle 
with  the  enemy,  the  province  floated  around  for  a  time  outside  the  con- 
trol of  the  German  Emperor.  The  states  of  Austria  and  Syria  were 
next  ruled  by  a  son  of  the  Bohemian  King,  who,  in  turn,  ruled  his  coun- 
try as  a  state  of  the  German  empire. 

But  the  empire  of  Austria  did  not  commence  to  assume  its  present 
shape  until  the  German  Emperor  seized  the  provinces  of  the  Bohemian 
King  and  placed  his  son  over  them,  the  first  of  the  famous  House  of 
Hapsburg.  The  imperial  family  of  Austria  derives  its  name  from  the 
castle  of  Hapsliurg,  or  Hawk's  castle,  which  a  member  of  th(;  house  built 
in  a  Swiss  canton  during  the  eleventh  centur\-.  The  princes  of  the 
family,  before  they  became  of  royal  blood,  held,  at  different  times  Alsace, 
Breisgau,  Alemannia,  Swabia  and  Aargan,  the  Swiss  canton  in  which  the 
castle  was  erected.  Their  Swiss  possessions  were  the  cause  of  many 
misfortunes  to  the  House  of  Hapsburg,  two  members  losing  their  lives 
while  attempting  to  regain  them.  By  marriage  the  thrones  of  Hungary 
and  Bohemia  passed  into  the  possession  of  the  family,  other  provinces 
were  ceded  to  them,  and  not  onh'  did  the  great  state  become  an  arch- 
tliich)'  of  German)',  f)ut  the  House  of  Hajjsburg  grasped  the  imperial 
scepter  of  the  empire  itself,  of  the  Netherlands,  .Spain  and   the    Indies. 

The  Hungarians  and  Bohemians,  however,  were  as  distinct  from  the 
Germans  in  their  race  characteristics,  as  the  Dutch  were  from  the  Span- 
iards whom  the  Spanish-German  Philip  desired  should  rule  over  the 
Netherlands.  The  Hungarians  are  of  the  Finnic  and  the  Bohemians  of 
the  Slavic  race,  and,  as  such,  belong  by  natural  right  to  the  people  who 
compose  the  Russian  empire.  The  Slavs  alone  number  over  fifty  per 
cent,  of  the  population  and  the  Hungarians  over  fifteen  per  cent.  The 
Germans  form  a  quarter  of  the  population.  The  balance  are  Italians, 
Armenians,  Jews  and  representatives  of  all  races  under  the  sun.  They 
form  merel)-  a  collection  of  people  within  certain  geographical  limits. 

The  same  tyrannical  measures  were  taken  in  Bohemia  as  in  Holland 
to  crush  the  spirit  of  the  Reformation,  but  lohn  Huss  left  a  martyred 
name  and  founded  a  new  literature.  Bohemia  and  Hungary  are,  in  fact, 
treated  merely  as  conquered  provinces  and  never  since  they  were  incor- 
porated with  the  empire  have  their  people  ceased  to  strive  for  separate 
governments.  But  we  shall  treat  the  Bohemians  and  Hungarians, 
hereafter,  as  allied  to  the  families  which  go  to  make  up  the  Russian 
character. 


838  PANORAMA    111-     N'ATKJNS. 

VIENNA. 

In  tlu-  fifth  century  the  Muns  ilrovt-  the  Romans  away  from  a  towit 
which  they  had  founded  beyond  the  Alps,  several  centuries  before,  as  a 
station  for  legions,  as  a  base  of  operations  against  the  German  tribes. 
This  station  and  town  was  called  Vindobona,  and  when  Charlemagne 
established  tlu;  East  Mark,  or  (Jstrcich,  it  was  the  principal  city  of  the 
new  country.  It  became  the  residence  of  the  princes  whom  he  placed 
over  the  duchy  ;  and  under  the  House  of  Hapsburg  it  obtained  its  start  as. 
one  of  the  finest  of  the  European  capitals,  becoming  the  seat  of  the 
German  emperors.  But  through  the  arms  and  intrigue  of  Napoleon  the 
German  states  were  organized  into  a  confederacy,  and  Austria  was 
alone  left  to  Francis. 

Much  of  Vienna's  fame  as  a  modern  cit)-  rests  upon  work  accom- 
plished during  the  past  century.  The  unsightly  walls  which  surrounded 
the  old  cit\-  have  been  torn  down  and  thirtj'-sixsuburbs  admitted  into  the 
corporate  territory.  Within  ancient  X'ienna,  however,  are  the  grandest 
squares  and  edifices,  and  the  limits  of  the  old  city  are  retained  by  a  belt 
of  boulevards  nearly  three  miles  in  length.  The  present  municipal 
limits  are  also  inilicatcd  by  another  bell,  which  is  sixteen  miles  in  length 
and  follows  the  line  of  low  ramparts  erected  during  the  beginning  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  The  Ringstrasse,  or  that  street  which  marks  the 
bounds  of  the  old  city,  is  lined  with  palatial  residences,  as  are  also  the 
streets  which  intersect  it.  In  this  locality  are  the  opera  house,  archducal 
palaces,  academies,  museums,  the  imperial  theatre,  the  military  head- 
(piarters  and  other  edifices  and  interesting  localities,  which,  to  mention, 
woultl  In;  tiresome  and  to  describe  impossible.  The  center  of  this  area 
is  .St.  Stephen's  Square,  which  is  also  the  geographical  center  of  Vienna. 
Many  of  the  leading  streets  converge  here,  and  the  grand  St.  Stephen's- 
cathedral  and  the  Episcopal  palace  are  worthy  ecclesiastical  monuments- 
to  this  stronghold  of  Catholicism.  In  the  church  are  numerous  monu- 
ments ami  untlerneath  it  vast  catacombs.  There  are  numerous  squares, 
all  wortln-  of  notice,  but  perhaps  the  bVanzensplatz  is  most  visited  by 
foreigners  since  it  is  formed  b)'  the  four  wings  of  the  imperial  palace.  The 
outer  palace  .square  is  the  largest  in  Vienna,  containing  statues  of  Arch- 
duke Charles  and  Prince  Eugene  ;  the  inner  square,  the  FVanzensplatz,  con- 
tains the  monument  to  Francis  I.  Within  the  palace  are  not  only  splendid 
treasures,  amo'ng  other  valua!)le  curiosities  the  regalia  wimmi  b)-  the  Ger- 
man emperors  wh<-n  they  were  crowned,  l)ut  cabinets  of  antiquities  and 
of  zoology  and  botany.  Under  royal  patronage  are  also  fine  art  galler- 
ies, a  truly  imperial  library,  not  only  of  books  but  of  engravings;  a  print- 


NIK.VNA.  839 

in^^  office  of  vast  apiiliancfs  ami  llu  University  of  Vienna.  The  uni- 
versity has  a  worUl-wide  fame,  hcin-  founded  in  the  fourteenth  century 
a  few  years  previous  to  Heidelbero".  Its  medical  school  has  lonjr  enjoyed 
celebrity.  Connectetl  with  the  Universit)'  are  museums,  observatories, 
botanic  i^rardens,  and  colk'clions  of  every  descri|)tioii.  The  Oriental 
acadcm\-  which  prepares  candidates  for  dii)lomatic  service  in  the  East,  is 
peculiar  to  X'ienna.  A  great  assistance  to  th(-m  in  their  studies  is  the 
oriental  collection  of  manuscripts  in  th(;  library  of  the  academy,  pro- 
nounced i)y  some  the  richest  in  the  world. 

X'icMina's  rcqjutalion  as  a  city  of  magnificence  and  of  grand  propor- 
tions, a  di\ersitieil  pleasure  resort  for  all  nationalities  and  tastes,  is 
enhanced  1)\-  her  theatres,  gardens  and  out-of-door  resorts.  An  island 
in  thi;  Danube,  several  miles  in  length,  called  the  Prater,  is  laid  out  in 
parks,  avenues  and  promenades,  an<.l  may  be  called  the  fashionable 
resort.  This  was  the  scene  of  tht;  Exhibition  of  1S73.  Besides  the  thea- 
tres, some  of  them  unrivaled  in  German)',  and  the  gardens  adorned  with 
works  of  art  anil  frecjuented  by  a  greater  diversity  of  nationalities  than 
any  other  localities  in  Europe,  there  are  most  picturesque  surroundings 
to  i)e  enjoyetl.  The  imperial  gardens,  menagerie  anil  summer  resi- 
dence are  a  few  miles  from  the  city.  There  are  old  castles  and  ruins  for 
the  artist  and  antiquarian,  and  bold  heights  from  which  a  grand  view  of 
the  Alps  and  Carpathians  may  be  obtaineil.  A  comljination  of  natural 
grandeur,  quaint  picturesqueness  and  historic  charm  is  the  mountain  of 
Kahlenberg,  upon  which  are  an  old  ruined  castle  and  a  church.  It  was 
from  this  height,  overlooking  an  impressive  e.xpanse  of  mountainous 
coimtr),  the  mighty  Danube  and  X'ienna  itself,  that  Sobieski,  the  fiery 
warrior  King  of  Poland,  saw  the  great  army  of  the  Turks  entrenched 
before  the  imperial  citw  and  it  was  in  the  church  of  the  ruined  castle 
thai  he  prayed  for  success  in  the  coming  conHict.  The  Hungarians 
were  in  rebellion  against  their  German  rulers  and  had  invited  their  blood 
relatives  to  assist  them.  The  battle  before  Vienna  was  as  effectual  in 
pressing  back  the  Mohammedans  from  Christian  Europe  as  the  battle  of 
Tours;  so  th.U  Sobieski,  who  had  repeatedly  saved  Poland  from  the 
Turks,  wi.s  now  hailed  as  the  savior,  not  only  of  the  German  empire,  but 
of  Christianity. 

BUDA-PESTH  AND  PRAGUE. 

Ruda  and  Pesth,  on  the  opposite  banks  of  the  Danube,  were  both 
originalK'  Roman  camps,  and  ever  since  the  Hungarians  formed  a  king- 
doni;  or  a  nation,  one  or  the  other  of  them  has  been  the  seat  of  govern- 


840  PANORAMA    nv    NATIONS. 

merit.  The  capital  of  Hungary  is  therefore  spoke,  of  as  Huda-Pesth, 
although  at  present  the  smaller  city  of  Buda  contains  the  palace  of  the 
Austrian  Emperor  and  the  government  offices  antl  residences  of  the 
ministers.  In  a  Gothic  church  adjoining  the  government  l)uildings. 
■which  was  both  a  Turkish  mosque  and  a  stable,  the  Emperor  of  .Austria 
was  crowned  King  of  Hungary  over  twenty  years  ago.  In  the  palace 
square  is  a  large  cross  erected  to  the  memory  of  the  Austrian  commander, 
who  fell  at  the  bloody  and  successful  siege  which  the  Hungarians  con- 
ducted against  Buda,  and  near  by  a  chapel  in  which  are  preserved  the 
Hungarian  national  regalia.  The  city  is  built  around  a  rocky  hill  which 
is  surrounded  by  walls,  and  upon  which  are  the  structures  previously 
mentioned,  its  summit  being  capped  by  a  castle  erected  by  Maria 
Theresa.  Beyond  this  hill  is  a  loftier  one,  upon  which  is  a  fort  com- 
manding both   Buda  and  Pesth. 

The  two  cities  are  connected  by  a  magnificent  suspension  bridge,  as 
well  as  other  minor  structures.  Pesth  is  much  grander  in  appearance 
than  Buda,  although  its  foundations  are  upon  the  saml.  The  broad 
quays  along  the  river,  large  warehouses  and  business  edifices,  improved 
public  squares  and  parks,  large  railroad  accommodations  and  e.xtensive 
flour  and  iron  manufactories,  give  it  a  life  which  is  missed  in  Buda. 
Pesth  is  in  fact  a  railroad  center,  the  granary  of  Austria,  a  book  empo- 
rium, and  a  seat  of  the  universit)'  which  ranks  next  to  Vienna.  Its 
national  museum  contains  many  interesting  and  important  collections. 
The  building  in  which  the  Hungarian  Diet  meets  is  one  of  the  most  ele- 
gant  structures  of  the  city,  and  is  an  indication  of  why  Buda-Pesth  is  the 
capital  of  Hungary  rather  than  Buda  alone. 

Prague,  the  capital  of  Bohemia,  lies  in  the  valley  of  the  river  Mol- 
dau,  a  branch  of  the  Elbe.  The  city  is  upon  both  sides  of  the  river,  the 
east  bank  marking  the  bounds  of  the  old  town  and  the  business  and  Jew- 
ish quarters.  In  the  latter  section  is  the  oldest  synagogue  in  Europe; 
in  tile  old  town  a  church  which  contains  the  tomb  of  Tycho  Brahe.  On 
the  opposite  bank  are  the  former  palace  of  the  Bohemian  kings,  the 
oalaces  of  the  nobility,  the  government  and  the  Diet  houses.  TheUni- 
"ersity  of  Prague  still  makes  the  city  a  shrine  of  learning,  although  it 
has  never  again  reached  the  prosperity'  which  itenjo)ed  when  Huss,  the 
reformer  and  martyr,  was  its  president  and  lecturer  of  philosophy  and 
theology. 

"•  ■  *  ;i :. 


THE  SCANDINAVIANS. 

IE  Cimbri  are  said  to  have  been  the  hrst  inhabitants  of  Den- 
mark. After  they  had  emigrated  to  Great  Britain  the  Goths 
took  possession  of  the  country,  and  the  son  of  Odin,  their  god 
of  Avar,  is  reputed  to  have  been  their  first  monarch.  The 
people  seem  to  have  been  divided  int^two  classes  :  "  freemen," 
who  were  the  warriors,  pirates  and  governors  of  the  land,  and 
"  bondsmen,"  who  were  the  huntsmen,  fishermen  and  peas- 
ants. While  the  Danish  monarchs  were  firmly  seated  on  the 
throne  of  England,  Denmark  itself  was  torn  with  civil  dissen- 
sions. Finally,  however,  the  country  was  not  onl)'  consoli- 
dated, but  Norway  and  Sweden  were  united  to  it,  the  three  forming  a 
great  Scandinavian  kingdom.  This  union,  however,  was  of  compara- 
ti\ely  short  duration.  Sweden  was  erected  into  a  powerful  state  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  and  Norway  followed  during  the  first  part  of  the 
present.  Germany  had  for  centuries  claimed  the  duchies  of  Schleswig  and 
H-olstein,  which  originally  comprised  South  Jutland.  In  1 864 Schleswig- 
Holstein  was  annexed  to  the  kintrdom  of  Prussia,  and  is  now,  therefore, 
a  portion  of  the  United  Kingdom,  while  Denmark  has  been  so  dismem- 
bered that  she  retains  but  the  northern  part  of  the  peninsula  of  Jutland, 
Avith  some  neighboring  islands,  Greenland,  Iceland,  the  Faroe  Islands, 
and  insignificant  possessions  in  the  West  Indies. 

THE  DANISH   PEASANTS. 

For  over  a  century  the  peasants  were  serfs  to  the  crown  and  to  the 
German  nobility,  and  their  disabilities  were  not  entirely  removed  until 
the  commencement  of  the  nineteenth  century  ;  and  this,  notwithstand- 
ing that  more  than  half  the  population  are  devoted  to  agriculture.  The 
Danish  peasant  is  the  type  of  bodily  health,  strong  and  muscular,  of 
middle  height,  fair  complexion,  light  hair  and  blue  eyes.  He  is  open 
and  unsuspicious,  not  easily  aroused  to  action,  and  rather  yielding  in 
disposition.      His  home  is  not  onl\-  cleanly,  but  indicates  that  the  Dane 

is  aesthetic   in   his  tastes.      Flowers  and   pretty   little   decorations,  both 

S41 


84: 


PANORAMA    OK    NATIONS. 


W 


ithout  and  within,  make  the  cottages  gems  of  art  and  comfort.  The 
peasantry  not  only  cultivate  their  small  farms,  but  raise  horses  and  cat- 
tle. The  horses  are  especialh'  \alued  for  cavalry  or  draught  purposes, 
and  the  cattle  in  connection  with  the  dairy.  Sheep,  also,  are  kept  more 
for  their  milk  and  for  their  tlesh,  than  for  their  wool.  The  Danish 
peasant  docs  not  stop  at  cultivating  his  farm,  tending  his  live-stock  and 
making  butter  and  cheese,  but  manufactures  his  own  wearing  apparel 
antl  domestic  utensils. 

THE   DANISH   SEAMEN. 

Though  individually  bold  seamen,  the  Danes  are  not  the  warriors  of 
the  seas  that  they  were  when  they  were  the  scourge  of  European  coasts, 
and  the  concjuerors  of  England.  Other  nations  have  even  usurped  their 
fisheries,  which  in  the  middle  ages  were  of  great  importance.  They  are 
more  apt,  in  short,  to  be  the  sailors  for  other  countries  than  to  independ- 
ently navigate  their  own  vessels.  .-\t  home  many  of  them  are  employed 
in  the  oyster  beds  lying  near  the  northeastern  coast  of  the  peninsula^ 
being  a  portion  of  the  royal  domain. 

Many  Danish  seamen  find  employment  in  Greenland,  where  their 
nation  has  established  a  dozen  or  more  different  colonies  or  factories 
along  the  coast.  Here  they  may  be  said  to  have  rather  a  monopoly  of 
the  employment,  for  each  settlement  is  little  more  than  a  government 
station,  presided  o\er  by  a  trader  and  his  assistant,  who  receixe  tht:ii' 
.salaries  from  Denmark. 

Iceland  became  subject  to  Denmark  in  the  fourteenth  centur\-.  iml 
its  natives  are  more  Norwegian  than  Danish  and  their  institutions  ant) 
language  were  imported  from  Norway  when  its  people  were  pagans  , 
so  that  Norway  must  have  the  honor  of  preserving  the  ancient  tongue 
of  the  Northmen  in  its  purity.  Danes,  Norwegians  and  Swedes  nn-ct 
here  as  uj^on  common  ground  and  sing  their  ancient  sagas.  Eishing  is 
the  chief  occupation,  although  the  cod-fishery  is  prosecut(  d  here  to  such 
an  e.xtent  b\-  the  French  government  as  to  exclude  many  native  seamen. 
From  two  to  three  hundred  vessels  and  about  7,000  seamen  are  engaged, 
more  than  anything  else  to  train  themselves  for  the  navy. 

COPENHAGEN. 

The  center  of  this  grand  central  point  of  Denmark  is  a  large 
square  on  an  island,  from  which  radiate  broad  streets,  also  leading  to  a 
second  island,  upon  which  is  built  a  division  of  the  cit>- called  P  red- 
erikshavn.     The  finest  thoroughfare  is  Broad  street,  which  connects  the 


C(M'KNiiAi;i;x. 


•^^43 


square    din-ctlv   with    tlic   fortress  of   Frederikshavn.      The  old  city  of 


sq 


Copenha^'-ea  is'  called  West  End,  beino-  situated  at  the  extremity  of  the 


prmcipal   island,  the  ancient   royal    i)al- 
ace  having;   been  converted  into  a  his- 
torical  treasure   house,    separate   apart- 
ments  beiny   set    aside    for  collections  ),(: 
bearin_i,f  upon  the  reii^n  of  each  kin^-  from 
Christian    1\'.      The  famous  old   i)alao 
of  Christiansborg-,  which  was  destroyed 
by  fire,  was  rebuilt  during  the  first  por- 
tion   of   the    century.      It  is   on  a  little 
island,  being  now  the  parliament  house, 
contains    a    spacious     bancjueting    hall 
ornamented  by  four  of    ThorwaUlsen's 
splendid  bronze  statues,  and  is,  perhaps, 
the     city's     most     imposing"     structure. 
Other     palaces,    formerl\-    occupied    as 
royal   palaces,    are  devoted  to  militar)- 
instruction,    the   fine    arts,     etc.      The 
principal  ro\al  residence  consists  of  four 
palaces,  erected  b)-  different  nobles  and  •^ 
purchased    by   the    King  after    the   de- 
struction of    Christiansborg.      While  a 
ro)al    guest,     Thorwaldsen,    the    great      ^. 
Danish  sculptor,  died  suddenly  of  heart 
disease.      His  magnificent    marble   work,    " 


FREDERICKSHAVN. 


Triumphal    b'ntry  of   Alex- 


844  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

ander  into  Babylon,"  adorns  the  palace,  and  other  evidences  of  his 
genius  are  seen  in  the  churches  and  public  bu'ld'ngs  of  Copenhagen. 
The  body  of  the  modest  man  lies  in  a  fitting  mausoleum,  in  a  museum 
which  the  city  erected  to  contain  the  works  which  he  bequeathed 
to  it.  The  museum  of  Northern  antiquities,  representing  the  stone, 
bronze  and  iron  ages,  is  unrivaled  in  the  world,  and  the  royal  library 
is  among  the  largest  in  Europe.  In  a  word,  Copenhagen  is  a  magnifi- 
cent city,  and  the  most  of  Denmark's  commercial  and  intellectual  ac- 
tivity is  to  be  found  in  it. 

Although  born  in  what  is  now  German  territor)',  Tycho  Brahe,  who 
was  of  true  royal  blood,  received  his  education  in  Copenhagen,  and  as 
the  father  of  practical  astrononi)'  Denmark  has  the  honor  of  giving  him 
to  the  world. 

NATURAL  AND  ARTIFICIAL  BOUNDARY. 

The  natural  division  between  Norway  and  Sweden  is  a  mountain 
chain  covered  with  forests;  the  artificial  division  is  "a  broad  avenue  cut 
in  the  forest  and  having  at  certain  intervals  stone  monuments.  This 
avenut-  is  maintained  with  great  care  by  the  Norwegians,  and  its  condi- 
tion regnlarlv  reported  to  their  Legislature."  The  Norwegian  side  of 
the  chain  is  generally  rocky  and  precipitous,  while  in  Southern  Sweden 
it  consists  more  of  a  plateau,  from  which  rise  lofty  peaks  and  which 
declines  graduall)'  toward  the  seashore.  The  southern  extremity  is  a 
fertile  plain.  Northern  Sweden  is  rocky  and  bleak,  and  Central  Sweden 
essentiall)-  a  forest  country.  In  the  regions  toward  Lapland  the  wild 
reindeer  are  met  with,  while  the  brown  bear  is  found  in  the  dense  forests 
and  is  shot  and  trapped. 

RAVAGES  OF  THE  LEMMINGS. 

A  greater  enemy  to  Sweden  than  the  bear  or  any  other  beast  is  an 
animal  of  the  rat  species,  not  more  than  five  inches  in  length.  Period- 
ically vast  troops  of  these  animals,  called  lemmings,  come  down  from  the 
north  where  they  have  been  feeding  on  moss,  lichens  and  grass,  and  emi- 
grate toward  the  Atlantic  Ocean  or  the  Gulf  of  Bothnia.  Hawks  and 
owls  above  them,  and  bears,  wolves  and  foxes  behind  them,  and  in  their 
very  ranks,  do  not  so  diminish  their  mighty  numbers  as  to  prevent  a 
wholesale  devastation  of  croi)s  and  pastures.  Huntsmen  and  villages 
turn  out  and  wage  war  against  this  invasion  of  the  beasts  of  the  field, 
Init  armies  of  the  lemmings  find  their  way  to  the  warmer  coast  regions. 
After  having  spent  a  winter  there   the  experience  through  which  they 


I'EASANT    AND    an"TA(;EK.  845 

have  passed  does  not  deter  the  old  ones  from  migrating  again  to  their 
northern  grounds,  being  reinforced  by  millions  of  the  younger  genera- 
tions. These  migrations  southward  are  said  to  be  occasioned  by  a 
pressure  of  population  in  the  northern  mountains  of  Scandinavia,  for 
lemmings  breed  almost  as  rapidly  as  rabbits.  The  Lapps  eat  the  lemming. 
In  ancient  times  the  .Scandinavian  peasants,  seeing  these  animals 
descending  from  the  mountains  and  from  the  north,  like  clouds  from 
above,  imagined  that  they  fell  as  plagues  from  heaven,  and  they  were 
often  exorcised  by  the  priests  as  troops  of  evil  spirits. 

PEASANT  AND  COTTAGER. 

These  are  representatives  of  two  distinct  classe.s,  the  peasant  being 
one  who  owns  his  land  and  house,  while  the  cottager  hires  both  and  may 
be  called  a  farm  laborer.  Although  the  tendencies  of  the  .Swedes  are 
toward  democratic  ideas,  the  cottager  is  far  below  the  peasant  socially. 
The  agriculturists  are  crowding  out  the  nobility,  many  of  whom  are  now 
extemely  poor,  though  so  proud  that  they  will  not  labor  to  retain  their 
property.  They  formerly  owned  one-hftli  of  the  lands  of  the  kingdom. 
Those  engaged  in  the  manufacturing  industries,  such  as  making  cotton 
and  woolen  cloths,  silks  and  leather,  and  the  metal  workers  are  called 
burghers.  Although  the  Swedes  as  a  people  still  drink  considerably, 
the  legislation  of  the  kingdom  has  checked  this  vice  very  perceptibly,  so 
that  the  distilleries  within  thirty  years  have  decreased  from,  nearly  90,  lOO 
to  a  few  hundred.  There  is  still  much  to  be  accomplished  in  this  line, 
however,  since  many  of  the  Swedish  peasants,  cottagers  and  working- 
men  give  both  Sunday  and  Monday  to  dissipation  ;  the  latter  especially, 
which  with  other  people  is  called  "  Blue  Monday,"  being  the  first  work- 
ing day  of  the  week,  is  usually  set  aside  for  such  a  decided  jubilee  that 
it  has  been  dubbed  in  Sweden  "  Free  Monday."  And  yet  though  so 
many  thus  strike  out  a  laboring  day  from  the  week,  the  nation  is  thrifty, 
industrious,  progressive  and  independent,  gradually  absorbing  the  prop- 
erty formerly  held  by  the  nobility  merely  by  right  of  birth. 

There  is  one  class  of  householders,  however,  which  stands  if  any- 
thing above  the  peasantry.  The  military  colonists  form  a  very  important 
body  of  the  army.  This  grade  was  established  by  Charles  XL,  and 
consists  of  select  soldiers,  who  are  distributed  in  military  districts,  and 
each  provided  with  a  house  and  a  piece  of  land.  This  he  cultivates  for 
himself,  but  is  actually  provided  for  by  the  holders  of  crown  lands  in  the 
district  to  which  he  is  assigned,  receiving  his  pay  in  money  or  in  kind. 
The  military  colonists  comprise  about  21,000  infantry,  and  4,000  cav- 
alry, and  as  their  entire  annual  period  of  drill  does  not  exceed  a  month 


.<S46 


rANUKAMA    (IF     NATIONS. 


and  a  half,  the  service  is  not  much  of  a  hardshi]).  The  reoular  reserve 
is  dvAwn  from  ihe  whole  male  population,  between  the  as^'es  of  twenty 
and  twcnl_\-ti\c  \-ears,  and  no  substitutes  are  allowed.  P)esides  these 
are  the  riiiiscri|)t  tr(i()|)S,  composing  tin-  Ro\al  ( luards,  .\rtiilery  and 
Engineers  ;  the  hussars,  the  tlower  of  the  arni)',  who  are  enlisted  for  six 
years  and,  with  the  military  colonists,  comprise  the  active  soldiers; 
the  militia  of  (".ottland,  who  are  not  obliged  to  .serve  out  ol  tlie  island, 
and  tlie  \-olunteer  rifle  association. 


THE  SWEDES. 

Tlie  Swedes  are  a  lawdoxinj^  people,  but  are  more  prone  than  the 
Danes  to  stubbornK- resist  dictation  from  ro\al  sources.  Tlie  lawwhich 
rcndated  the  costumes  of  serx'ants,  peasants  and,  in  fact,  those  ol  all  the 


-,\\  I   lilsll    L  \M''M   AIM'. 

lower  classes,  near]\  caused  a  rexolutioii,  Xow  excryone  ilresses  as  he 
pleases,  the  peasants  Ijeing'  particular))-  fanciful  In  their  tastes.  W  ooden 
shoes,  or  leatlier  shoes  with  wooden  soles,  are  ;i  general  feature  of  dress. 
"  Mcai,  women  and  children  labor  together  in  the  fields  ;  women  do 
various  kinds  of  outdoor  work  in  the  towns,  such  as  the  mixing' of  mortar 
and  the  tending  of  masons,  and  most  of  the  drudgery  in  factories.  By 
law  no  children  imiler  twehe  years  of  age  can  be  emplox'ed  in  a  factory 
and  none  luuler  eighteen  can  ht-  required  to  work  .•\fter  dark." 

jvefereiice  has  been  made  both  to  the  .Swedes'  loyalty  and  their 
iiidepiMHlence.  'i'heir  attitude  towarii  the  (hieen  is  a  fair  illustration  of 
their  temperament.  .She  shareil  the  geiiiM-al  ilislike  shown  to  her  hus- 
band, who  was  struggling  against  the  national  parliament  of  Norway 
and  seeking  also  to  subject  Sweden  closer  to  royal  authority.  Tlie 
Norwegian    peasants,   who    really  constitute  the    nation,    despite    their 


STCX  KllUl.M.  ■  S47 

jealous}-  of  the  Swedes,  addeil  their  \()ice  in  jirotest  against  his  acts,  and 
with  tlie  concession  f)f  the  royal  pair  to  sonu;  of  their  most  important 
<leniands,  their  attitude  l)ecame  more  friendly.  The  marriage  of  one  of 
the  \()iing  princes  to  a  girl  of  comparatively  humble  standing  has  also  had 
its  effect.  In  connection  with  this  affair  a  little  incident  is  related,  which 
is  worth)-  of  notice.  The  yueen  was  obliged  to  submit  to  a  serious 
surgical  operation,  and  upon  what  she  thought  would  be  her  death-bed, 
o-ave  her  corisent  to  the  union.  While  the  surgeons  were  plying  the 
knives  ihi;  [lalace  was  besieged  by  a  dense  crowd  of  anxious  subjects, 
anil  when  the  Ouet-n  had  passed  the  ordeal  she  was  so  affected  by  the 
general  solicitude  that  she  expressed  her  feelings  in  public  print. 
The  ro)al  famil)-,  in  fact,  seem  to  make  the  newspaper  as  com- 
mon a  \-ehicle  for  tlu'  conveyance  of  their  sentiments  and  of  in- 
forn-ialion  as  an\-  of  their  subjects.  It  was  reported,  not  long  ago, 
that  one  of  th('  King's  £.ons  was  about  to  marr)-  a  certain  lady, 
whereupon  the  prince  inserted  a  card  in  a  newspaper,  which  read 
thus  concisel)- : 

"I  niiV'-Tsavv  that  lady  !)iit  five  minutes." — Oscak. 
Such   little   incidents  as  th.ese  make  one  realize  the   small  distance 
which  lies  between  the  peasant  and  the  King  of  Sweden  and  Norwa)-. 

STOCKHOLM. 

The  pride  of  Sweden  is  Stockholm  and  it  is  undoubtedl)- one  of  the 
most  attractive  of  European  capitals.  The  city  proper  is  built  upon 
three  islarids,  the  surface  of  which  has  been  raised  by  piles  far  higher 
than  the  natural  level,  and  connecteil  b\-  massive  bridges.  The  royal 
palace,  a  massive  structure  of  granite,  stands  upon  the  central  island  and 
the  most  elevated,  which  is  further  adorned  with  government  buildings 
and  great  mercantile  houses.  Upon  another  island  are  most  of  the  ele- 
gant stores  and  11-iansions  and  the  national  museuni.  The  workii-ig  clas.ses 
occup\-  the  tliird  island.  All  around,  upon  the  islets  wltich  sliul  adjacent 
waters,  are  extensive  pleasure  grounds,  monuments,  royal  palaces,  and 
everything  which  can  please  the  eye  and  gratify  the  national  taste.  The 
tombs  of  .Sweden's  royal  soldiers  and  of  Bernadotte,  her  adopted  king,  and 
the  founder  of  the  present  dynasty,  are  in  the  churches  of  .Stockholm. 
In  the  city  is  also  shown  the  house  where  Swedenborg  was  born.  Hun- 
■dreds  of  manufactories  send  their  clouds  of  smoke  over  the  fair  expanse 
of  waters  and  great  vessels  and  steamers  move  majesticalh^  past  her  har- 
bor fortress  and  rnoor  at  her  quays,  u])on  which  the  roval  palace  fronts, 
The  city  is  connected  with  the  mainland  b\-  railway. 


848  ■  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

THE   NORWEGIANS. 

The  Danish  language,  with  unimportant  modifications,  is  generally 
spoken  in  Norway  as  in  Sweden  ;  but  the  mountaineers  and  sailors  of 
the  north  who  do  not  frequent  the  towns  use  a  dialect  more  like  the  old 
Norse  tongue.  As  the  language  of  the  Northmen  was  exported  from 
Norway  to  Iceland  nearly  a  thousand  years  ago,  so  within  the  past  cent- 
ury an  attempt  has  been  made  to  revive  the  Icelandic  tongue,  or  the 
Norse,  in  Norway.  The  different  dialects  now  in  vogue  away  from 
those  parts  of  the  kingdom  which  were  subject  to  Danish  influence,  when 
the  country  was  a  dependency  of  Denmark,  not  only  conform  quite  closely 
to  the  old  Norse,  but  the  very  costumes  of  the  people  seem  to  belong  to 
another  age.  The  women  wear  immense  woolen  skirts  and  bright  colored 
knit  bodices,  fastened  and  adorned  with  silver  or  brass  clasps  and 
buckles. 

WILD   LIFE  ON   THE  COAST.S. 

On  the  western  coasts  of  Norway,  amid  the  rocks,  precipices,  cata- 
racts, maelstroms,  glaciers,  pine  forests  and  icy  fiords,  the  strong,  yellow- 
haired  Norwegian,  daring  the  awful  storms  of  that  wild  region  in  his 
weather-beaten  fishing  smack,  is  the  true  son  of  the  Northman.  From 
the  crest  of  the  waves  he  can  witness  some  of  the  wildest  sights  in  the 
world.  Sea  and  land  are  wild  and  bold,  and  he  clings  to  them  both 
until  flesh  and  blood  cry  out — and  then  he  emigrates. 

Although  fish  is  caught  in  every  lake  and  stream  of  the  interior, 
the  salmon,  herring  and  cod  fisheries  of  the  coast  are  the  most  impor- 
tant. The  latter,  alone,  give  employment  to  about  25,000  men.  The 
chief  grounds  are  the  Loffoden  Islands,  which  lie  above  the  Arctic  circle. 
At  the  southwest  end  of  this  group  is  the  famous  maelstrom.  From 
this  point  the  coast  of  the  Arctic  ocean  trends  northeast  toward  the 
Russian  frontier,  and  is  so  cut  up  into  rocky  islands,  solitary  rocks, 
peninsulas  and  promontories,  that  it  is  simply  a  tremendous  jumble  of 
sea,  land  and  mountain.  At  places  the  stormy  waves  beat  into  the  fiords 
through  desolate  gorges  nearly  to  the  Swedish  boundary,  while  all  of  the 
land  not  dashed  by  the  sea  is  heaped  with  mountains  which  send  their 
great  glaziers  to  the  water's  edge.  It  is  Switzerland  set  down  on  the 
sea-shore  in  the  Polar  regions. 

•  The  influence  of  the  sea  and  of  the  Gulf  Stream,  however,  greatly 
modifies  the  climate,  so  that  it  is  more  mild  than  any  other  country  in  so 
high  a  latitude.  Norway  contains  the  highest  point  of  land,  and  the 
most  northerly  town  in  Europe,  and  yet  many  of  the  western  and  north- 


A    GIGANTIC    SNOW    FIELD.  849 

ern  fiords  are  nearly  frozen.      Those  of  the  south,  on   the  contrary,  are 
filled  with  ice,  as  they  escape   the   direct  intluences  of  the  Gulf  .Stream. 

A  GIGANTIC  SNOW  FIELD. 

It  is  in  Southwestern  Norway  that  the  highest  mountains,  the 
greatest  snow  fields  and  the  vastest  glaciers  are  found.  Bordering  the 
shores  of  Sogne  Fiord,  which  extends  for  many  miles  inland,  are  peaks 
which  shoot  8,000  feet  above  the  sea.  At  a  lower  level  of  about  i,ooo 
feet  is  the  snow  field  of  Justedal,  the  largest  in  Europe,  covering  an 
area  of  600  square  miles.  From  this  and  other  plains  of  snow  vast  gla- 
ciers slowly  fall  toward  the  sea,  but  are  often  arrested  by  more  level 
land,  in  which  have  been  formed  deep  lakes.  The  upper  valleys  and 
heights,  as  in  Switzerland,  are  covered  with  forests  of  pine,  and  pastures 
to  which  cattle  are  driven.  These  famous  pines  also  fringe  the  fiords, 
and  are,  next  to  the  fisheries,  Norway's  greatest  source  of  revenue. 
Among  the  industrial  arts  ship-building  is  almost  the  only  one  which  is 
extensively  cultivated,  the  people  being  generally  their  own  manufact- 
urers. The  most  extensive  forests  of  pine  and  fir  stretch  along  the  rivers 
which  flow  into  the  southern  fiords,  in  the  vicinity  of  Christiania.  Not 
only  are  the  woods  alive  with  lumbermen,  but  the  industry  has  built  up 
whole  villages,  and  the  timber  merchants  of  Norway  are  among  her  sub- 
stantial citizens.  The  scene  of  the  greatest  activity  is  Drammen,  a 
small  city  in  direct  water  communication  with  the  capital,  and  to  which 
most  of  the  lumber  is  sent  for  export.  Drammen  also  has  manufactories 
for  rope,  sails,  etc.,  and  may  be  considered  the  most  important  out- 
fitting point  for  vessel-men  in  Norway.  The  wood  is  not  only  converted 
into  ship-material,  much  of  it  also  being  sent  to  France,  but  is  used  for 
fuel  in  working  the  copper  and  iron  mines. 

UNCERTAINTY  OF  CROPS. 

On  account  of  the  sandy  texture  of  the  small  area  of  arable  land 
more  attention  is  given  to  the  raising  of  cattle,  horses,  sheep  and  goats, 
than  to  agriculture.  There  are  vast  pasture  lands  of  rich  quality  scat- 
tered all  along  the  mountain  ranges,  and  the  small  farm  in  the  lower 
lands  is  often  but  a  mere  shelter  for  the  stock  during  the  winter  and 
a  source  of  supply  for  their  feed.  As  a  rule  the  cultivators  own 
their  own  land,  the  laborers  on  an  estate  usually  hiring  a  small  tract 
from  the  proprietor  that  they  may  keep  a  few  cows  and  sheep  Rent  is 
paid  in  labor,  much  of  which  falls  to  woman's  lot.  The  principal  crop  is 
barley ;  the  other  grains,  with  fruits,  are  raised  almost  entirely  in  Southern 

54 


850  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

Sweden.  But  the  inferior  nature  of  the  soil  and  the  crude  methods 
employed  make  the  crops  so  uncertain  that,  in  the  best  of  seasons,  they 
are  insufficient  for  home  consinnption  ami  corn  and  ])otatoes  are  imported 
in  large  quantities.  Rye  and  barley  also  come  from  Denmark  and 
Russia. 

To  a  limited  extent,  the  government  has  provided  for  this  uncer- 
tainty by  establishing  corn  magazines  throughout  the  country.  When 
the  season  is  good  the  farmer  deposits  his  surplus  and  is  guaranteed 
i2]/2  per  cent  annually  for  it.  If  times  are  bad,  however,  he  is  obliged 
to  pay  25  per  cent,  in  order  to  borrow  the  grain.  In  times  of  great  dis- 
tress the  peasants  are  sometimes  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  resorting 
to  the  pine  forests  for  their  bread,  tearing  away  the  bark  from  the 
great   trees  and   grinding   the    inner  substance  into  a  kind  of  meal. 

AS  MAN  AND  CITIZEN. 

The  Norwegian  sailors,  peasantry,  lumbermen  and  kindred  workers 
take  away  so  much  of  the  population  from  the  towns  that  there  is  only 
about  one-tenth  left  for  them.  The  result  is  that  the  voters  belong  to 
the  rural  classes.  Even  Christiania,  the  capital  and  principal  city,  has 
only  about  70,000  people,  but  here  is  centered  their  independent  national 
life  ;  here,  in  its  own  home,  sits  the  native  parliament,  or  Stortling, 
which  represents  the  sovereignty  of  the  Northmen  over  the  King.  The 
suffrage  is  based  upon  property  qualifications.  Voters  choose  their 
deputies,  the  proportion  b^ing  one  in  the  towns  to  two  in  the  rural  dis- 
tricts. The  deputies  elect  the  Stortling  representatives,  who  assemble 
annually.  That  body  may  overrule  the  King's  veto,  as  it  has  repeatedly 
done.  It  may  keep  the  Swedish  army  out  of  its  dominions,  or  keep 
the  Norwegian  army  in,  just  as  it  pleases.  The  King  must  spend  a  por- 
tion of  his  time  in  Norway,  and  while  he  is  in  Sweden  the  Norwegians 
have  their  ministers  near  him  at  Stockholm.  For  all  practical  purposes, 
in  fact,  the  Norwegians  are  an  independent  people,  governed  by  their 
own  representatives.  They  preserve  their  own  official  language,  their 
own  flap-,  their  own  crovernment,  and  at  the  fortress  of  Afraferhuns, 
erected  in  the  middle  ages,  they  guard  their  national  archives  and 
regalia.  The  Norwegians  have  never  quite  forgiven  the  Swedes  for 
accepting  from  Russia  the  present  of  their  country,  which  she  had  no 
right  to  give  away,  and  the  remembrance  of  repeated  invasions  of 
Swedish  armies  is  still  keen. 

Within  the  past  forty  years,  however,  under  the  most  conciliator)'' 
rule  of  the  monarchs,  the  wounds  show  signs  of  healing ;  but  the  uncom- 


THE    ICELANDERS.  85  I 

promising  Norse  spirit  of  the  rural  population  will  crop  out,  and  although 
the  Norwegian  voter  and  citizen  may  be  peaceable  enough  under  the 
decrees  of  his  Stortling,  when  it  comes  to  voting  extra  supplies  to  the 
royal  family,  he  often  says  "  nay"  in  a  voice  which  comes  down  to  him 
from  the  tierce  o''^  sea-kings. 

THE  ICELANDERS. 

Politically,  the  Icelanders  are  related  to  the  Danes  as  the  Norwegians 
are  to  the  Swedes.  They  are  nominal  subjects,  merely,  possessing  home 
rule  in  every  particular.  As  stated,  the  Icelanders  are  descendants  of 
the  Northmen.  They  carried  their  language  with  them,  and  through  their 
national  songs,  which  commenced  to  appear  shortly  after  they  settled  the 
island,  they  have  retained  it.  Their  sagas  are  not  only  outbursts  of 
poetry,  but  have  historical  value,  in  that  they  treat  of  events  in  the  reigns 
of  famous  kings  of  Norway  and  Denmark  and  of  such  home  affairs  as 
the  introduction  of  Christianity.  The  world  of  philology,  history  and 
literature  is  therefore  far  more  indebted  to  the  Norwegians  of  Iceland 
than  to  the  Norwegians  of  Norway.  Although  a  land  composed  of  outer 
masses  of  active  volcanoes,  and  beyond  a  tableland  of  rocks,  lava  and 
mud,  with  occasional  fertile  valleys,  the  Icelanders  are  proud  of  their 
country  and  of  their  history.  Their  volcanoes  may  spout,  their  precious 
meadqw  land  sink  into  a  crevasse,  or  huge  islands  shoot  up  from  the  bot- 
tom of  the  sea.  They  may  have  scurvy  and  elephantiasis  and  live  in 
turf  and  lava  huts.  They  may  wash  their  clothes  in  boiling  springs  one 
day  and  find  nothing  but  rocks  and  ice  there  the  next.  They  may  have 
no  roads,  no  vehicles,  and  few  means  of  communicating  with  each  other. 
They  may  live  upon  mutton,  sour  butter,  fish  and  the  like,  with  what  they 
can  afford  to  import,  but  still  they  are  a  proud  people. 

In  this  dreary  country  coal  is  an  article  of  luxury,  and  in  some  dis- 
tricts the  dried  refuse  of  sheep  and  sea  fowl  is  the  only  fuel  which  can 
be  obtained,  so  that  a  fire  is  seldom  made,  except  in  the  small  kitchen, 
even  in  winter.  And  yet  the  women  knit  their  stockings  and  gloves,  and 
the  men  tend  their  cattle,,  if  they  have  any,  and  fish  and  hunt,  bartering 
their  home  manufactures,  skins,  feathers,  eider-down,  oil,  etc.,  for 
hoarded  treasures  of  grain,  flour,  coffee,  sugar,  tobacco  and  liquor. 
Their  children  are  as  industrious,  but  what  makes  the  Icelanders  proud 
and  almost  contented  is  that  they  have  their  literature.  They  have  few 
primary,  schools,  but  it  is  rare  to  find  an  Icelander  who  can  not  read  and 
write.  For  the  sake  of  their  literature  and  their  language  each  com- 
munity is  interested  in  the  education  of  every  child.     "  Parents,  besides 


852 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


teaching  their  children  all  they  know  themselves,  are  careful  to  send 
them  for  further  instruction  to  better  informed  neighbors.  All  the  books 
and  manuscripts  in  the  house,  as  well  as  those  to  be  found  within  a 
radius  of  fifty  miles,  are  read  aloud  over  and  over  again  to  the  family 
and  discussed  by  them.  Moreover,  there  is  a  law  enabling  the  pastor  or 
overseer  of  the  parish  to  remove  the  children  of  careless  parents  and 
board  them  with  others  who  will  teach  them.  This  is  done  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  parish  when  the  parents  are  too  poor  to  pay."  With  the 
Icelanders  amusement  and  education  walk  hand  in  hand  ;  for  the  pe- 
rusal of  the  "  Edda,"  in  which  is  incorporated  their  ancient  mythology,  the 
reading  of  the  sagas  and  the  reciting  of  tales  and  legends  constitute  a 
large  part  of  their  diversion. 


THE    DUTCH 


THEIR  DIKES  ASSAULTED. 

HE  world  knows  that  Holland  was  snatched  from  the  sea  and 
that  the  Dutch  should  have  the  credit  of  almost  creating  the 
soil  upon  which  so  much  of  their  prosperity  rests  ;  that  gran- 
ite, wood(;n  and  sand  dikes,  great  and  little  canals,  windmills 
and  hydraulic  machines,  in  the  hands  of  a  plodding,  brave,  sen- 
sible people,  have,  in  some  way,  accomplished  the  task  of 
planting  a  land  far  below  the  level  of  the  sea  and  making  it 
teem  with  riches  ;  and  that  with  all  their  stupendous  labors, 
the  natives  must  never  rest  day  or  night  in  fancied  security. 
The  rivers  and  the  sea  are  still  persistently  fighting  for  the 
mastery  —  the  sea  to  tear  away  the  coast  and  what  land  the  rivers  make, 
and  the  rivers  to  burst  their  banks  and  cover  the  fertile  fields,  the  vil- 
lages and  cities  which  the  Dutch  have  created.  Even  within  historic 
ages  the  course  and  level  of  the  Rhine  have  changed  ;  it  is  said,  in  fact, 
that  there  is  a  general  rise  of  all  the  river  levels,  which  the  dike-builders 
are  obliged  doggedly  to  follow.  The  rivers  are  no  longer  able  to  bear 
German  soil  against  the  currents  of  the  ocean,  but  rather  drop  it,  in 
apparent  exhaustion,  at  the  entrance  to  the  sea,  making  it  difficult  for  a 
small  vessel  to  pass  out  where  great  fleets  were  once  crowded.  The 
result  has  been  that  the  danger  from  inundations  of  the  rivers  is 
increased ;  the}'  can  not  fiow  freely  to  the  sea,  and  with  the  advent  of  a 
severe  winter  they  are  firmly  locked  near  the  ocean.  When  the  spring 
thaw  sets  in,  from  the  south  comes  a  moving  body  of  water  and  tremen- 
dous ice  cakes,  which  crash  against  this  solid  wall.  On  from  behind 
comes  pressing  a  mighty  procession  of  assaulting  forces  ;  huge  cakes 
and  pinnacles  of  ice  grind  each  other  in  their  rage,  the  waters  from 
behind  rushing  and  roaring  over  them  until  such  a  barrier  is  formed  that 
the  irresistible  forces  of  nature  strain  and  tear  outward  at  the  mighty 
dikes.  The  waters  heave  at  the  foundations,  cricrantic  batterino-  rams 
and  titanic  spears  assault  the  banks,  there  is  a  moment  of  indecisive 
trembling,   a  roar  which   the   ravenous   sea,  in   its  uncontrollable   furj', 

S53 


854  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

might  have  given,  and  the  country  is  under  the  waves  ;  men,  women  and 
children  are  flying  to  the  hills  and  church  steeples,  the  wild  bells  of 
alarm  are  pealing,  grain  fields  and  houses  are  beneath  the  foaming  water 
and  seething  ice,  cattle,  sheep  and  human  beings  are  struggling  and 
groaning  together  ;  and  when  the  Rhine,  the  Meuse  and  the  Scheldt 
have  once  again  had  their  way,  the  patient  Hollanders  collect  their  dead 
and  repair  the  wrecks  of  fortune. 

THE  ZUYDER  ZEE  COUNTRY 

Latin  authors  make  mention  of  several  inland  lakes  in  Holland,  the 
largest  of  which  was  formed  by  the  overflow  of  the  Rhine.  An  isthmus 
separated  it  from  the  sea.  The  ocean  burst  this  barrier  in  the  thirteenth 
century,  and  advancing  step  by  step  formed  Zuyder  Zee,  which  opens 
such  a  great  gap  in  Northern  Holland.  In  the  body  of  the  sea  are  three 
islands  and  upon  them  are  the  descendants  of  the  primitive  Batavians 
and  Frisians,  members  of  that  same  stubborn,  sturdy,  tireless,  stout, 
broad-shouldered  family  which  made  Germany  and  England  possible. 
Their  features,  characters  and  even  customs  remind  one  of  the  ancient 
Germanic  tribes  and  above  all  of  the  Saxons.  On  the  western  coasts  of 
Zuyder  Zee  are  now  dull  villages  which,  in  the  times  when  the  submerged 
district  and  Friesland,  on  the  other  shore,  were  portions  of  a  fertile  coun- 
try dotted  with  hamlets  and  waving  with  fields  of  wheat,  rye  and  barley, 
were  flourishing  centers  of  trade.  The  destruction  of  villages  and  fertile 
lands,  with  the  consequent  decline  of  the  towns  which  escaped  the  devas- 
tation was  the  cause  of  the  rise  of  Amsterdam.  This  city  is  farther  in- 
land, yet  nearer  the  North  Sea  and  sheltered  from  the  storms  by  lying 
around  an  abrupt  peninsula  of  North  Holland  upon  the  southern  shore 
of  Zuyder  Zee. 

It  is  in  one  of  these  towns,  on  the  edge  of  this  submerged  ancient 
Holland,  that  William  Schouten  was  born  who  first  rounded  America's 
cape.  The  port  is  called  Hoorn,  and  the  South  American  cape  should 
therefore  be  Cape  Hoorn.  The  old  town  is  the  center  of  the  dairy  pro- 
ducts of  Holland.  Further  south  are  towns  and  cities  which  have  no 
prosperity,  having  had  their  life  drained  by  Amsterdam.  Opposite  lie 
some  of  those  islands  upon  which  dwell  such  primitive  people.  Their 
houses  are  built  upon  simple  mounds  of  earth,  as  in  ancient  days,  and 
connected  by  small  piles  of  earth.  From  the  roof  of  one  of  the  churches 
are  hung  two  models  of  the  first  fishing  boats  employed  by  the  islanders. 
Few  houses  have  chimneys,  "  but  before  the  principal  window  there  is  a 
large  flat  stone  surrounded  by  a  row  of  bricks.     A  piece  of  iron  is  fast- 


FURTHER  RAVAGES  OF  THE  SEA. 


855 


ened  at  the  back  of  this  stone,  against  which  the  fire  is  kindled.  An 
opening  in  the  roof  allows  e.xit  to  the  smoke,  which,  before  emerging, 
spreads  through  the  loft  where  the  nets  are  dried.  The  house  belongs 
to  the  wife  ;  but  the  fly-boat,  the  external  house,  belongs  to  the  husband. 
He  displays  the  same  coquetry  and  zeal  in  adorning  this  floating  abode 
as  his  wife  does  in  cleaning  the  cottage  ;  and  on  Sundays  and  holidays 
the  fishing  boats  collected  in  port  seem  rather  a  squadnjn  of  yachts 
arranged  for  the  pleasures  of  the  eye  than  a  fleet  of  toil  and  utility." 

FURTHER  RAVAGE.S  OF  THE  SEA. 

North  of  Zuyder  Zee,  and  all   along  the  shores  of  the    North  Sea 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Scheldt  to  that  of  the   Ems,   the   most   startling 


IN  A  DUTCH  PORT. 

changes  have  been  traced  in  the  configuration  of  the  country,  not  since 
ancient  times  only,  but  since  the  middle  ages.  Hundreds  of  villages 
have  disappeared  as  so  many  Pompeiis  ;  the  sea  has  burst  in  and  out, 
making  islands  of  peninsulas,  making  gulfs  of  lowlands  and  seaports  of 
inland  towns.  From  the  western  shores  of  Zuyder  Zee  to  the  German 
coast  is  a  chain   of  islands,  undoubtedly  marking  the   former  bounds. 


856  •  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

of  Holland,  and,  since  the  first  century  a.  d.,  seven  of  the  twenty-three 
islands  which  Pliny  noticed  have  been  beaten  into  the  ocean.  As  late 
as  the  thirteenth  century  a  new  island  was  formed  from  a  detached  por- 
tion of  North  Holland,  and  in  the  fifteenth,  thirty-five  out  of  seventy- 
two  villages  which  stood  on  a  group  of  islets  in  the  broad  mouth  of  the 
Meuse,  were  buried  out  of  sight  by  the  rising  of  the  ocean  tide  and  the 
bursting  of  a  sluice.  "  Not  a  trace  of  them  can  be  discovered  save  an 
old,  gloomy,  solitary  tower  called  the  House  of  JMerwed.  At  a  later 
date,  in  order  to  fix  the  spots  where  the  fishermen  might  be  permitted 
to  cast  their  nets,  the  course  of  the  old  Maas,  which  traversed  the  coun- 
try before  the  submersion,  was  conjecturally  reconstructed.  The  spot 
where  the  villages  were  destroyed  still  bears  the  name  of  '  Biesbosch,' 
or  the  wood  of  reeds." 

The  Dollart  is  a  bay  which  indents  both  the  coasts  of  Holland  and 
of  German)'.  In  the  thirteenth  century  it  was  the  triple  mouth  of  the 
River  Ems,  a  promontory  stretching  northeast  toward  the  German  coast. 
Upon  this  tongue  of  land  were  half  a  hundred  villages.  The  fierce 
North  Sea  deluged  the  land  and  swallowed  up  thirty-three  of  them, 
blotting  out  the  mouths  of  the  river  and  forming  the  gulf  "  Furious," 
or  Dollart. 

Within  the  last  century,  in  fact,  both  sea  and  river  have  spread 
over  nearly  every  fertile  district  of  Holland  ;  and  still  the  Dutch  love 
their  country.  Death  and  disaster,  their  unceasing  struggle  with  nature, 
have  bound  them  to  it  as  closely  as  the  Swiss  is  wedded  to  his  Alps. 

THE  DIKES,  AND  HOW  THEY  LOOK 

Having  drawn  the  character  of  the  foe,  what  are  the  human  weapons, 
defensive  and  offensive,  employed  against  it  ?  It  is  said  the  Cimbri, 
before  they  started  for  Great  Britain,  built  the  first  dikes,  and  that  these 
were  destroyed  before  the  Frisians  and  Batavians  came.  The  first  dike 
which  we  hear  of  was  constructed  near  Leyden,  on  the  old  Rhine.  The 
Meuse  was  next  attacked,  and  early  in  the  Christian  era  the  Romans 
even  took  a  hand  in  digging  a  canal  or  two  to  connect  the  rivers,  of  all 
the  barbarians  the  Batavians  being  their  favorites.  Whatever  of  nobility 
there  was  in  these  old  times  was  overshadowed  by  the  officers  appointed 
by  the  land  owners  to  watch  the  rivers  and  dikes.  These  officers  were 
called  the  Counts  of  the  Dikes,  and  in  seasons  of  inundations  and  dis- 
tress their  power  was  supreme. 

From  their  time  to  the  present  the  whole  architectural  and  mechani- 
cal genius  of  the  country  has  been  concentrated  upon  hydraulic  works. 


THE    DIKES,    AND    HOW    THEY    LOOK.  857 

First  in  order  of  time  and  simplicity  come  tlie  dil<es.  In  some  cases 
they  are  merely  earthworks.  On  the  sea  coast,  in  places,  the  ocean  casts 
up  ridges  or  hills  of  sand,  which  are  sown  with  plants,  chiefiy  rank  grasses. 
These  reeds  or  grasses  while  they  are  taking  root  have  to  be  protected, 
sometimes  for  miles  along  the  coast,  by  coverings  of  straw  ;  otherwise 
they  would  be  lifted  out  of  the  soil  by  the  strong  sea  winds.  When  the 
grasses  have  taken  root,  however,  and  escaped  the  inroads  of  the  Dutch 
rabbit,  which  is  as  great  an  enemy  to  them  as  the  wind,  the  shifting 
masses  of  sand  are  cemented  and  a  natural  dike  is  formed.  These  ridges 
are  called  sand  dunes,  and  where  they  exist  at  all  they  line  the  coast  in 
three  parallel  series,  the  outer  one  touching  the  sea  and  being  of  most 
recent  formation.  These  partially  natural  protections,  which  on  a  Hol- 
land level  look  like  mountains,  are  sometimes  strengthened  with  brick, 
wood  or  stone  work,  while  every  point  of  the  coast  which  is  not  guarded 
by  the  sand  dunes  is  covered  by  a  dike.  The  most  massive  of  these 
works  is  the  Great  Dike,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  H elder,  where  the  north- 
ern peninsula  of  North  Holland  is  exposed  to  the  full  fury  of  sea  and 
wind,  and  which  would  otherwise  be  soon  cut  off  into  the  southernmost 
of  the  long  chain  of  islands  which  stretches  toward  Germany  ;  it  is  six 
miles  in  length,  twenty  or  twenty-five  feet  wide,  and  strengthened  by 
massive  bulwarks  of  granite  projecting  far  into  the  sea.  Many  of  the 
dikes  are  smoothly  paved  on  the  top  with  small  yellow  bricks  and  form 
excellent  carriage  roads,  and  from  an  elevation  of  twenty-five  or  thirty 
feet  one  may  obtain  broad  views  of  the  country,  with  its  handsome  villas 
and  farm  houses,  green  fields,  and  numerous  canals  whose  courses  can  be 
traced  by  long  lines  of  willows  and  other  trees  which  intersect  each  other 
like  a  tracery  of  veins. 

In  place  of  the  road  a  canal  is  sometimes  dug  along  the  dike.  The 
sides  of  the  embankment  are  often  covered  with  willows,  which  are 
planted,  and  interwoven  like  wicker-work,  so  that  from  a  distance  it 
resembles  an  immense  green  ridge.  Still  outside  of  the  dikes,  in  exposed 
places,  walls  of  masonry  are  built  or  solid  rows  of  piles  driven  into  the 
river  or  ocean  bed.  Although  every  point  of  danger  along  sea  and  river 
seems  to  be  guarded,  engineers  are  constantly  employed  to  make  repairs 
and  watchmen  patrol  the  dikes  by  day  and  night,  to  give  timely  warning 
of  a  strain,  a  break  or  a  rising  of  the  tide.  The  people  repair  to  the 
scene  of  danger  with  mats  of  straw  and  rushes,  sail  cloth  and  bags  of  sand, 
with  which  to  stop  the  leak  or  build  up  the  embankment  in  a  temporary 
manner.  Millions  of  dollars  are  still  spent  annually  for  strengthening  old 
works,  building  new  dikes  and  canals,  and  in  reimbursing  the  army  of  offi- 
cers and  employes  conected  with  this  stupendous  system  of  fortifications. 


858 


PANORAMA    UF    NATIONS. 


As  in  military  tactics,  it  has  been  found  by  the  ablest  of  the  Dutch 
engineers  that  it  is  often  best  to  yield  a  point  to  the  powerful  enemy  for 
the  sake  of  the  general  result ;  so  that  sluice  gates  are  constructed  at  the 
mouths  of  rivers,  and  when  the  sea  is  very  tempestuous  one  or  more  of 
the  gates  are  opened  that  the  waves  may  partially  spend  their  force 
before  they  assault  the  inner  line  of  fortifications. 

The  untiring  vigilance  of  the  people  (notwithstanding  which  they 
have  been  so  often  circumvented  by  the  tireless  foe)  may  be  better 
appreciated  when  it  is  remembered  that  during  the  howling  tempests 
which  sweep  upon  the  coast  of  Holland  from  the  northwest  the  tide  of 
the  Rhine  rises  eleven  feet  above  Amsterdam,  that  of  the  Meuse  nearly 
as  much  at  Rotterdam,  while  the  river  Leek,  some  distance  from  the 
latter  city,  towers  seventeen  feet  above.  The  Amsterdam  level  is  the 
standard  of  the  country. 

THE  CANALS. 

But  the  system  of  dikes  does  not  embrace  the  whole  wonder — for 
despite  the  casualties  which  have  already  buried  a  country  under  the 
waves,  the  dikes,  sluice  gates,  the  pumping  machines,  the  canals  form  a 
more  stupendous  monument  to  the  patience  and  industry  of  man  than 
all  the  pyramids  of  Egypt.  A  dense  forest  which  formerly  covered  South 
Holland  and  extended  over  a  portion  of  North  Holland  has  disappeared 
in  the  piling  of  the  dikes  and  in  the  foundations  of  Amsterdam.  Hav- 
ing exhausted  their  own  country  of  wood,  the  people  dug  out  great  beds 
of  peat  for  fuel,  which  at  once  were  converted  into  marshes  and  lakes. 
The  Dutch  saw  with  alarm  that  they  were  thus  making  thousands  of  acres 
of  waste  land — that  land  which  had  been  bought  at  such  a  price — and 
they  perseveringly  set  to  work  to  drain  the  hollows.  Then  it  was  that 
those  ponderous  arms  commenced  to  rise  aslant  against  the  sky  and  to 
christen  Holland  "  the  land  of  dikes  and  windmills."  At  first  they  were 
constructed  so  as  merely  to  take  the  wind  from  the  northwest,  the 
prevailing  quarter.  "  From  this  period  date  the  regular  diking  of  the 
low-lands,  the  formation  of  trenches  to  discharge  and  guide  the  water, 
the  construction  of  sluice  gates  to  establish  the  level  between  the  reser- 
voirs ;  in  a  word,  a  scientific  system  of  desiccation.  Through  this  dis- 
covery the  internal  state  of  the  country  was  changed  and  agriculture 
could  spring  up.  At  the  present  day,  mills  of  all  shapes  and  dimensions 
stand  in  the  middle  of  rich  plains,  whose  superfluous  waters  they  draw 
off  ;  their  busy  wings  are  in  the  distance  blended  together  in  a  tranquil 
sky  and  give  the  landscape  a  singular  character.  Some  of  these  mills 
are  true  edifices,  which  seek  the  wind  at  a  considerable  height  ;  others 


DRAWING    OFF    THE    SEAS.  859 

smaller  and  built  of  wood  and  brick,  are  very  prettily  finished  off.  This 
rustic  coquetry  ;  these  huge  sails  which  tlutter  in  the  air  like  the  wings 
of  gigantic  and  fabulous  birds  ;  this  tic-tac  blended  with  the  rustling  sound 
of  the  waters,  spreads  over  the  calm  nature  of  Holland  an  undefinable 
charm  and  movement.  Elsewhere,  these  monuments  of  a  pastoral  life 
are  only  employed  in  one  way  ;  but  here,  on  the  contrary,  they  are  hy- 
draulic machines,  saw  and  flour  grinding  mills.  Formerly  efforts  were 
limited  to  draining  ground  at  no  great  depth  ;  but  since  science  has 
progressed  the  wind  is  called  upon  to  exhaust  deep  marshes." 

DRAWING  OFF  THE  SEAS. 

The  first  extensive  tract  drained  was  in  the  eastern  portion  of  North 
Holland,  during  the  first  part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  by  which  some 
thirty  lakes  were  converted  into  fertile  gardens  and  grazing  grounds, 
the  former  beds  being  intersected  with  pretty  avenues  bordered  with 
trees  and  canals  lined  with  green  banks,  while  numerous  hamlets  sprung 
up  as  briskly  as  all  vegetation.  The  pioneer  in  the  work  which  has  spread 
over  Holland  is  said  to  have  been  a  seafaring  man  who  had  seen  the 
mighty  fleets  of  Philip  H.,  which  had  been  scattered  on  every  coast. 
He  had  witnessed  the  sinking  of  a  gold-laden  vessel,  a  mere  piece  of 
drift-wood  from  the  great  Armada,  upon  the  coast  of  Ireland,  and,  after 
making  several  voyages  to  that  locality,  found  the  treasure,  and  with  the 
proceeds  of  his  rich  discovery  drained  the  Purmer. 

From  the  scene  of  his  labors  a  magnificent  canal,  massively  pro- 
tected, furnished  with  great  sluice  gates  and  all  other  appliances,  is  cut 
across  the  peninsula  from  Zuyder  Zee  to  the  North  Sea  and  connects 
with  the  canal  from  Amsterdam,  which  traverses  it  from  north  to  south. 

With  the  application  of  steam  to  these  stupendous  drainage  enter- 
prises they  became  bolder  in  their  nature.  Haarlem  Meer,  a  sea  which 
in  a  century  had  been  formed  by  the  coming  together  of  four  lakes, 
which  had  drowned  three  villages  and  rose  to  the  very  gates  of  Amster- 
dam, this  ravenous  body  of  water  was  drawn  into  the  sea,  after  several 
pumps  were  kept  constantly  at  work  for  fifteen  or  sixteen  years.  The 
project  had  been  proposed  more  than  two  centuries  previous,  when 
steam  was  not  at  hand  to  make  it  practicable,  but  the  first  gigantic 
engine  which  commenced  to  draw  the  life  blood  from  Haarlem  INIeer,  in 
1847,  was  named  after  the  originator  of  the  idea,  Leegh  Water.  If 
this  could  be  accomplished  during  the  "sixties,"  it  is  quite  likely  that 
during  the  "  nineties"  from  the  various  propositions  to  reclaim  Zuyder 
Zee  will  be  sifted  the  wisest  ideas  and  that  the  audacious  enterprise  will 
be  inautrurated. 


86o 


PANOKAiMA    OF    NATIONS. 

THE  SEA  AS  AN  ALLY. 


In  describing-  this  contest  of  the  Dutch  with  water  and  wind,  how- 
ever, the  friendly  traits  of  these  foes  should  not  be  entirely  passed  over. 
They  have  utilized  the  wind  for  drainage  purposes,  and  against  human 
enemies  they  summon  the  floods  as  their  allies.  During  the  invasions 
of  the  Spaniards  and  the  French  the  flood  gates  of  their  rivers  and 
canals  were  more  effective  than  cannon,  and  fortresses  and  fierce  assault- 
in  g  columns. 
How,  even  with- 
out the  presence 
of  William  of  Or- 
ange, Philip's  grim 
warriors,  under 
the  bloody  Duke 
who  had  never 
been  defeated, 
were  driven  out 
of  Leyden  by  the 
floods  which  were 
sent  against  them, 
and  welcome  relief 
rolled  up  to  the 
gates  of  the  city 
on  the  return  bil- 
lows —  these  are 
matters  of  dra- 
matic history,  pic- 
tured b)'  the  mas- 
ters.  Theold 
walls  of  Amster- 
dam are  down,  but 
she  has  her  canals 
from  the  Rhine, 
REMBRANDT  VAX  RYN'.  aud   Zuyder    Zee, 

with  their  massive  flood  gates,  and  the  great  hollow  of  Haarlem  Meer, 
the  country  round  about  the  city  herself,  could  be  flooded  before  a 
hostile  army  could  ravage  the  territory. 

The  connection  between  the  famous  defense  of  Leyden  and  the 
founding  of  the  great  university,  is  that  when  the  Prince  of  Orange 
appeared   to   the  distressed   citizens,   he  gave  them  the   choice  of  two 


SCENES    ON    THE    CANALS.  86 1 

rewards  for  their  heroism  —  the  remittal  of  their  heaviest  taxes,  or  the 
establishment  of  such  an  institution — and  with  one  voice  they  shouted 
"The  University,  the  University!"  So  it  was  founded,  —  one  of  the 
greatest  monuments  to  the  cause  of  education  in  Europe.  Its  other 
glory  is  that,  in  one  of  the  windmills  which  surround  the  clean,  antique 
city,  Rembrandt  is  said  to  have  been  born,  and  its  greatest  curiosity  is  a 
ruined  tower,  situated  on  a  mound  in  the  centre  of  the  town,  whose 
builder  is  said  to  have  been  Hengist,  the  Saxon.  The  tower  has  been  con- 
verted into  a  sort  of  inn,  and  the  grounds  about  it  are  used  as  a  tea-garden. 

SCENES  ON  THE  CANALS. 

But  whether  you  go  to  the  Hague,  where  the  King  and  his  palaces 
are,  which  contains  prisons  and  squares  where  Dutch  patriots  were  con- 
fined and  executed,  splendid  collections  of  paintings  by  the  Dutch 
masters;  which  is  tjie  birthplace  of  William  HI.  of  England,  and  long 
the  residence  of  the  hardy  stadtholders  ;  or  to  Utrecht,  the  scene  of  the 
formal  establishment  of  the  great  political  and  religious  league,  and  of 
memorable  treaties  in  which  vast  territories  in  Europe  and  America 
were  shuffled  around  by  the  Powers  as  a  pack  of  cards  ;  or  to  the  com- 
mercial centers,  Amsterdam  and  Rotterdam  —  it  matters  not  where  you 
go, — the  cities  will  be  cut  into  districts  by  numerous  canals,  upon  whose 
broad  embankments  are  laid  out  wide  and  clean  streets.  Eacing  the 
streets,  or  (as  they  become  in  Rotterdam  and  Amsterdam)  the  quays, 
are  lofty  houses  which  overlook  the  bustle  upon  the  water  and  the  land. 
Their  sites  are  cut  into  many  islands,  and  to  their  great  wharfs  come  ves- 
sels from  all  parts  of  the  world,  their  masts  protruding  above  the  lofty 
dikes,  but  their  bodies  hidden  behind  the  huge  ramparts ;  and  away 
from  river  and  sea  the  same  movement  is  seen  on  the  water.  The 
sails  of  little  boats  glide  apparently  over  the  face  of  the  country,  or 
pflisten  through  the  a^reen  trees  which  line  the  banks  of  the  canals  and 
rivers.  Holland  has  its  railroads,  but  its  canals  still  reign  supreme. 
Large  cities  in  America  have  their  milk-trains.  To  the  large  cities  of 
Holland  come  processions  of  boats,  laden  with  oaken  buckets  of  milk 
from  the  surrounding  farms,  attended  frequently  by  pretty  girls,  with 
great  straw  hats  turned  up  before  and  behind,  and  with  very  red  cheeks. 
The  water-boats  of  Holland  are  distinct  from  the  milk-boats,  the 
Amsterdam  supply  being  brought  from  Utrecht,  or  pumped  from  the 
sand  of  the  ocean  dunes,  where  the  rain  water  collects.  There  are 
regular  companies  organized  for  the  distribution  of  water,  but  many 
private  individuals  gain  a  livelihood  by  selling  water,  which  they  carry 
about  the  town  in  casks  placed  upon  carts. 


862  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

Upon  the  boats  constructed  for  passenger  travel  the  character  of 
the  typical  Hollander  will  be  revealed  in  as  quaint  a  light  as  in  Amster- 
dam. He  makes  himself  at  home  as  much  in  one  place  as  the  other. 
The  little  cabin,  with  its  glazed  windows  and  colored  curtains,  its  lookinor- 
glass  and  mat,  and,  if  it  is  winter,  a  foot-warmer  tor  the  ladies,  with  cush- 
ioned benches  on  either  side  and  a  small  case  or  shelf  against  the  wall 
holding  a  modest  library,  everything  bright  and  neat ;  this  is  an  index  of 
the  Hollander.  If  his  journey  is  long  he  has  his  own  table,  where  he 
can  write,  and  opens  a  regular  business  office,  preparing  necessary  cor- 
respondence or  even  carrying  on  trade  with  some  brother  merchant  who 
may  chance  to  be  going  his  way.  The  women  sew  or  knit,  the  length 
of  the  journey  being  often  reckoned  in  stockings.  There  is  much 
smokingf  and  tea-drinking,  the  girls  sing  soft  choruses  at  night,  which 
float  more  calmly  over  Holland  than  any  other  land  and  water  on  earth, 
and  when  it  is  time  that  all  honest  people  were  abed  the  cabin  is  divided 
into  two  parts  —  the  saloon,  and  the  sleeping  room,  which  occupies  the 
width  of  the  cabin,  composed  of  simple  mattresses  and  counterpanes  all 
smacking  of  fresh  air  and  good,  honest  soap  and  water. 

So  these  thousands  of  boats,  usually  about  thirty  feet  long,  glide 
along  the  Dutch  water  ways,  being  drawn  by  horses  upon  which  are 
mounted  postilions.  In  front  of  each  boat  is  a  mast,  which  is  lowered  at 
the  bridge,  and  to  the  top  of  which  the  long  rope  is  fastened  which 
drags  the  craft  along.  The  master  of  the  boat  is  placid,  polite  and 
quiet,  but  the  postilion  lustily  blows  his  buffalo  horn,  or  shouts  at  the 
top  of  his  lungs  when  he  approaches  a  bridge  or  a  boat. 

But  should  he  urge  his  beast  along  every  canal  in  Holland  and  drag 
the  boat  after  him  in  which  the  writer  is  supposed  to  be,  there  would 
come  before  him  one  continuous  chain  of  evidence  that  , despite  their 
centuries  of  disasters,  the  Dutch  are  a  uniformly  prosperous  people.  Near 
the  towns,  which  are  so  numerous  that  their  limits  can  scarcely  be  traced, 
are  built  upon  the  banks  of  the  canals  Chinese  pavilions,  where  the 
w^omen  take  their  needlework  and  knitting  and  the  men  their  pipes,  and 
from  soft  clouds  of  smoke  or  over  their  cups  of  tea  and  coffee  calmly 
watch  the  flow  of  industry  along  the  watery  thoroughfares. 

EVERYONE  SEDATE  AND  CLEAN. 

Sedateness  and  cleanliness  seem  to  be  the  outward  manifestations 
of  the  Dutch  character.  The  present  generation  inherits  these  tenden- 
cies from  the  past.  Such  struggles  with  nature  and  man  as  the  people 
have  had  for  their  country  have  engraved  themselves  upon  the  persons 
of  children  yet  unborn  ;  with  the  Dutchman,  life  has  been  no  laughing 


EVERVOXE    SEDATE    AXU    CLEAN. 


863 


matter.  But  though  sedate  he  is  far  from  being  sad  or  gloomy,  as  t!ie 
roses,  the  hyacinths,  the  tuhi^s,  the  gay  houses  and  the  phicid  happiness 
of  his  women  and  children  prove.  Even  the  maidens  of  the  Netherlands 
are  sedate.  Whether  in  the  country  or  the  city  it  is  not  customar)-  for 
them  to  look  boldly  at  passers-by.  They  hide  themselves  behind  vines 
and  green  frameworks,  and  if  they  wish  to  look  upon  the  crowded  street 
the  objects  below  them  are  reflected  in  two  mirrors,  set  at  the  proper 
angles,  and  placed  outside  the  window,  so  that  they  may  see  without  being 
seen. 

Why  the  Dutch  are  clean  as  well  as  sedate  it  may  be  impossible  to 
explain  on  any  philosophical  or  historic 
grounds.       Perhaps  the  abundance  of 
water  and    the    crowded    condition  of 
their  land  may  have  had  something  to 
do  with  it.    Existence  in  Holland  would 
be  impossible  without  cleanliness.     As 
it  is  there  are  no  healthier  people  in  the 
world.     In  the  large  cities  the  hours 
before  9:30  a.  m.,  daily,  are  devoted  en- 
tirely to  cleaning,  this  matter  being  reg- 
ulated according  to   law.      This   is   all 
the  more  necessary,  since,  if  the  build- 
ings do  not   face  canal  embankments, 
the   streets,  especially  in  the  old  quar- 
ters, have  been  raised  as  high   as   the    M 
dikes  to  improve  the  drainage  ;  so  that    fl 
access  to  the  structures  is  obtained  by 
descending  a  flight  of  steps,  and  when 
mistresses  and  maids,  having  no  yards    §, 
in  which  to  perform  such  duties,  take  ^7- 
possession  of   the  streets  to  beat  car-       ^'-^^ 
pets,    shake    mats,    throw  water   upon  ^  ^^^'^  dutch  inn. 

the  houses  from  little  brass  hand  engines,  wield  window  washers  attached 
to  long  poles,  and,  in  fact,  to  brush  and  wash  and  dry  their  dwellings 
inside  and  out,  then  the  pedestrian  who  ventures  upon  a  Dutch  street 
before  9:30  is  miserable  indeed.  Though  the  vigor  with  which  the 
women  conduct  this  siege  against  dirt  transforms  them  for  the  time 
being  into  a  species  of  maniacs,  they  still  maintain  their  reputation  for 
cleanliness,  being  generally  dressed  in  pale  lavender  bodices,  with  a 
black  petticoat  below,  a  white  apron  in  front  and  a  snowj'  cap  over  the 
head. 


864  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

Go  to  a  Dutch  farm  house,  visit  the  cow  shed  even,  and  everything 
is  as  neat  as  wax.  The  cow  herself  is  clean,  and  the  brass  milk  pails, 
arranged  in  racks  outside  the  shed,  seem  to  actually  add  light  to  the 
landscape.  The  house  is  before  you,  painted  green  and  white,  the  flower 
pots  are  red,  the  vegetable  and  flower  gardens  are  trim  and  fresh,  and 
the  farmer's  wife  and  daughter  are  the  neatest  of  them  all.  It  is  not 
hard  to  understand  why  the  Dutch  love  their  homes,  such  types  of  order 
and  purity.  Another  explanation  has  been  given  to  account  for  the 
native  passion  for  cleanliness  and  that  is  the  fact  of  the  humidity  of  the 
atmosphere  which  would  produce  mildew,  rust  and  other  destructive 
agencies,  if  the  people  were  not  constantly  painting,  rubbing  and  polish- 


ing- 


THE  KERMIS  AND  HOME. 


There  is  one  occasion,  however,  which  completely  submerges  every 
trace  of  native  sedateness,  and  that  is  the  Kermis,  which  was  formerly  a 
Catholic  festival  following  a  season  of  penance  and  fasting.  As  long  as 
the  season  of  festivities  continued  red  wooden  crosses  stood  in  the 
churches,  before  the  city  gates  and  bridges  and  at  the  district  boundaries. 
This  custom  continued  until  after  the  Reformation  and  the  Kermis  was 
the  excuse  for  much  disorder,  drunkenness  and  crime.  Then,  as  now,  the 
foundations  of  the  national  character  seemed  overturned.  Notwith- 
standing the  efforts  of  the  clergy  to  have  the  Kermis  suppressed,  both 
for  its  bad  effects  and  because  it  is  a  relic  of  Catholicism,  it  flourishes  as 
a  national  institution,  although  in  Amsterdam  it  has  been  abolished.  In 
Rotterdam  it  continues  for  a  week,  and  in  towns  and  villages  the  festiv- 
ities are  boisterously  sustained  for  several  days.  The  Kermis  is  of  the 
nature  of  an  average  country  fair,  but  the  participants,  especially  in  prim- 
itive Friesland,  move  about  from  town  to  town,  singing,  drinking  and 
dancing  day  and  night,  seeing  the  sights,  having  their  fortunes  told,  and 
eating  very  small  pancakes  ("broedertjes")  and  pickled  vegetables. 

The  Kermis  is  the  best  place  in  the  world  in  which  to  observe  the 
many  varieties  of  Dutch  costumes.  The  islanders  of  the  north  of  Hol- 
land do  not  seem  to  belong  to  the  country,  the  men  wearing  enormous 
wide  breeches  and  jackets,  made  of  the  coarsest  stuffs.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Zeeland  farmers  of  Southern  Holland  appear  in  natty  jackets 
and  knee  breeches  of  black  velveteen,  grey  stockings  and  scarlet  waist- 
coats, a  row  of  silver  buttons  running  down  the  front  to  a  belt,  in  the 
center  of  which  flare  two  immense  bosses  of  the  same  metal.  I  n  many  of 
the  towns  modern  costumes  are  crowding  out  the  picturesque  old,  and 
often  there  is  a  quaint  blending  of  the  two.     F  or  instance,  over  the  "  head- 


THE    K.KR.MIS    AND    HOME. 


S65 


iron,"  as  it  is  called,  will  often  be  drawn  not  only  a  linen  or  lace  cap  but  a 
modern  bonnet,  with  artificial  flowers,  feathers,  ribbons  and  all.  The 
"head-iron  '  is  a  skull  cap  made  of  finely  polished  gold  or  silver,  and  its 
origin  is  uncertain.  When  made  of  the  baser  metal  it  might  have  been  a 
baclge  of  servitude  ;  now  it  is  an  ornament  and  heirloom,  being  pre- 
sented to  the  girl  when  she  is  confirmed  at  church.  At  the  top  there  is 
a  hood  for  ventilation,  a  fringed  lace  hood  falls  to  the  shoulders  and 
pendants  of  gold  hang  from  the  edge  of  the  cap,  or  a  broad  band  is 
worn  across  the  forehead  almost 
in  a  line  with  the  eyes.  Over 
all  this,  as  stated,  is  sometimes 
worn  a  bonnet  of  modern  con- 
struction. 

Kermis  over,  however,  the 
Dutch  Boer  returns  to  his  round 
of  duties  and  faithfully  performs 
them  until  the  next  season  of 
national  relaxation  comes  round, 
his  machinery  being  kept  in 
smooth  running  order  by  his 
pipe,  his  tea  cup,  his  church  and 
small  social  affairs.  If  hisworldly 
affairs  are  not  prosperous  the 
interior  of  his  cottage  will  be 
found  divided  off  by  wooden  par- 
titions into  a  number  of  rooms, 
with  a  loft  for  corn  and  hay 
above.  Racks  for  dishes  are 
fixed  against  the  wall.  If  his 
home  is  particularly  exposed  to 
inundations,  the  family  bed  con- 
sists of  a  huge  square  box,  raised 
six  or  seven  feet  from  the  Boor, 
approached  by  ladders  and  filled  with  warm  grasses  or  sea  weed.  Like 
the  Turk  coming  into  the  mosque,  the  Dutch  peasant  takes  off  his  shoes 
when  entering  his  house  ;  but  the  Boer  leaves  his  without.  They  may 
be  painted  white,  black,  red,  white  and  blue,  and  artistically  carved  ;  but 
in  the  true  rural  districts  the  number  of  shoes  ranging  near  the  cottage 
door  will  indicate  the  extent  of  the  company  to  be  found  within. 

One  of  the  first  thinfjs  which  a  stranger    notices  when  entering  a 

Dutch  house  is  that   it   has   no  fixed   erate  or    stove.      The  stoves  are 

"^  55 


CjOING    10   HAH  I  ISM. 


866 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


usually  portable  and  may  be  hired,  like  a  carriage,  of  regular  dealers  in  the 
property.  The  invariable  fuel,  however,  is  peat  or  a  coke  made  from 
peat.  In  summer,  stoves  are  generally  removed  from  the  houses  and 
much  of  the  fire  which  cooks  the  householder's  food  and  boils  his  tea  and 
coffee,  is  sold  to  him.  In  some  street  close  at  hand  is  an  industrious 
Dutchman,  who  at  breakfast  and  tea  time  sends  out  a  force  of  boys  with 
small  iron  vessels  containing  a  kettle  of  water  upon  a  red-hot  turf  to  be 
delivered  at  the  houses  in  the  neighborhood.  The  same  individual,  also, 
often  contracts  to  wake  persons  who  are  obliged  to  rise  early,  and  over 

his  shop  is  a  sign 
which,  translated, 
means,  "  Here  they 
knock  and  wake  per- 
sons." 

But  it  was  of  peat 
that  we  intended  to 
particularly  speak  ;  for 
peat  is  used  not  only 
in  the  house  but  in 
many  factories,  and 
there  are  as  many 
grades  of  it  in  Holland 
as  there  are  of  coal  in 
America.  The  con- 
sumption of  peat  has 
increased,  in  a  greater 
ratio  than  coal,  and, 
perhaps,  next  to  the 
fisheries,  its  excava- 
tion, preparation  and  transportation  employ  more  people  than  any 
other  industry  of  the  country.  The  fuel  cut  from  the  low  beds  of  Hol- 
land is  preferable  for  its  compactness  and  fineness,  although  much  of 
the  peat  is  now  compressed  by  machinery  and  transformed  into  char- 
coal.     For  running  machinery  regular  coal  is  undoubtedly  preferable. 

PEAT  BEDS,  HIGH  AND  LOW. 

Whole  villages  and  districts  in  Holland  owe  their  prosperity  to  the 
acres  of  peat  beds  which  have  been  exposed  in  the  course  of  centuries. 
Whether  the  beds  are  high  or  low,  they  have  to  be  drained  of  water, 
with  this  difference  :  From  the  high  beds  the  water  is  first  drained 
before  the  peat  is  cut,  while   that   which  lies  on  a  lower  level  is  spaded 


EXTERIOR  OF  A  DUTCH  HOUSE. 


PEAT    BEDS,    HIGH    AND    LOW.  867 

and  removed  under  water,  the  stratum  of  clay  having  first  been  laken 
away.  The  process  of  draining  the  high  lands  sometimes  requires  seven 
or  eight  years  before  the  bed  can  be  worked  at  all,  trenches  being  dug 
and  gradually  deepened,  which  run  into  a  central  canal,  where  great 
barges  wait  to  receive  the  fuel.  After  the  peat  has  been  cut  into  squares, 
lifted  and  piled  so  scientifically  that  every  side  is  exposed  to  wind  and 
sunshine,  each  piece  is  turned  by  women  and  children,  that  which  is  least 
dry  being  placed  on  top.  When  the  whole  yield  is  dry  it  is  stored  in 
sheds,  arranged  on  laths  or  planks,  and  is  ready  for  shipment. 

But  before  it  gets  under  cover  an  unusually  rainy  season  may  cause 
the  owner  great  loss  by  transforming  the  entire  product  into  almost  a 
liquid  consistency.  The  carelessness  of  a  workman,  or  of  a  villager  who 
lives  in  the  peat  district,  may  be  the  means  of  destroying  hundreds  of 
acres  of  the  fuel  bed  before  it  even  sees  the  light  of  day.  A  stray  match, 
a  piece  of  lighted  sod  thrown  upon  the  ground  which  has  been  used  for 
boiling  a  tea  kettle,  may  start  such  a  smoldering  conflagration  in  the 
drained  mass  of  fuel  as  will  hollow  out  the  bed  of  a  pond  or  a  lake. 
This  danger  has  also  been  used  as  a  weapon  in  the  course  of  the  Hol- 
lander's unique  campaigns  against  national  enemies.  One  strikingly 
effective  move  of  this  nature  was  made  against  the  Spaniards,  by  which 
their  only  practicable  road  was  undermined,  gouged  into  enormous  hol- 
lows, flooded  and  made  useless,  gulfs  and  lakes  being  thrown  across  their 
military  pathway. 

It  was  the  working  of  the  low  peat  beds  for  so  many  years  which 
filled  Holland  with  lakes  and  marshes,  to  drain  which  the  windmill  pumps 
arose  and  her  great  canal  system  was  perfected.  When  the  soft  sods 
are  cut  and  lifted  from  beneath  the  water,  they  are  thrown  into  barges 
and  carried  to  land.  There  they  are  placed  in  large  circular  troughs  and 
trodden  into  a  doughy  consistency,  stones  and  roots  being  thrown  out 
as  the  work  progresses.  This  mass  is  allowed  to  dry  in  the  trough,  after 
which  the  workman  fastens  a  plank  to  either  foot  and  enters  his  tread- 
mill again  to  smooth  the  surface.  The  peat  is  then  cut  and  dried  and 
loaded  on  to  the  long,  ancient-looking  turf  boats,  which  in  no  mean  pro- 
portion form  in  line  with  the  milk  and  passenger  boats  which  enliven 
the  highways  of  Holland.  The  boats  are  provided  with  wooden  houses 
in  which  the  boatmen  live  with  their  families,  and  when  one  is  loaded 
with  these  vegetable  blocks,  piled  with  the  utmost  precision  and  only  a 
few  inches  above  water,  it  is  in  appearance  a  new  order  of  Merrimac 
transferred  to  Holland  waters.  Women  often  assist  in  the  unloading, 
the  final  transfer  being  accomplished  in  clumsy  hand-carts  of  the  same 
pattern,  it  is  said,  as  those  in  which  the  Spaniards  brought  their  muni- 


868  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

■tions  of  war  into  the  country.  The  Spanish  carts,  of  course,  were  drawn 
by  horses,  but  it  was  made  unlawful  to  construct  hand-carts  according  to 

.this  model,  although  old  ones  might  be  repaired. 

:  The  utility  of  peat  does  not  end  with  its  burning.  In  place  of 
piles,  it  is  used  as  a  foundation  for  houses  built  in  marshy  districts.  Its 
ashes  constitute  a  valuable  fertilizer,  its  soot  cleans  steel  or  tin,  its  smoke 
prepares  salt  meats  and  herrings,  and  the  substance  is  employed  in  the 
manufacture  of  ink  and  paper. 

;      -;•■,-  THE  HERRING  FISHERIES. 

Holland  obtained  its  first  real  start  as  a  commercial  nation  from  the 
privileges  which  it  obtained  from  England  to  fish  for  herring  on  her 
coast  ;  this  was  during  the  latter  part  of  the  thirteenth  century.  The 
fisheries  became  a  great  source  of  prosperity  to  Vlaardingen,  which  is 
still  the  principal  depot,  and  to  other  towns,  especially  when  a  peculiarly 
fine  way  of  curing  herring  was  discovered  and  kept  a  close  secret.  The 
fishermen  who  lived  in  a  collection  of  huts  on  the  south  shore  of  an  arm 
of  Zuyder  Zee,  called  Damsluij's,  were  especially  enterprising,  —  sell- 
ing their  fish  in  all  parts  of  the  world  and  bringing  back  produce  for 
home  consumption  and  for  export.  This  was  the  basis  of  Amsterdam's 
foreign  commerce  and  opulence,  and,  to  some  e.xtent,  the  colonization 
schemes  of  the  Dutch  and  her  boldness  in  foreign  lands  and  waters  had 
an  inception  in  the  greater  prosperity  which  the  herring  brought  to  Hol- 
land. Having  added  to  their  stern  contest  with  floods  at  home  this 
broad  e.xperience  on  the  high  seas,  the  Dutch  became  the  most  success- 
ful navigators  in  the  world,  contesting  the  palm  with  the  bold  and  hardy 
Portuguese.  The  war  with  France  and  the  rivalry  of  England  greatly 
embarrassed  their  fisheries,  and  their  commerce  during  the  last  part  of 
the  eighteenth  and  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  centuries  greatly 
declined.  Both  herring  fisheries  and  foreign  commerce  are  improving, 
although  the  Dutch  never  again  reached  the  height  of  power  which 
they  attained  in  the  seventeenth  century. 

.',"■•■.•    A  LITTLE   HISTORY. 

During  the  latter  portion  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  republic  of 
the  Seven  United  Provinces  was  formed.  Flanders  and  Brabant  refused 
to  join  the  confederacy,  remained  under  Spanish  and  Austrian  rule,  and 
•were  subsequently  annexed  to  Holland  as  a  shield  against  France.  But 
the  two  people  could  not  assimilate,  and  Belgium  was  erected  from  the 
two  Catholic  provinces. 


o 
w 

K 
rt 
o 
> 


WINTER    IN    HOLLAND.  869 

The  next  important  historic  event  after  the  formation  of  the  repub- 
lic was  the  death  of  WilHam  of  Orange.  His  son  succeeded  him,  that 
brilhant  general,  Prince  Maurice  of  Nassau,  who  made  Holland  one  of 
the  foremost  military  powers  on  land.  Within  thirty  years  after  his  death 
the  Dutch  expelled  the  Spaniards  from  many  of  their  possessions  in 
South  America  and  the  East  Indies  and  forced  them  to  formally  ac- 
knowledge the  independence  of  the  United  Provinces. 

Thus  the  herring,  the  sword  and  the  ship  made  Holland  the  great 
power  which  we  find  her  in  the  seventeenth  century.  She  has  retained, 
despite  her  subsequent  reverses,  her  possessions  in  the  East  Indies,  and 
has  even  extended  them.  In  Sumatra,  Borneo,  Java,  the  Celebes,  New 
Guinea  and  other  islands  of  the  Archipelago  we  have  seen  how  the  Dutch 
are  firmly  established  on  native  soil.  They  were  early  driven  out  of 
Brazil  by  the  Portuguese,  but  have  important  possessions  in  Guiana  and 
South  Africa.  Wherever  they  have  gone,  east  or  west,  they  have  found 
their  old  rivals,  the  English,  either  there  before  them  or  close  upon  their 
heels. 

The  East  India  Company  formerly  monopolized  the  rich  trade  of 
the  Asiatic  islands,  it  being  a  combination  of  several  companies  which, 
under  a  charter  from  the  State,  was  granted  exclusive  privileges  for 
twenty-one  years.  This  gigantic  monopoly  was  extended  by  the  gov- 
ernment, from  time  to  time,  for  two  hundred  years,  but  its  course  became 
so  tyrannical  toward  both  natives  and  Europeans,  in  its  efforts  to  rule 
the  markets  of  the  world,  that  it  fell  into  disrepute.  The  establishment 
of  the  Batavian  Republic  in  Java  was  the  fatal  stroke  delivered  after  it 
had  been  weakened  by  English  arms  and  commercial  rivalry.  The 
Netherlands  government  took  possession  of  its  affairs  in  i  795  and  the 
government  trading  association  succeeded  it  in  many  of  its  features. 
This  company  is  the  selling  agent  and  carrier  of  the  government  produce 
in  Europe,  bu*"  attempts  to  exercise  no  such  arbitrary  power  as  to  dic- 
tate to  producers  how  much  or  what  they  shall  raise. 

WINTER  IN   HOLLAND. 

Winter  in  Holland  is  not  all  gayety  —  not  composed  solely  of  warm 
furs,  red  cheeks,  gleaming  skates,  and  love  on  ice.  The  canals  are 
utilized,  it  is  true,  as  in  no  other  land,  for  both  pleasure  and  trade, 
There  are  laughing  skaters,  lovers  gliding  along  arm  in  arm,  and  long 
lines  of  young  men,  Indian  file,  bound  together  with  a  long  pole,  shoot- 
ing between  town  and  city.  There  are  also  the  women  bearing  their 
eggs  and  butter  to  market,  with  long,  regular,  strong  strokes  ;  and  much 


8jO  '  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

darker  pictures  of  suffering  among  the  fishermen  and  artisans  of  the 
country,  notwithstanding  the  general  prosperity.  Sleighing  parties  go 
dashing  along  in  odd,  gilded  sledges  lined  with  furs,  the  horses  adorned 
with  colored  plumes  and  silver  bells,  but  seem  almost  stationary  as  they 
are  approached  by  the  ice-boat  with  its  huge  sail  and  excited  occupants. 
The  more  severe  the  winter  the  more  of  life  the  rivers  and  canals  of 
Holland  bear,  Ijut  hundreds  of  poor  laborers  look  out  over  the  ice  which 
bars  the  vessels  from  the  great  ports  and  snatches  away  their  bread. 
Artisans  and  their  families  are  thrown  out  of  employment,  and  suffer 
from  long  winters  and  dearness  of  food,  as  they  do  in  other  countries. 
But  the  Dutch  are  extremely  practical,  and  see  that  it  is  cheaper  to  give 
the  unoccupied  employment  tlian  to  punish  and  support  them  as  crim- 
inals.    Their  sense  goes  with  their  benevolence. 

PROMOTING  THE  PUBLIC  GOOD. 

Holland  has  her  soup  kitchens  and  hcrpauper  colonies,  where  heads 
of  families  are  allotted  cottages,  land  and  live-stock.  .She  has  every 
possible  public  institution  for  the  relief  of  the  sick  and  needy  ;  but  her 
brightest  glory  is  a  private  institution,  which  has  thrown  its  broad  spirit 
over  the  country  like  the  great  warm  coat  of  a  whole-souled  man  around 
the  bent,  trembling  shoulders  of  a  poor  woman.  Within  a  century,  from 
an  association  consisting  of  a  Protestant  minister,  his  son  and  a  few 
friends,  the  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  the  Public  Good  has  grown  into 
a  body  of  15,000  or  16,000  members,  divided  into  more  than  300  depart- 
ments. Each  town  or  parish  where  there  are  only  eight  members  who 
wish  to  join  the  Society  has  the  privilege  of  organizing  a  branch,  and 
sends  a  representative  to  the  general  assembly,  which  meets  once  a  year 
at  Amsterdam.  With  their  heads,  their  hearts  and  their  pockets  this 
great  body  of  philanthropists  labor  in  the  establishment  and  mainte- 
nance of  schools  for  the  poor,  industrial  homes  for  the  temporary  indi- 
gent, hospitals  and  asylums.  The  .Society,  in  fact,  laid  the  foundation 
of  the  present  excellent  system  of  public  education  which  has  made 
Holland  famous,  the  members  of  its  central  committee  actually  assisting 
to  draw  up  the  law  of  1806.  In  a  word,  the  object  of  the  Society  of 
Public  Utility  (for  its  title  has  been  variously  translated  into  English) 
is  to  found  all  institutions,  from  the  contributions  of  its  members,  which 
it  decides  are  for  the  good  of  the  public,  and  to  keep  them  on  their  feet 
until  they  can  run  alone,  or  until  private  individuals  or  the  state  will 
support  and  lead  them.  It  also  wisely  directs  the  streams  of  charity 
which  otherwise  would  flow  wide  of  the  mark  to  which  they  were 
directed. 


TIIF,    BELGIANS.  8/1 

One  of  the  wisest  as  well  as  the  most  profitable  of  the  works  in 
which  the  Society  has  been  cng-a^yed  is  in  reclaiming  the  sandy  borders 
of  the  ocean  and  changing  them  into  cultivated  fields.  The  government, 
which  stands  far  down  on  the  debtor  side  of  the  account,  by  request, 
turned  over  a  large  district  of  sand  dunes,  and  without  removing  the 
necessary  coast  protections,  the  Society,  with  the  assistance  of  those 
whom  hard  seasons  have  stranded,  has  converted  the  land  into  vegetable 
gardens  which  not  only  have  supported  the  indigent  but  realized  some- 
thing for  the  market.  Every  winter  hundreds  of  workmen  who  would 
be  idle  in  the  cities,  are  engaged  in  lowering  the  sand  hills,  manuring  the 
ground  and  preparing  for  the  spring  planting.  The  sand,  also,  frequently 
covered  with  moss  and  lichens,  is  sold  to  mix  with  clayey  soil  or  as 
ballast  for  ships. 

THE   BELGIANS. 

The  large  Celtic  element  found  among  the  Belgians  is  what  parti- 
cularly distinguishes  them  from  the  Dutch.  The  Flemings  are  Teutonic 
and  the  Walloons,  Gallic  or  Celtic.  The  Dutch  are  Protestant,  the 
Belgians  Catholic,  but  the  races  and  nationalities  which  are  found  within 
the  confines  of  Belgium  have  done  nothing  more  than  to  group  them- 
selves together.  They  have  never  been  moulded  into  a  people,  with 
national  traits,  such  as  the  Germans,  the  Dutch,  the  French  and  the 
English.  The  Austrians  bear  much  the  same  relation  to  the  Germans 
and  Russians  as  the  Belgians  do  to  the  French  and  Dutch.  They 
occupy  a  certain  country,  but  they  have  not  a  distinct  nationality. 

The  political  parties  into  which  the  Belgians  are  divided  are  formed 
upon  religious  grounds,  which  also  are  generally  laid  out  upon  race 
characteristics.  Celtic  blood  is  the  strength  of  the  Catholic,  and  Teutonic 
blood  of  the  Liberal  party.  The  Walloons  are  descendants  of  the  old 
Gallic  Belgae,  and  are  related  to  the  French  in  race  and  language;  in 
fact,  their  tongue  is  a  dialect  of  the  French,  containing  the  greatest 
number  of  Gallic  words.  The  Walloons  not  only  inhabit  the  country 
in  France  which  borders  upon  Germany,  but  predominate  in  all  the 
provinces  of  Belgium  except  those  lying  adjacent  to  Holland.  They 
are  what  remain  of  the  ancient  stock  which  held  their  own  in  the  moun- 
tains of  Gaul  when  the  country  was  overrun  by  the  Germans.  They  are 
the  agriculturists  and  the  manufacturers  of  Belgium,  the  revolutionists 
to  whom  the  country  owes  its  independence  of  Holland,  and  the  states- 
men, also,  of  the  kingdom.  The  Flemings  mostly  give  their  attention 
to  commerce.  The  Walloons  are  of  average  height,  with  powerful 
limbs,  dark  hair  and  dark  brown  or  blue  eyes.     They  have  the  earnest- 


872  PANX)RA.MA    OF    NATIONS. 

ness,  perseverance  and  diligence  of  the  Flemings,  or  Dutch,  with  the 
impulsiveness  and  adroitness  of  the  French. 

After  the  fall  of  Napoleon  the  Belgian  provinces  were  severed  from 
France  and  attached  to  Holland.  The  Dutch  or  Flemish  element  then 
attempted  to  impose  its  language  and  its  verj'  character  upon  the 
Walloons,  planting  the  seeds  of  the  revolution  of  1S30,  which  made 
Belgium  an  independent  State.  The  P'lemish  language,  however,  is 
spoken  not  only  in  the  provinces  bordering  on  Holland,  but  to  so  great 
an  extent  in  the  Walloon  districts  that  it  may  be  said  to  be  the  national 
tongue  of  Belgium.  It  is  essentially  modern  Dutch,  containing  more 
of  the  ancient  forms,  especially  of  the  Frisian  tongue.  The  Flemish 
language  has  a  literature  extending  back  into  the  thirteenth  century  ; 
and  to-day  the  literary  talents  of  Belgium  are  with  the  Flemings  rather 
tlian  the  Walloons. 

Upon  one  point,  however,  the  Belgians  are  agreed  as  a  people  — 
their  countr\-  must  be  developed  internally.  The  Dutch  province  of 
Zealand,  which  extends  into  their  geographical  territor)-,  covers  the 
mouths  of  the  rivers  which  form  their  principal  water  communication, 
and  Holland  was  not  generous  in  granting  them  privileges.  Conse- 
quently Belgium  proceeded  to  build  a  system  of  railroads,  which  not 
onlv  follows  the  courses  of  the  naviijable  waters  of  the  interior,  alongf 
which  hundreds  of  villages  have  sprung,  but  runs  between  them,  connect- 
ing her  large  cities  with  every  necessary  point.  The  system  which  the 
country  is  still  perfecting  is  the  most  complete  of  any  on  the  continent, 
and  Belgium  gets  along  very  well  without  the  mouths  of  the  Scheldt, 
the  Maas  and  the  Rhine.  It  not  only  binds  her  own  territory  closely 
together,  but  places  her  in  convenient  communication  with  Germany 
and  France. 

BELGIUM'S  CITIES. 

The  tendency  of  the  Belgians  to  sink  everything  in  trade  is  strik- 
ingl)-  illustrated  in  the  appearance  of  Brussels.  The  portion  of  the  city 
which  lies  along  the  Seine  River  and  the  Scheldt  Canal  is  the  old  part, 
and  was  formerly  occupied  by  the  nobility,  who  lived  in  great  fortresses 
and  palaces.  Under  Charles  V.  Brussels  was  the  capital  of  the  Neth- 
erlands, and  his  son  made  it  the  principal  scene  of  Inquisition  horrors. 
The  old  town  also  contains  several  grand  Gothic  churches,  but  the 
palaces  of  the  former  nobility  are  now  occupied  by  great  merchants. 
Linen,  paper,  soap  and  carriage  factories  throw  their  shadows  upon  the 
walls  of  famous  old  churches.  What  of  the  carpet  manufactories  ? 
They  are  chieHy   found   in   Tournay,  forty-five  miles  southwest   of  the 


BELGIUM  S    CITIES. 


873 


READING  A  CONDEMXED  BOOK. 


8/4  I'AXuKA.MA    OF    XATU;.\S. 

capital,  and  the  products  are  sent  to  Brussels.  The  city  manufactures, 
many  mathematical  instruments,  to  remind  people  that  the  celebrated 
Ouetelet  once  had  charge  of  her  observatory. 

The  Upper  Town,  on  a  hill  side,  is  the  residence  of  the  King  and 
government  ot'ticers.  It  contains  his  palace  and  that  of  the  Prince  of 
Orange,  a  great  number  of  hne  parks,  squares,  churches,  fountains, 
statues,  public  and  private  buildings.  In  one  of  the  squares  is  a  memo- 
rial to  those  who  fell  in  the  revolution  of  1830.  The  Palace  of  the  Fine 
Arts  contains  the  finest  specimens  of  the  P'lemish  school  of  painting  to 
be  found  and  a  great  public  library  in  which  are  thousands  of  manuscripts- 
adorned  with  beautiful  miniature  paintings  from  the  hands  of  Van  Eyck's- 
scholars.      The  new  Palace  of  Justice  is  a  superb  structure. 

The  Belgians  have  never  forgiven  Antweqj  for  def)ing  the  revolu- 
tionists of  1830,  but  the  city  had  a  commercial  reason  for  doing  it.  Her 
fortunes  were  joined  to  Belgium,  instead  of  to  Holland,  her  natural  ally, 
and  her  prosperity  declined.  Her  trade  went  to  Amsterdam  and  Rot- 
terdam, but  her  greatest  treasure  remained.  Tlie  interior  of  her  noble 
Gothic  cathedral  exhibits  two  of  Rubens'  grandest  pictures  and  another 
church  contains  the  monument  to  his  family. 

Ghent,  northwest  of  Brussels,  was  the  birthplace  of  Charles  V., 
father  of  Philip  II.;  but  manufactures  of  cotton  and  wool,  and  great 
religious  paintings  by  the  Dutch  masters,  such  as  Van  Eyck,  again  divide: 
the  attention.  The  churches  of  Belgium,  in  short,  like  those  of  many 
other  countries,  are  best  known  to  the  world  by  the  works  of  art  which 
adorn  them  and  become  a  part  of  religious  teaching. 

The  field  of  Waterloo  is  twelve  miles  south  of  Brussels,  and  the 
ereat  conflict  there  foucrht  was  but  the  conclusion  of  a  long  series  of 
troubles  into  which  Belgium  had  been  drawn  by  being  attached  to 
France,  Spain,  Austria  and  Holland,  and  being  drawn  into  their  quarrels. 
Whenever  a  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  between  any  of  the  great 
Powers  a  slice  of  Belgium  was  passed  over  to  France,  or  an  old  piece- 
taken  back  by  .Spain  or  Austria  ;  or,  it  may  be,  that  Holland  was  allowed 
to  get  a  fresh  hold  upon  the  little  state  or  was  forced  to  loosen  an 
unfair  one.  The  secret  of  all  these  shiftintrs  and  turnings  lav  in  the 
desire  to  erect  a  state  of  some  power  to  counterbalance  France  and 
Germany,  and  the  result  was  that  for  over  a  century  Belgium  was  the 
battle-field  of  Europe.  On  the  map  of  Europe  it  resembles  nothing  so 
much  as  a  little  triangular  wedge  driven  in  between  the  two  rival  Powers, 
standing  in  the  most  convenient  path  for  the  invasion  or  retreat  of  hos- 
tile armies. 


THE  SWISS. 


\VITZERLx-\ND  is  the  most  elevated  and  mountainous  coun- 
try of  Europe.  Five-sixths  of  its  surface  consist  of  glaciers, 
rocks,  forests,  lakes,  gorges  and  other  unproductive  elements 
which  make  it  the  most  rugged  and  picturesque  of  all  lands, 
but  valueless  for  all  practical  purposes. 

The  original  inhabitants  of  Switzerland  are  believed  to  have 
been  of  Celtic  origin.  Collectively,  the  tribes  were  called 
Helvetii.  But  the  country  first  became  a  Roman  province  and 
finally  the  Alemanni,  the  Burgundians,  the  Goths  and  the 
Franks  overran,  devastated  and  subdued  the  land,  stamping 
out  nearly  every  vestige  of  the  Roman  and  Celtic  civilization.  Although 
the  Helvetii  were  incorporated  into  the  empire  of  the  Franks,  Swiss  lib- 
erty was  lying  dormant  in  the  three  ancient  cantons  of  Schwytz,  Uri  and 
Unterwalden,  the  inhabitants  of  which  are  believed  to  be  descended  from 
Swedish  immigrants.  They  had  never  been  conquered,  Schwytz  was  the 
most  powerful  of  the  cantons  and  the  whole  people  assumed  its  name — 
the  Schwytz,  the  Swiss.  Two  centuries  later  Germany  relinquished  all 
claim  upon  the  Confederacy  and  during  the  French  revolution  two  French 
armies  marched  into  Switzerland  and  forcibly  erected  "  the  indivisible 
Helvetii  republic."  The  first  constitution,  however,  which  was  adopted 
by  the  people  was  promulgated  in  1848  and  revised  in  1874,  although  a 
federal  compact  had  been  in  force  since  1815.  This,  in  brief,  has  been 
the  progress  of  the  Republic  of  the  Alps, 

THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 


The  government  consists  of  the  National  Council  and  the  Council 
of  States  or  Cantons,  which  correspond  to  our  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives.  All  Swiss  are  equal  before  the  law^ ;  but  the  Jesuits 
are  forbidden  to  hold  office,  as  being  a  mischievous  element  in  the  coun- 
try. The  confederacy  may  send  away  dangerous  foreigners.  Liberty 
of  conscience  is  guaranteed  and  no  one  is  bound  to  support  a  church  to 
which  he   does  not  belong.     The  age  of  the  voter  is  fi.xed  at  twenty 

Sri 


876 


TANUKAMA    OF      NATIONS. 


years,   and    all  except   clergymen   are   eligible  to   the   National  Council 
The    maintenance  of    a  standing-  army  is  forbidden,   every  able-bodied 

citizen  being  considered  a 
defender  of  his  countr\'  in 
time  of  need.  Trial  by  jury 
is  not  universal,  but  it  has 
been  introduced  into  many 
of  the  cantons.  The  Fed- 
eral Court  is  chosen  by  the 


SWISS  SCENES. 

National  Council  for  a  term  of  six  years.      In  order  to  place  before  the 
people  a  revision  of  the  constitution,  the  two  Councils  must  agree  to  such 


FAMILY    LIFE    IX    THE    ALPS.  87/ 

action,  or  50,000  citizens  demand  it ;  and,  to  become  law,  the  revision 
must  be  adopted  by  a  majority  of  the  voters  and  a  majorit)-  of  the  can- 
tons. 

FAMILY  LIFE  IN  THE  ALPS. 

The  pecuHarly  wild  nature  of  the  countr)'  lias  not  only  made  its  peo- 
ple rugged  and  intlependent,  but  has  been  the  best  possible  instructor  irt 
all  the  branches  of  industry  and  has  formed  them  to  those  habits  of  sim- 
plicity which  the  most  artificial  can  not  but  admire.  Its  pastures  are 
comparatively  few,  but  they  are  mown  with  care.  Switzerland  is  not 
rich  like  our  own  Texas  in  cattle,  but  to  the  Swiss  herdsman  every  cow 
and  calf  has  an  individuality,  and  amid  the  howling  blasts  of  an  Alpine 
storm  he  goes  from  one  charge  to  another,  encouraging  the  terrified 
animals  as  though  they  were  frightened  children. 

The  majority  of  the  Swiss  agriculturists  are,  in  winter  weather,  en- 
gaged at  their  crude  looms  or  in  making  lace.  In  the  north  nearly  every 
family  has  its  piece  of  cotton  or  silk  upon  which  it  is  engaged,  or,  if  re- 
siding on  the  borderland  of  France,  its  members  are  busily  employed  in 
fashioning  the  various  parts  of  musical  boxes.  Here  also  is  the  district 
where  the  Swiss  watches  are  made   and  great  quantities  of  fine  jewelry. 

The  six  or  seven  months  of  winter  are  therefore  not  joyless  ones- 
for  the  Swiss  farmer,  although  he  shares  his  house  with  his  cattle.  They 
often  occupy  the  lower  floor,  himself  and  family  the  second  story,  and  the 
great  attic  is  packed  with  fodder  which  serves  the  secondary  purpose  of 
furnishing  a  warm  covering  for  them.  If  he  is  not  so  fortunate  as  to 
have  a  three-story  house,  animals  and  people  are  brought  a  little  nearer 
together — that  is  all.  As  the  spring  suns  commence  to  melt  the  snow 
from  the  highlands,  members  of  the  family  drop  their  winter's  work 
more  and  more  often  and  consult  together  about  some  important  matter, 
passing  frequently  back  and  forth  to  the  neighboring  houses.  At  length 
the  emerald  green  of  the  crisp,  young  grass  appears  on  the  slopes  of  the 
uplands,  and  the  villagers  put  on  their  best  clothes  and  brightest  rib- 
bons', decorate  their  cattle,  goats  and  sheep  with  ribbons,  summon  the 
town  band,  receive  the  blessing  of  their  pastor,  form  in  procession  (al- 
thou^^h  it  is  most  difficult  to  restrain  the  buoyant  spirits  of  the  brutes, 
mad  with  fresh  air  and  sunshine  and  a  sense  of  freedom)  and  march  to> 
their  summer  grounds.  There  the  men  take  up  their  quarters  in  moun- 
tain huts,  several  miles  from  the  village  and  often  separated  from  their 
wives  and  families.  The  cattle  frisk  and  eat,  eat,  ruminate  and  frisk, 
and  are  only  required  to  report  two  or  three  times  a  day,  in  order  ta 
deliver   the  raw  material  for  cheese.     This  is  the  source  of  greatest 


8/8  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

revenue  to  the  Swiss  mountaineer.  He  sometimes,  however,  varies  his 
money-malcing  labors  by  one  of  pure  love  ;  for  it  is  a  custom  in  some 
of  the  mountainous  regions  for  two  related  families  to  unite  in  making  a 
stupendous  cheese,  on  which  are  carved  the  names  of  the  latest  betrothed 
couple  connected  with  them.  When  married  they  receive  the  cheese, 
and  it  may  even  pass  down  to  their  married  children. 

Swiss  courtships  are  conducted  in  quite  a  romantic  manner.  Sat- 
urday nights  are  the  favorites  with  lovers,  and  the  swain  sings  under  the 
window  of  his  lady  as  if  he  lived  in  the  middle  ages.  "As  it  is  visiting 
night,  and  she  expects  company,  she  is  at  the  window  neatly  dressed, 
and  admits  or  rejects  the  petition  which  is  always  drawn  up  in  regular 
form,  generally  in  verse  and  learned  by  heart.  Permission  being  granted, 
the  young  man  climbs  up  to  the  window,  which  is  commonly  in  the  third 
story;  and  as  the  houses  are  furnished  with  conveniences  for  this  pur- 
pose he  runs  little  risk  of  breaking  his  neck.  He  sits  on  the  window 
and  is  regaled  with  gingerbread  and  cherry  bounce.  According  as  his 
views  are  more  or  less  serious,  or  he  proves  more  or  less  acceptable,  he  is 
allowed  to  enter  the  room  or  is  forced  to  remain  outside." 

The  distinctive  feature  of  the  Swiss  house  is  its  immense  projecting 
roof,  which  succeeds  in  maintaining  the  unity  of  the  structure  despite 
the  many  improvements  which  the  proprietor  is  always  making ;  as  it 
has  been  more  felicitously  expressed  "  the  original  picturesque  building, 
with  its  immense  projecting  roof  sheltering  or  shading  all  these  succes- 
sive additions,  looks  like  a  hen  setting  with  a  brood  of  chickens  under 
her  wings."  The  owner's  pedigree  often  appears  over  the  doorway,  or 
a  motto,  or  a  long  text  from  Scripture. 

The  wealthier  peasants  have  sometimes  two  or  three  houses  or 
"chalets"  at  different  elevations  in  the  mountains,  so  that  as  the  lower 
pastures  are  exhausted,  the  herds  of  cattle  are  led  up  to  the  higher 
levels.  The  women  themselves  are  often  thus  employed  and  also  gather 
hay  on  the  mountain  sides.  But  wherever  they  go  they  exhibit  the 
same  love  of  flowers  and  of  nature,  their  staffs  being  adorned  with  rib- 
bons and  wreaths  and  their  wide  hats  and  beautiful  hair  covered- with 
them.  Their  large,  meek  companions,  who  follow  after  them,  are  also 
decked  as  gayly.  The  horses  which  come  to  the  villages  from  the 
mountain  dairies,  loaded  with  bo.xes  of  cheeses,  make  the  clear  air  tinkle 
w'ith  their  bells  and  seem  proud  of  the  colored  tassels  attached  to  them. 

And  up  near  the  dark  forests  of  pine,  where  are  the  fresh,  green 
pastures,  both  below  and  above,  there  are  millions  of  twinkling  wild 
flowers,  which,  with  the  bright  sun,  fresh  air,  and  water  falling  from  the 
cool  rocks  above,  assist  in  sweetening  the  milk  and  butter  of  the  sleek 


A   .M(Jl"NTAIN  .MAIU— SWIT/KRI.AND 


PHYSICAL    AXD    NATIONAL    CENTER.  879 

kine.  The  sar.ie  landscape  which  offers  you  flowered  meadows,  cas- 
cades from  the  clouds,  distant  Alps  and  dizzy  gorges,  will  press  upon 
you  the  milkman  with  his  one-legged  stool  strapped  behind,  his  baker's 
hat  and  short  pants,  the  savage  dog  which  guards  the  chalet,  and  the 
indignant  bull  which  charges  at  you  as  you  are  considering  what  course 
you  had  best  pursue  with  the  dog.  There  is  no  way  by  which  one  can 
so  effectually  reach  a  contrast  between  animal  and  God-like  nature  as 
by  tramping  through  the  cattle  districts  of  Alpine  Switzerland,  with 
their  million  of  horned  cattle. 

Wood-cutting  is  an  important  occupation  of  the  mountaineers.  In 
the  uplands  the  trees  are  stripped  of  their  branches  and  pitched  into  the 
valleys  below  until  they  reach  a  navigable  stream,  when  they  are  rafted 
into  France  and  Germany. 

PHYSICAL  AND   NATIONAL  CENTER. 

Schwytz,  Uri,  Unterwalden  and  Lucerne  are  called  the  Forest  Can- 
tons, and  inclose  as  a  jewel  the  Lake  of  Lucerne.  One  of  the  most  mag- 
nificent peaks  around  its  shores  is  the  Rigi,  which  maybe  ascended  either 
by  rail  or  by  foot.  To  the  majority  of  healthy  tourists  the  latter  mode 
is  preferable  —  the  gradual  rising  from  the  shadows  of  its  base,  through 
forests  of  pine,  beneath  gloomy  rocks,  into  the  pure,  upper  air,  leaving 
the  tinkling  of  bells  and  village  noises  farther  and  farther  behind;  the 
grand  view  of  lakes,  villages  and  mountains  getting  broader  and  broader, 
until,  as  the  summit  is  approached,  it  seems  as  if  with  one  exultant  bound 
one  might  leap  out  into  God's  universe.  For  each  hour  of  the  day  and 
night  a  different  picture  would  be  painted  ;  each  season  of  the  year  and 
change  in  weather  bring  their  peculiar  tints,  mists,  clouds  and  glories. 
The  following  is  a  morning  picture  which  has  been  painted  by  an  artist 
—  a  picture  which  embraces  a  range  of  1 50  miles  from  the  Rigi : 

"  In  all  this  region,  when  the  upper  glory  of  the  heavens  and  moun- 
tain peaks  has  ceased  playing,  then  as  the  sun  gets  higher,  forests,  lakes, 
hills,  rivers,  tree  and  villages,  at  first  indistinct  and  gray  in  the  shadow, 
become  flooded  in  sunlight,  and  almost  seem  floating  up  toward  you. 
There  was  for  us  another  feature  of  the  view,  constituting  by  itself  one 
of  the  most  novel  and  charming  sights  of  Swiss  scenery,  but  which  does 
not  always  accompany  the  panorama  from  the  Rigi,  even  in  a  fine  morn- 
ing. This  was  the  soft,  smooth,  white  body  of  mist,  lying  on  most  of 
the  lakes  and  in  the  vales  —  a  sea  of  mist,  floating  or  rather  brooding 
like  a  white  dove  over  the  landscape.  The  spots  of  land  at  first  visible 
in  the  midst  of  it  were  just  like  islands  half  emerging"  to  the  view.  It 
lay  over  the  Bay  of  Kussnacht   at  our  feet  like  the  white  robe  of  an 


8So  TANCKAMA.    OF    NATIONS. 

infant  in  the  crr-dle,  but  tlie  greater  part  of  the  Lake  of  Lucerne  was 
sleeping  quietly  without  it,  as  an  undressed  babe.  Over  the  whole  of 
the  Lake  of  Zug  the  mist  was  at  first  motionless,  but  in  the  breath  of 
the  morning  it  began  slowly  to  move  altogether  toward  the  west,  dis- 
closing the  village  of  Arth  and  the  verdurous  borders  of  the  lake,  and 
then  uncovering  its  deep  sea-green  waters  which  reflected  the  lovely 
sailing  shadows  of  the  clouds  as  a  mirror.  Now  the  church  bells  began 
to  chime  under  this  body  of  mist,  and  voices  from  the  invisible  villages 
mingled  with  the  tinkle  of  sheep  bells  and  various  stir  of  life  awakening 
from  sleep  came  stilly  up  the  mountain.  And  now  some  of  the  moun- 
tain peaks  themselves  began  suddenly  to  be  touched  with  fleeces  of  cloud, 
as  if  smoking  with  incense  in  morning  worship.  Detachments  of  mist 
beein  also  to  rise  from  the  lakes  and  vallevs,  moving  from  the  maia 
body  up  into  the  air.  The  villages,  chalets  and  while  roads,  dotting  and 
threading  the  vast  circumference  of  landscape  come  next  into  view.  And 
now  on  the  Lake  of  Zult  vou  niav  sec  reflected  the  shadows  of  clouds 
that  have  risen  from  the  surface,  Lutarc  themselves  below  you." 

The  Rigi  towers  between  Lake  Lucerne  and  Lake  Zug,  and  around 
its  base  lies  the  most  interesting  historic  ground  of  Switzerland.  Near 
it  is  the  meadow,  the  Grutli,  on  which  the  distinguished  patriots  of 
Schwytz,  L'ri  and  L'nterwalden  met  to  form  that  league  which  expelled 
the  Austrians  and  razed  their  castles.  A  few  miles  away  is  the  village 
where  Tell  (we  insist  there  was  such  a  man)  refused  to  bow  to  the  cap 
of  the  Austrian  tyrant  and  where  he  made  that  historic  shot.  A  fountain 
in  the  middle  of  the  town  marks  where  he  stood,  aiul  a  rude  tower,  where 
his  boy  was  placed  bound  to  tlic  linden  tree.  What  better  evidence  is 
required  that  Tell  lived  and  cut  the  apple  in  twain  which  rested  upon  his 
boy's  head  ?     We  refuse  to  abandon  either  William  Tell  or  Robin  Hood. 

From  the  Rigi  glances  may  be  shot  over  Eastern  and  Northern. 
Switzerland  into  the  countr\'  of  her  former  enemy  and  beyond  the  Jura 
mountains  into  the  ancient  duchy  of  Swabia,  the  land  of  their  faithful 
German  friends.  Far  to  the  west  also,  over  the  canton  of  Berne,  the 
vision  can  range  almost  to  the  territory  which  once  belonged  to  France. 
F"rom  this  mighty  observatory,  also,  commaniling  a  ^•iew  of  over  200 
rocky  and  snow-capped  peaks,  may  be  traced  the  battle-ground  of  the 
fierce  civil  wars  between  Catholicism  and  Protestantism.  The  Rigi  rises 
from  the  center  of  the  Catholic  stronghold,  the  four  Forest  Cantons. 

ANOTHER  GLORIOUS  COUNTRY. 

We  can  not  see  all  of  .Switzerland  from  th.e  Rigi,  but  so  much  of 
its  northern   half  that  we  will  take  a  closer  view  of  what  partly  comes 


HUNTING    THE    CHAMOIS.  88l 

before  us  in  the  distance.  But  though  we  leave  the  beauties  and  glories 
of  the  lakes  of  the  Forest  Cantons,  others  as  charming  come  up  before 
us,  and  on  the  border  of  each  lake  is  a  city  or  a  locality  which  is  a 
religious  and  a  patriotic  shrine  to  some  Swiss  or  other.  Where  the 
Rhone  contracts  into  a  stream,  shortly  before  it  enters  the  Lake  of 
Geneva,  a  bridge  is  thrown  across  the  narrow  gorge.  The  bridge  is 
commanded  by  a  fort.  This  point,  St.  Maurice,  was  the  scene  of  many 
struggles  during  the  long  conflicts  which  the  Swiss  had  with  the  dukes 
of  Savoy.  Dent  du  Midi,  sloping  majestically  up  toward  heaven,  its 
snowy  peaks  set  off  so  vividly  against  a  dark  foreground  of  rocky  and 
pine-clad  hills,  has  been  left  behind,  but  all  the  way  around  the  shores  of 
the  lake  there  are  peaks  and  massive  mounts,  some  of  them  nameless, 
but  of  almost  equal  grandeur. 

Perhaps  the  most  bewildering  of  subhme  attractions  are  concen- 
trated at  the  Creux  des  Champs,  a  great  amphitheatre  in  a  mountain's 
side,  surrounded  by  glaciers,  rocks,  forests  and  green  pastures.  From 
the  heights  arc  seen  the  Burnese  and  Pennine  Alps,  far  east  and  south 
to  Mont  Blanc,  and  the  bright  waters  of  Lake  Geneva,  whose  farther 
shores  reflect  so  much  of  the  Reformation.  The  hills  to  the  north  of 
this  prodigious  amphitheatre  (which  is  often  used  by  the  Protestants  as 
a  temple  dedicated  to  God)  command  a  view  of  fertile  valleys,  little  vil- 
lao-es  and  scattered  wooden  chalets,  quaintly  carved  and  ornamented 
with  good  texts  from  Scripture.  Little  churches  stand  in  the  shadows 
of  the  mountains,  on  green  slopes,  or  almost  hidden  by  coverings  of 
flowerine  vines.  There  is  human  and  brute  life  on  every  mountain  side 
and  stretch  of  meadow,  and  the  incessant  tinkling  of  bells,  and  the  occa- 
sional crack  of  a  rifle,  bear  to  the  ears  the  information  that  we  are  in  a 
great  dairy  country  and  a  district  famous  for  its  hunters  and  marksmen. 

HUNTING  THE  CHAMOIS. 

Owing  to  the  scarcity  of  the  game  and  the  difficulties  of  the  pur- 
suit, chamois  hunting  is  a  sport  which  is  now  little  engaged  in  by  Swiss 
mountaineers.  Occasionally,  however,  these  very  difficulties  and  dangers 
will  make  a  hardy,  keen-eyed  peasant  passionately  fond  of  the  hunt.  In 
summer  the  chamois  are  now  usually  found  in  very  small  flocks  near  the 
snow  line,  and  in  winter  they  descend  to  the  forests  and  mountain  mead- 
ows. Their  haunts  may  often  be  discovered  by  curious  hollows  in  the 
stones  made  by  the  tongue  of  the  chamois  in  their  eager  lapping  for  the 
saltpetre  with  which  they  abound.  But  this  knowledge  will  generally  be  of 
little  avail,  for  their  sense  of  smell  is  very  acute,  and  one  of  their  number 

is  usually  posted  on  some  rocky  pinnacle  to  give  warning,  by  a  whistle, 

56 


882  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

of  the  enemy's  approach.  Then  the  most  remarkable  leaps  to  be  observed 
in  the  animal  kingdom  are  witnessed,  not  only  across  ravines  six  or  seven 
yards  wide,  but  over  walls  a  dozen  feet  high,  and  down  perpendic- 
ular precipices  of  twenty  feet.  The  manner  of  conducting  this  last 
species  of  gymnastics  is  worthy  of  particular  mention.  During  its  descent 
the  animal  strikes  its  feet  against  the  side  of  the  rock  in  order  to  guide 
its  course.  There  may  be  a  narrow  ledge  of  rock  at  the  bottom,  and  an 
abyss  beyond,  but  by  a  peculiar  turn  of  the  body  the  chamois  alights 
firmly  upon  its  hind  feet,  brings  its  fore  feet  together  and  then  is  ready 
for  another  sure  leap. 

Such  a  niark  is  worthy  the  bullet  of  the  most  skillful  Swiss  marks- 
man, and  the  hunter  of  the  Vaud,  who  leads  them  all,  takes  a  pride  in 
venturing  out  alone  to  bring  back  a  trophy  of  his  prowess,  as  well  as  skill. 

LAND  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

The  northern  or  Swiss  shores  of  the  Lake  of  Geneva  are  pictur- 
esque in  the  extreme  ;  the  French  shores  are  "solemn  and  stern,  with  the 
mountains  of  Savoy  in  the  background."  Rounding  the  southern 
extremity  of  the  lake,  past  Byron's  Castle  of  Chillon,  the  prosperous 
town  of  Geneva  comes  pleasantly  into  view,  with  its  broad  quays  and 
streets,  its  handsome  hotels,  its  famous  watches,  music  boxes  and  jewelry 
and  its  historic  interest.  The  Rhone  rushes  through  the  town,  form- 
ing two  islands  on  its  way,  and  it  is  noticed  how  the  lake  has  transformed 
the  turbid,  yellow  waters  which  entered  at  the  upper  end,  into  the  deep, 
blue  crystalline  stream  which  pours  from  the  Geneva  side.  In  coming 
upon  Geneva  the  mountains  and  hills  fall  away,  but  looking  across  the 
lake  froni  a  less  elevated  position  Mont  Blanc  becomes,  if  possible,  more 
impressive  than  from  any  other  standpoint.  Not  only  is  the  view  less 
obstructed  than  usual,  but,  although  sixty  miles  away,  the  snows  and  rosy 
tints  of  the  mighty  mass  are  often  reflected  in  the  fair  Geneva  crystal. 

Monuments  to  the  leaders  of  the  Reformation  are  found  in  Geneva 
in  the  shape  of  colleges,  universities  and  libraries.  Farel,  Calvin  and 
Beza  are  stamped  upon  the  town  as  they  are  upon  the  age.  A  substan- 
tial memorial  hall  of  the  Reformation  appears  as  one  of  the  principal 
buildings  of  Geneva,  as  do  also  the  cathedral  in  which  Calvin  preached 
and  the  museum  which  holds  many  of  his  manuscripts.  The  house  in 
which  he  lived  is  also  pointed  out  to  the  curious.  Geneva  was  Rous- 
seau's native  town  and  one  of  the  islands  in  the  Rhone  is  laid  out  in 
beautiful  pleasure  grounds  which  contain  an  elegant  statue  of  the  French 
eccentric,  whom  Carlyle  compares  to  "a  man  in  convulsions"  all  through 
life. 


THE    SWISS    CAPITAL.  883 

Voltaire,  like  Rousseau,  found  an  asylum  in  Geneva  from  his  ene- 
mies ;  and  Madame  de  Stael  came  there,  and  Knox,  and  Casaubon,  and 
Sismondi,  and  a  host  of  others  of  the  most  startling  mental  and  moral 
diversities.  The  town  on  the  lake  became  one  of  the  greatest  centers 
of  religious  education  in  Europe,  the  Protestant  youth  of  all  countries 
resortine  thither  to  be  educated  in  its  schools.  From  it  at  the  same 
time  shot  forth  the  most  brilliant  shafts  of  atheism  which  were  ever 
leveled  at  the  world  ;  for  here  was  the  grand  center  of  free  speech,  and 
the  man  or  woman  whose  tongue  was  curbed  in  other  parts  fled  to 
Geneva  as  to  a  fortress  from  which  the  enemy  could  be  assaulted. 

From  Geneva  along  the  slopes  of  the  Jura  mountains  the  vine  is 
cultivated,  and  the  type  of  scenery  is  softer  than  among  the  Alps  of 
Southern  and  Central  Switzerland.  The  canton  of  Neufchatel,  into 
which  we  now  enter,  is  the  scene  of  the  labors  of  William  Farel,  who  was 
the  father  of  the  Reformation  in  Switzerland  and  the  adviser  and  friend 
of  John  Calvin.  Ruskin  has  dipped  his  pen  in  "  the  deep  tenderness 
pervading  that  vast  monotony  "  of  the  Jura  mountains,  and  finds  that 
"  no  frost-ploughed,  dust-encumbered  paths  of  ancient  glaciers  fret  their 
soft  pastures  ;  no  splintered  heaps  of  ruin  break  the  fair  ranks  of  her 
forests ;  no  pale,  defiled  or  furious  rivers  rend  their  rude  and  changeful 
ways  among  her  rocks.  Patiently,  eddy  by  eddy,  the  clear  green  streams 
wind  along  their  well-known  beds  ;  and  under  the  dark  quietness  of  the 
undisturbed  pines,  there  spring  up,  year  by  year,  such  a  company  of  joy- 
ful flowers  "  as  he  knew  not  the  like  of  among  all  the  blessings  of  the 
earth. 

THE  SWISS  CAPITAL. 

By  following  the  windings  of  the  River  Aar  eastward  from  this  can- 
ton of  mountains,  lakes  and  streams,  one  would  pass  nearly  around  a 
lofty  sandstone  promontory  upon  which  stands  an  imposing  city  of  stone 
houses,  promenades,  gardens  and  fountains,  the  supply  of  which  runs 
through  the  beautiful  streets.  Looking  southward  across  the  bright 
valleys  of  the  Aar  and  Emmen,  and  the  Bernese  Oberland,  over  corn 
fields,  orchards,  and  pastures  covered  with  fat  herds  of  cattle,  the  line  of 
vision  is  bounded  by  the  mighty  front  of  the  rugged  Bernese  Alps,  which 
we  shall  presently  visit.  This  is  the  view  from  Berne,  the  capital  of  the 
republic.  To  those  who  can  not  always  enjoy  the  picturesque  there  are 
a  collection  of  huge  bears  which  afford  the  usual  amount  of  amusement, 
and  to  whom  there  is  a  tale  attached.  There  is  a  tradition  that  the  city 
derives  its  name  from  the  German  baren  (bears);  firstly,  because  these  ani- 
mals used  to  be  killed  in  the  vicinity,  and,  secondly,  that  a  man  gave  the 


884  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

village  which  he  founded  the  present  name  because  he  killed  a  bear  upon 
the  very  spot.  Consequently  bears  have  been  maintained  at  Berne  for 
several  centuries,  and  a  fine  collection  of  them  may  now  be  seen  in  the 
Botanical  Gardens  in  Paris,  whither  they  were  borne  by  the  French  army 
when  it  captured  the  city  in  i  798.  In  the  middle  of  the  town  is  a  clock- 
tower,  in  which,  every  hour,  appears  a  procession  of  puppet  bears.  The 
fountains  have  figures  of  them  made  of  every  material  and  represented 
in  every  attitude. 

THE  LAKE  DWELLINGS. 

On  the  Lake  of  Bienne,  further  west,  is  one  of  these  pre-historic  set- 
tlements in  which  not  only  stone,  clay  and  wooden  utensils  were  dis- 
covered but  manufactures  of  bronze,  iron  and  gold.  At  one  place  the 
very  moulds  for  casting  the  bronze  hatchets  were  found.  Along  the 
shores  of  the  neighboring  Lake  of  Neufchatel  a  wonderfully  perfect  col- 
lection of  iron  implements  was  gathered,  with  colored  glass  balls  and 
beads,  which  remind  us  of  the  fondness  which  the  savages  of  Africa  and 
the  Eastern  islands  evince  for  such  trinkets. 

In  the  east  of  the  lake  we  also  meet  with  more  of  those  lake  settle- 
ments. In  the  same  canton,  near  Lake  Pfaffikon,  are  several  acres  of  piling 
and  the  remains  of  a  bridge.  The  piles  were  sharpened  with  stone 
hatchets,  and  the  timber  platform  is  fastened  to  the  substructure  with 
wooden  pins.  It  was  found  that  these  three  systems  of  piles,  and  the  grain, 
nuts,  bread,  hearthstones,  flaxen  cloth,  pottery,  weapons,  long  bows  and 
canoes  which  were  dug  up  were  suggestive  of  the  very  life  which  we 
have  described  as  being  led  by  the  coast  tribes  of  New  Guinea.  The 
charred  timbers  and  household  provisions  and  the  beds  of  charcoal  which 
were  noticeable  at  both  of  these  lake  settlements  in  Switzerland  bore 
evidence  of  a  destruction  of  the  dwellings  by  fire. 

There  is  a  little  lake  near  Berne  which  is  not  particularly  picturesque, 
but  it  has  attracted  a  great  many  scientists  and  curiosity-seekers,  for 
here,  some  thirty  years  ago,  were  discovered  what  have  been  decided 
upon  as  the  most  ancient  of  the  so-called  "lake  dwellings."  Their  pile 
foundations  were  uncovered  by  an  extraordinary  fall  of  the  lake,  caused 
by  drought,  and  a  few  years  afterward  artificially  lowered  several  feet, 
so  as  to  brino-  to  lifrht  the  bridires  which  connected  the  two  settlements 
with  the  shores  of  the  lake.  A  harpoon  made  of  a  stag's  horn,  a  Hint 
saw,  various  bone  implements,  such  as  needles  and  fishhooks  of  boar's 
tusks,  wooden  combs,  fragments  of  pottery,  charred  grain  and  unfinished 
instruments  of  flint,  were  found  in  the  soil  above  the  ancient  lake  bottom. 

With  all  these  interesting  discoveries,  only  a  few  human   skeletons 


ZURICH    AND    CONSTANCE.  885 

or  skulls  have  come  to  light,  although  the  remains  of  many  distinct 
animals  have  been  examined.  The  bed  of  nearly  every  Swiss  lake  has 
yielded  up  its  quota  to  the  archaeologist,  but  few  definite  results  have 
been  reached.  It  is  only  certain  that  there  was  a  diverse,  though  not 
very  advanced,  civilization  among  the  lakes  and  mountains  of  Switzer- 
land before  the  Celts,  Helvetii  or  Romans  came  upon  the  scene. 

ZURICH  AND  CONSTANCE. 

As  we  pass  north  of  the  Forest  Cantons  to  enjoy  the  calm  beauties 
of  Lake  Zurich,  the  air  is  filled  with  an  unceasing  hum  and  clouds  which 
are  not  the  soft  mists  of  Lake  Lucerne  float  over  its  waters.  The  city 
of  Zurich  is  the  chief  manufacturing  point  of  the  country.  Cotton  and 
silk  factories,  locomotive  works  and  machine  shops  make  one  forget,  for 
the  time,  the  distant  Alps  and  the  Rhine  and  the  struggles  of  Zwingli 
and  the  other  Reformers.  Within  sight  of  the  Lake  of  Constance,  whose 
very  name  is  associated  with  the  martyrdom  of  John  Huss,  the  Reforma- 
tion of  Switzerland  merges  into  that  of  Germany. 

The  Rhine  enters  its  dark  green  waters  from  the  east,  its  hilly  shores 
of  sand  being  lined  on  both  the  Swiss  and  German  sides  with  pastures 
and  groves,  orchards,  vineyards  and  corn-fields,  with  the  ruins  of  old 
castles  thrown  in  to  give  a  sombre  feature  to  the  landscape.  The  same 
mysterious  rise  and  fall  of  the  waters  have  been  observed  in  the  Lake  of 
Constance  as  of  Geneva,  while  the  spring  thaws  sometimes  bring  such 
vast  quantities  of  water  from  the  Alps  that  they  rise  twelve  feet  above 
the  ordinary  level.  When  high  winds  toss  this  swollen  body  back  and 
forth  between  its  confines,  the  lake  reaches  a  truly  appalling  height  of 
rage.  There  is  one  case  recorded  in  which  during  one  hour  it  rose 
twenty-four  feet.  Above  the  Lake  of  Constance  the  Rhine,  commer- 
cially, ceases  to  be  of  any  value,  but  it  sweeps  along  with  such  majestic 
strength  that  its  birthplace  is  well  worth  seeking. 

TRACING  THE  RHINE. 

In  following  the  Rhine  to  its  source  you  travel  the  muslin  cantons 
of  St.  Gall  and  Appenzell,  and  then  the  western  portion  of  the  Grisons. 
Many  of  the  peasants  and  woodsmen  whom  we  meet  in  the  valley  still 
wear  a  gray  home-spun  cloth,  which  gave  the  canton  its  name  ;  the  cas- 
tles, which  are  seemingly  about  to  pitch  from  the  Alpine  heights,  are 
mementoes  of  the  Gray  League,  formed  by  the  natives  against  the  for- 
eign and  domestic  nobility.  In  their  own  tongue  this  was  called  "  Lia 
Grischa,"  and    the  canton   received  its   name   from  the  French.     The 


886  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

Grisons  is  a  mountainous  country,  and  gets  to  be  extremely  rugged  as 
the  Rhine  commences  to  be  contracted  ;  in  fact,  it  would  be  hard  to  con- 
ceive of  an  expansion  of  its  waters  against  such  imprisonments  as 
it  undergoes  in  narrow  gorges  and  between  closely-bound  moun- 
tains. 

Through  the  Grisons,  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  the  river  takes 
us  into  the  country  of  an  ancient  tribe  who  have  been  connected  with 
the  Etruscans.  The  land  was  conquered  by  the  Romans,  who  established 
a  camp  upon  the  Rhine  where  Chur  (which  means  camp)  is  now  located. 
A  railroad  runs  from  this  capital  of  the  canton  to  the  eastern  districts, 
whence  some  of  the  most  sweeping  views  of  mountainous  scenery  may 
be  obtained  which  the  world  affords.  The  ascent  to  the  summit  of  Piz 
Languard,  one  of  the  loftiest  peaks,  is  through  pine  forests,  level  past- 
ures and  rocky  gorges  to  a  final  and  towering  pyramid.  There,  from  a 
few  square  yards  of  surface,  the  tourist  sees  a  forest  of  peaks  to  the 
east;  looks  over  the  water-shed  into  Italy;  turns  to  the  west  and  finds 
himself  sweeping  along  in  spirit  to  Monte  Rosa,  toward  Mont  Blanc  and 
over  the  Bernese  Alps:  fronts  the  northwest  and  imagines  that  he 
gazes  at  the  sky  which  hangs  over  Lake  Lucerne,  while  to  the  north 
there  are  still  peaks,  masses  and  chains  of  mountains.  In  fact  the  naked 
eye  may  range  over  the  whole  of  this  land  of  mighty  mountains  and 
glaciers,  having  as  points  of  observation  Piz  Languard,  the  Rigi,  and 
the  hills  of  Creux  des  Champs.  Though  hemmed  in  by  mountains  it 
always  seems  possible  to  lift  yourselves  above  them,  and  keenly  enjoy 
a  sense  of  freedom  —  a  sort  of  triumph  over  nature. 

Returning  to  Chur,  the  H inter  Rhine  is  ascended  and  a  few  hours' 
journey  from  its  sources  in  the  mountain  glaciers,  the  Via  Mala  is  reached. 
Its  rocks  and  cliffs  and  mountains  grasp  the  infant  Rhine  and,  at  times, 
press  its  rushing  waters  out  of  sight  and  almost  of  hearing.  "  You  enter 
this  savage  pass  from  a  world  of  beauty,  from  the  sunlit  vale  of  Doms- 
cleg,  under  the  old  Etruscan  castle  of  Realt,  spiked  in  the  cliff  like  a  war 
club,  four  hundred  feet  above  you,  and  totally  inaccessible  on  every  side 
save  one,  and  are  plunged  at  once  into  a  scene  of  such  overwhelming 
power  that  you  advance  slowly  and  solemnly  as  if  every  crag  were  a 
supernatural  being.  The  road  is  carried  with  great  daring  along  the 
perpendicular  face  of  crags,  cut  from  the  rock  where  no  living  thing  could 
have  scaled  the  mountain,  and  sometimes  it  completely  overhangs  the 
abyss  a  thousand  feet  above  the  raging  torrent.  Now  it  pierces  the  rock, 
now  it  runs  zigzag,  now  spans  the  gorge  on  a  light,  dizzy  bridge  ;  now 
the  mountains  frown  on  each  other  like  tropical  thunder  clouds  about 
to  meet  and  discharge  their  artillery,  and  now  you  come  upon  mighty 


ST.    GOTHARD    TUNNEL.  887 

insulated  crags,  thrown  wildly  together,  covered  with  fringes  of  moss  and 
shrubbery,  constituting  masses  of  verdure." 

ST.  GOTHARD  TUNNEL. 

As  we  leave  the  glaciers  of  the  Rhine  behind  and  near  the  Bernese 
Alps,  great  sights  are  in  store  for  the  tourist.  He  not  only  will  see  some 
of  the  most  stupendous  exhibitions  of  nature  but  one  of  the  greatest 
works  ever  performed  by  man.  Before  he  visits  the  glaciers  of  the  Rhone, 
and  those  in  its  vicinity,  he  comes  to  the  St.  Gothard  tunnel,  a  course 
for  the  iron  steeds  which  is  driven  for  nine  miles  through  the  mountains 
which  raise  their  ineffectual  barriers  between  the  cantons  of  Uri  and 
Tessin.  The  work  was  eight  years  in  execution,  and  the  railway  which 
passes  through  it  now  forms  the  most  direct  route  between  the  North 
Sea  and  Italy  ;  so  that  both  tunnel  and  railway  are  rivals  of  the  similar 
feat  at  Mont  Cenis. 

THE  RHONE  GLACIER. 

It  is  on  the  western  side  of  Mount  St.  Gothard,  not  far  from  the 
sources  of  the  Rhine,  that  the  Rhone  bursts  from  a  great  glacier  which 
fills  a  valley  and  rises  up  against  an  overhanging  mass  of  rocks.  Many 
a  traveler  would  say  —  this  is  a  great,  a  magnificent,  an  indescribable 
sight ;  this  is  how  our  own  Longfellow  saw  it  :  "A  frozen  cataract, 
more  than  two  thousand  feet  in  height  and  many  miles  broad  at  its  base. 
It  fills  the  whole  valley  between  two  mountains,  running  back  to  their 
summits.  At  the  base  it  is  arched,  like  a  dome  ;  and  above,  jagged  and 
rough,  resembling  a  mass  of  gigantic  crystals,  of  a  pale  emerald  tint, 
mingled  with  white.  A  snowy  crust  covers  its  surface  ;  but  at  every 
rent  and  crevice  the  pale  green  ice  shines  clear  in  the  sun.  Its  shape  is 
that  of  a  glove,  lying  with  the  palm  downwards  and  the  fingers  crooked 
and  closed  together.  It  is  a  gauntlet  of  ice  which,  centuries  ago.  Winter, 
the  King  of  these  mountains,  threw  down  in  defiance  to  the  sun  ;  and 
year  by  year  the  sun  strives  in  vain  to  lift  it  from  the  ground  on  the 
point  of  his  glistening  spear." 

Above  the  glacier  and  all  around  it  are  grass,  bushes  and  flowers, 
and  higher  still,  surrounded  by  cliffs  of  snow  and  ice,  a  black  lake  which 
hides  the  bodies  of  many  an  Austrian,  for  this  is  the  scene  of  one 
of  their  conflicts  with  the  French.  This  is  the  region  of  glaciers  and  icy 
water-falls  as  well  as  bright  mountain  flowers,  which  fact  is  one  of  the 
striking  singularities  of  Swiss  scenery.  There  are  Wellborn,  and  Wet- 
terhorn,  and  Aletchhorn  and  dozens  of  other  "horns,"  and  each  horn 


888  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

pours  forth  its  glaciers  and  water-falls  and  now  and  then  gives  birth  to 
a  roaring,  crashing,  devastating  avalanche.  We  know  that  each  crystal 
of  these  rivers  and  gulfs  of  ice  is  as  white  as  a  drop  of  water,  but  accord- 
ing to  their  depth  the  color  passes  from  a  light  blue  to  an  indigo.  The 
traveler  not  only  sees  the  living  glacier,  but  in  the  glazed  and  lined  sur- 
faces of  huge  rocks  he  traces  the  action  of  some  ancient  body  of  ice 
which  is  now  dead  and  buried ;  and  the  charm  of  companionship 
is  all  about  him  also — cattle  clinging  to  the  mountain  pastures,  vil- 
lages standing  at  the  convergence  of  the  wildest  passes,  chalets  and 
churches  rising  from  the  least  expected  localities,  tourists  like  him- 
self dragging  each  other  up  peaks  not  far  distant  in  a  straight  line, 
yet  miles  away,  and  little  inns  pitched  above  the  icy  beds  of  infant 
rivers. 

A  companionship  at  a  distance  is  what  the  majority  of  Alpine  wan- 
derers desire,  but  in  this  region  where  the  mountain  horns  rise  so  thickly 
as  sometimes  almost  to  interlock,  the  frequented  roads  are  beset  with 
beggars  and  horn  blowers.  For  a  slight  compensation,  a  dozen  boys 
and  men,  in  the  course  of  as  many  miles,  will  toot  their  horns  that  the 
echoes  may  bound  along  from  peak  to  peak,  from  valley  to  valley,  over 
glacier  and  dark  icy  lake  until  nothing  is  left  but  remembrance  of  the 
weird  result.  These  pests  who  so  vigorously  ride  a  wonder  to  death,  in 
order  to  vary  the  performance  a  little,  will  favor  you  with  a  deaf- 
ening discharge  from  a  rusty  cannon.  Fruit  sellers  also  are  on 
hand  who  do  not  pretend  to  appeal  to  anything  but  the  most  sor- 
did appetite  ;  and,  to  tell  the  truth,  after  having  returned  from  a 
long  tramp  up  the  mountains  to  meet  one  of  them  is  often  far  from 
objectionable. 

By  ascending  any  of  the  branches  of  the  Rhone  to  the  Italian  front- 
ier other  groups  of  horns  will  be  reached.  The  central  point  of  some 
of  the  grandest  scenery  of  the  Pennine  Alps  is  at  Zermatt,  near  the 
headwaters  of  the  Saas,  the  first  important  tributary  which  the  Rhone 
receives  from  the  glaciers  of  the  south.  In  the  upper  part  of  the  basin 
in  which  it  lies  are  a  number  of  glaciers  from  which  the  torrents  of  water 
pour,  but  as  they  approach  the  town  they  become  almost  as  calm  as  her 
own  meadows.  From  a  bold  elevation  overlooking  the  basin,  or  valley, 
a  grand  view  of  the  slowly  advancing  glaciers  is  obtained,  and  of 
the  gigantic  tower-like  Matterhorn,  lifting  its  head  a  cool  5,000 
feet  above  its  snowy  bed,  with  Monte  Rosa  and  a  score  of  other 
wonders  in  the  distance.  There  is,  perhaps,  no  mountain  of  the 
Alps  which  has  been  so  fatal  to  adventuresome  travelers  as  the 
Matterhorn. 


ST     BERNARD.  88g 

ST;  BERNARD. 

Near  Monte  Rosa  is  the  Great  St.  Bernard  pass,  at  the  summit  of 
which  is  the  hospice  in  which  the  dozen  monks  consecrate  their  h\  es  to 
the  rehef  of  suffering.  Although  fifteen  years  complete  the  period  of 
their  vow,  such  are  the  terrible  exposures  to  which  they  subject  them- 
selves that  the  performance  of  their  vow  is  to  offer  themselves  a  living 
sacrifice.  Celts  and  Romans  have  reared  their  temples  to  the  mountain 
•god  upon  this  dreary  spot  which  commands  a  world  of  suffering  and 
•death,  and  through  the  pass  have  marched  great  armies  of  Romans, 
Franks,  Germans  and  Frenchmen  ;  but  they  are  forgotten  in  admiration 
of  the  dozen  monks  and  their  world-famed  dogs  —  a  breed  of  brutes  who 
are  only  known  for  the  good  they  do  !  The  substantial  stone  hospice 
■will  comfortably  shelter  300  persons,  and  during  the  sudden  storms 
which  descend  in  winter,  filling  gorges  and  valleys  with  snow  to  a 
depth  of  forty  or  fifty  feet,  it  is  filled  with  besieged  travelers.  Attached 
to  the  building  is  a  storehouse  of  sad  sights,  entering  which  one  will 
always  remember — the  morgue  of  the  hospice.  In  the  marble  figures 
which  there  appear,  as  many  stories  of  love  and  of  grim  struggles  against 
<leath  are  told,  as  were  written  in  the  faces  and  postures  of  the  uncovered 
victims  of  Pompeii. 

MONT  BLANC. 

Beyond  Monte  Rosa  one  enters  Italian  and  French  territory,  in 
which  he  makes  the  circuit  of  Mont  Blanc,  ever  doubtful  as  to  which 
view  of  the  European  giant  is  the  most  imposing.  Whether  approach- 
ing the  vales  of  Chamouni  and  Mountjoie  on  the  west,  or  those  of  Ferret 
and  Allee  Blanche  on  the  east,  Mont  Blanc  stands  before  you  unrivalled 
in  its  intoxicating  beauties  and  absorbing  impressiveness.  It  carries 
sixteen  glaziers  upon  its  northern  side  and  twenty  upon  its  southern, 
their  waters  sheddinor  into  the  Rhone  and  into  the  Po. 

There  are  other  crystals  amid  the  gorges  of  Mont  Blanc  than  the 
perishable  ones  of  the  glaciers.  Many  of  the  higher  valleys  or  gorges 
consist  of  limestone  formations  turned  up  against  the  granite  and  other 
primitive  rock.  These  often  take  the  form  of  a  calcareous  spar,  or  calc 
spar,  which,  although  a  common  mineral,  are  found  in  such  a  variety  of 
beautiful  forms,  sizes  and  colors,  that  climbers  of  the  mountain  find  it  a 
favorite  amusement,  as  well  as  a  source  of  some  profit,  to  spend  whole 
days  with  their  hammers  and  knives  in  procuring  them,  tying  ropes  to 
their  waists  and  being  let  down  into  the  most  frightful  depths,  in  their 
search  for  rare  and  beautiful  crystals.     The  spar  is  quite  readily  cut  with 


Sgo 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


the  knife,  so  that  it  can  be  shaped  according  to  the  fancy  of  the  finder. 
In  its  crude  state  it  is  pure  white,  but  mixture  with  foreign  substances- 
imparts  to  it  many  beautiful  sliades.  It  is  found  in  masses,  varying 
from  a  few  ounces  in  weight  to  many  pounds. 

Not  only  in  the  villages  which  cluster  in  the  valleys  near  the  moun- 
tain  do  the  travelers  of  the  world  linger  to  collect  a  dozen  mental  pict- 
ures of  it,  but  they  ascend  the  highest  points  opposite  the  monster  and 
still  find  themselves  thousands  of  feet  below  his  summit.  But  gradually 
the  fever  seizes  them  to  actually  place  foot  upon  those  rocky  peaks  and 
masses,  and  look  into  the  depths  of  the  Mer  de  Glace,  and  even  to  stand 
upon  the  very  summit  of  the  highest  of  the  three  principal  peaks.  This 
roadway  in  the  clouds  is  a  ridge  about  150X  50  feet,  and  since  a  French 
guide,  a  century  ago,  first  planted  human  feet  upon  it,  others  have  stood 
there  and  wondered.  Although  not  a  Swiss  mountain,  with  Mont 
Blanc  ends  Switzerland,  by  right  of  nature.  By  almost  Divine  right 
Switzerland  should  possess  Mont  Blanc,  as  a  stupendous  pivot  upon 
which  the  whole  little  republic  might  turn. 


THE  RUSSIANS. 


•~«S3^'^IB'*S.  • 


THOUSAND  years  ago  the  Slavs  consisted  of  a  number  of 
tribes  who  had  settled  near  the  sources  of  the  jjreat  rivers  of 
Southern  Russia  and  had  for  neighbors  the  Finns,  who 
occupied  the  country  nearer  the  Baltic  Sea.  These  races  were 
continually  harassed  by  the  warlike  people  to  the  west,  the 
Teutonic  tribes  attacking  them  by  land,  and  the  Scandinavian 
I  giants  rushing  up  the  shores  of  the  sea  and  falling  upon  them 
from  that  direction.  Like  the  ancient  Britons  they  sent  for 
foreign  aid.  The  Normans  therefore  came  to  rule  over  them 
and  to  protect  them.  From  this  union  resulted  the  modern 
Russian  and  the  greatest  empire,  in  continuous  extent,  in  the  work!.  The 
country  was  often  parceled  out  to  rival  princes  who  quarelled,  was  con- 
solidated, was  oppressed  by  the  Mongol  Khan  for  more  than  two  cent- 
uries and  a  half,  but  at  last  threw  out  its  mighty  arms  and  firmly  grasped 
one-seventh  of  the  globe's  solid  land. 

A  GIGANTIC  LAND. 


The  country  of  the  Slavs  can  not  be  spoken  of  except  in  mighty 
figures.  Its  boundaries,  if  extended  in  one  continuous  line,  would  nearly 
encircle  the  earth.  When  the  Slav  has  passed  from  the  eastern  to  the 
western  limits  of  his  dominion  he  has  traveled  more  than  a  quarter  round 
the  globe.  Russia  is  a  giant,  with  arms  extended  from  ocean  to  ocean, 
with  head  lifted  into  the  eternal  frosts,  and  with  a  sword  dangling  from 
his  belt  he  watches,  from  under  his  shaggy  brows,  the  Turks,  the  Per- 
sians and  the  Mongolians,  who  lie  at  his  feet. 

The  Russian  is  now  attempting  to  digest,  in  his  capacious  stomach, 
scores  of  Tartar  and  Mongol  tribes,  the  Pole  who  is  the  purest  represent- 
ative of  the  Slavic  tribes,  the  Finn,  the  Lapp  and  the  Circassian ;  at  the 
same  time  girdling  himself  with  railroads  and  telegraph  lines  ;  keeping  an 
eye  upon  China,  India,  Afghanistan  and  Turkey,  and,  by  way  of  diver- 
sion, periodically  sharpening  his  sword  and  cleaning  his  gun. 

801 


892  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

THE  PURE  SLAVS. 

In  treating  of  the  Russians  as  a  people,  as  the  Slavs  of  history,  the 
first  place,  as  before  intimated,  must  be  given  to  the  Poles.  Until 
twenty  years  ago  they  did  not  even  become  Russians,  having  retained 
their  individuality  in  spite  of  the  hostile  tribes  who  surrounded  them,  in 
spite  of  the  rule  of  the  Norman  princes  and  the  dissensions  of  the  petty 
Russian  rulers,  in  spite  of  the  invasion  and  triumph  of  the  Mongols. 
Prussia,  Russia,  Sweden  and  Turkey  have  all  felt  the  heavy  hand  of  the 
Pole,  and  have  been  made  to  respect  the  prowess  of  the  Slav. 

As  early  as  the  fourth  century  four  Slavic  tribes  dwelt  between  the 
Oder  and  the  Vistula  Rivers,  and  of  these  the  Polani  gave  the  name  to 
the  modern  Poles.  They  were,  during  the  middle  ages,  the  sole  cham- 
pions of  Christianity  against  the  Turks,  and  their  national  existence, 
until  their  kingdom  was  dismembered,  was  one  of  incessant  war  and  tur- 
moil. The  result  has  been  to  fix  their  character,  which  may  be  described 
as  one  of  impatient  independence. 

Since  the  transportation  of  so  man)'  of  the  bravest  of  the  Poles  to 
Siberia,  on  account  of  their  insurrection,  and  the  eradication  of  the 
kingdom  even  as  a  duchy  of  Russia,  the  sharp  lines  of  their  character 
are  not  so  evident  ;  so  that  an  unromantic  picture  of  them,  as  they  now 
are,  shorn  of  their  high-spirited,  patriotic  nobility  is  thus  given  :  "  The 
populations  of  the  towns  is  largely  employed  in  wool-spinning  and  the 
manufacture  of  woolen  cloth,  paper,  beer  and  porter,  and  cotton  and 
linen  spinning  and  weaving.  A  large  proportion  of  the  country  popula- 
tion employ  themselves  in  the  rearing  and  breeding  of  horses,  cattle  and 
pigs.  Sheep  are  not  so  common,  but  swarms  of  bees  abound,  and  there 
is  a  large  export  trade  in  honey."  Formerly,  the  soil  was  the  property 
of  the  hereditary  chiefs,  the  minor  nobles  attached  to  their  fortunes  and 
the  clergy  ;  while  merchants,  tradesmen  and  agriculturists  were  reckoned 
as  serfs.  The  latter  were  not  attached  to  any  master,  but  to  the  land  ; 
hence  they  had  an  interest  in  defending  it  against  all  invaders.  It  was 
an  easy  bondage,  and  their  pride  in  the  warlike  deeds  of  their  Slavic 
forefathers  bound  them  closer  to  the  soil  and  to  their  country. 

THE  COSSACKS. 

The  orioin  of  the  Cossacks  is  obscure.  The  movements  of  the  vari- 
ous  Mongolian  tribes  previous  to  the  middle  ages  were  so  rapid  and  so 
eccentric  that  their  courses  run  into  each  other  like  the  figures  of  a 
kaleidoscope.      To   this  day   it  is    impossible   to  determine  whether  the 


THE    COSSACKS. 


893 


Cossacks  are  one  tribe  or  a  combination  of  many  tribes.  Tliey  first  ap- 
peared about  the  middle  of  the  four- 
teenth century  in  their  present  strong- 
hold on  the  vast  steppes  west  uf  the 
Don.  At  first  they  were  subject  to  the 
King-  of  Poland  who  gave  them  a 
military     organization.  They     were 

members  of  the  Greek  Church,  how- 
ever, and  rebelled  against  Jesuit  per 
secutions.  Thc^y  submitted  to  Russia, 
both  the  Cossacks  beyond  the  Dneiper 
and  the  Cossacks  of  the  Don,  and 
although  their  revolts  have  been  the 
fiercest  and  most  dangerous  with 
which  the  empire  has  had  to  contend, 
they  have  for  the  past  century  formed 
an  invaluable  body  of  the  Czar's  army. 

But   before  they  had   become  the  ^  cossack  family 

the  servants  of   the    Czar    they  accomplished    the    task  of   conquering 

Siberia.  Yermak  Timofeyeff 
tied  to  its  wilds  before  the 
fury  of  Ivan,  and  after  a  year 
of  successful  warfare  against 
the  scattered  tribes  of  fish- 
ermen and  hunters,  he  forced 
them  to  acknowledge  the 
superiority  of  his  band  of 
warriors,  and,  as  payment 
for  his  pardon,  presented  the 
vast  country  to  the  Czar. 

In  times  of  war  every 
man  from  eighteen  to  fifty 
^V; ;  years  of  age  mounts  his 
small,  hardy  horse,  and  arm- 
ing himself  with  lance,  pis- 
tol,carbine  and  sabre,  holds 
himself  in  readiness  to  obey 
the  orders  of  his  grand  chief, 
the  Crown  Prince  of  Russia. 
As  light-mounted  warriors; 
A  VOTER.  asmusquitoes  harassing  the 

rear  or  flanks  of  an  army,  the  Cossacks  have  no  equals.      They  are  as 


894 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


untiring  as  their  horses,  and  their  great  bear-skin  caps  and  trousers  were 
nightmares  to  the  weary  troops  of  Napoleon  as  they  struggled  homeward 
over  the  snow  fields  and  icy  rivers  of   Russia. 

Except  that  they  pay  this  military  service  to  the  Czar  the  Cossacks 

are  almost  independent 
within    the    country   as- 
signed to    them.       The 
chief    of    the    Cossacks 
was   formerly  called  the 
Attaman,   and    he    was 
elected  by  being  buried 
under  a  heap  of    their 
great    fur    caps  ;     these 
massive  votes  were  cast 
at  the  candidates  in  pub- 
lic meeting,  and  he  who 
had  the  largest  heap  was 
proclaimed  Attaman. 
The  oftice  was  abolished 
when   the  Cossacks   re- 
volted  under  Mazeppa, 
a  Polish  refugee —  he  of 
Byronic    fame  —  but    it 
was  restored,  and  by  the 
Emperor  Nicholas  vest- 
ed in  the  Crown  Prince. 
The    Cossacks   are 
chosen    by  the  govern- 
ment as  specially  fitted 
by  their  bravery  and  ac- 
tivity to  guard  the  front- 
iers of  Southern  Russia 
and  to  keep  in  check  the 
fierce  tribes  of  the  Cau- 
casus country.      In  their 
strongest  positions  they 
therefore  establish  forts, 
called  kreposts,  the  most  prominent  features  of  which  are  the  watch-tow- 
ers, from  which  they  can  signal,  by  means  of  fire,  when  threatened  with 
attack,  and  call  assistance  for  many  miles  around.     It  is  stated,  how- 
ever, that  this  duty  is  so  distasteful  to  the  free  tastes  of  the  Cossacks 


THE    CIRCASSIANS. 


895 


that  suicides  are  not  unconmmon  among  those  consigned  to  such  con- 
finement. The  strategic  part  which  the  Cossacks  play  in  the  actual 
military  system  of  Russia  is  to  unite  an  army  on  the  march  with  its 
base  of  supplies,  or  with  the  empire  itself.  In  times  of  war  this  irreg- 
ular cavalry  is  supported  by  Calmucks,  Buriats,  Tungooses  and  other 

Siberian  tribes. 

Most  of  the  Siberian  tribes  pay  merely  a  tribute  of  furs  to  the  im- 
perial government,  this  being  the  only  mode  of  taxation  which  their  cir- 
•cumstalices  would  allow.  The  whole  of  Siberia  is  ostensibly  divided 
into  civil  districts  but  really  into  military  departments,  governed  by  mili- 
tary men.  An  invaluable  aid  to  the  Russian  officials  are  the  Cossacks, 
who  are  often  placed  in  responsible  posi- 
tions themselves,  where  they  are  peculiarly 
useful  in  enforcing  the  fur  tax  and  other- 
wise in  bringing  the  power  of  the  imperial 
government  home  to  the  Siberian  tribes. 

THE  CIRCASSIANS. 

The  great  wedge  of  territory  which 
Russia  has  driven  down  between  the  Black 
and  the  Caspian  Seas  is  the  Caucasus 
country.  The  Caucasus  mountains  stretch 
througfh  the  region  from  sea  to  sea,  and  in 
their  deep  valleys  ripen  the  fruits  of  the 
tropics,  while  on  the  higher  lands  temper- 
ate fruits  and  grains  are  grown.  Rice, 
tobacco,  sugar-cane  and  cotton  are  raised, 
and  fine  timber  stretches  almost  to  the 
snow  line.  The  Caucasians  who  dwell  in  this  region,  so  varied  in  its  fer- 
tility, are  divided  into  a  great  number  of  tribes  of  the  Indo-European  race. 
They  have  always  been  bold  and  resolute,  shepherds  and  agriculturists 
among  themsel\^es,and  robbers  and  guerrillas  to  the  Persians,  Russians  and 
Turks.  Their  last  decisive  struggle  for  national  life  was  made  against  the 
Russians,  during  the  first  half  of  the  present  century.  A  Mohammedan 
priest  organized  a  movement  in  1823,  and  it  w:as  enthusiastically  upheld 
by  the  military  chieftains  of  the  tribes.  By  the  death  of  several  import- 
ant leaders  the  conduct  of  the  war  finally  fell  into  the  hands  of  a  young 
man  named  Shamyl,  who  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  resisted  the  Russian 
arms.  He  not  only  became  a  military  leader  of  renown,  but  organized 
a  government  among  the  diverse  tribes,  establishing  a  capital  and  a  code 


READY  FOR  ACTION. 


S96 


PANURAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


of  laws.  But  he  could  not  hold  the  confederation  together,  and  being 
taken  prisoner  at  the  siege  of  one  of  his  mountain  forts  in  1859,  he  was 
taken  to  Russia  and  held  as  a  prisoner  of  state  for  twenty-one  years. 
He  afterwards  went  to  Mecca. 

The  bravest  of  the  hostile  tribes  during  this  last  long  war  were  the 
Circassians,  who  denied  the  right  of  Turkey  to  cede  their  country  to  Rus- 
sia. They  lived  between  the  Kuban  river,  the  Caucasus  mountains  and 
the  Black  Sea,  south  of  the  Cossack  country.  Their  land  was  rugged,, 
except  near  the  river,  but  they  wished  to  hold  it  as  subjects  of  Moham- 
medan Turkey. 

The  Circassians  are  called  robbers  by  the  Tartars ;  they  call  them- 
selves the  noble,  and  are  divided  into 
numerous  families  governed  by  princes  of 
blood.  Below  the  princes  are  the  nobles- 
middle  class,  retainers  and  serfs.  The. 
princes  and  nobles  constitute  a  landed 
aristocracy,  and  are  allowed  the  privilege 
of  regulating  even  the  marriage  and  edu- 
cation of  the  villagers.  The  middle  class- 
are  the  elders  and  wise  men  of  the  vil- 
lages, who  stand  in  place  of  the  laws, 
while  the  retainers  and  serfs  are  the  com- 
mon soldiers  and  laborers.  The  Circas- 
sians are  democratic  in  regard  to  their 
food  and  residences,  but  the  nobility  only- 
can  wear  red  and  appear  in  war  with 
costly  equipments  of  mail,  sword  and 
A  CIRCASSIAN  GIRL.  rifle  ;  and  though  there  are  princes,  nobles 

and  retainers,  the  princes  may  be  deposed  for  misconduct  and  the 
retainers  may  leave  the  service  of  their  lord  and  transfer  their  allegiance- 
to  another. 

The  Circassians  are  polygamists,  but  the  wealthiest  seldom  have- 
more  than  two  wives.  They  are  absolute  masters  of  their  wives  and 
children,  and  notwithstanding  the  Russian  government  forbids  them 
selling  their  daughters  to  Turkish  harems,  considerable  of  the  nefarious 
business  is  carried  on.  The  majority  of  the  Circassian  girls,  however 
are  obtained  from  the  thousands  of  emigrants  who  left  Russia  for 
Turkey  in  1864,  when  they  found  that  they  could  not  retain  their  coun- 
try and  be  independent  of  the  Czar.  To  prevent  the  traffic  in  slaves- 
within  her  dominions  Russia  has  built  a  number  of  forts  on  the  coasts  of- 
the  Black  Sea. 


THE    GEORGIANS.  897 

The  beauty  of  the  Circassian  girls  has  not  been  exaggerated.  They 
have  fine  forms,  beautiful  eyes  and  hair,  and  their  complexion  is  made 
simply  dazzling  by  their  open  air  life,  their  exemption  from  hard  labor 
and  their  careful  diet.  When  they  marry,  and  are  no  longer  subjects  for 
the  Turkish  harem,  then  they  do  the  household  work  as  their  mothers 
did  before  them. 

The  men  shave  their  heads  and  dress  in  the  tunic  and  trousers  of 
the  East.  Their  garments  are  confined  at  the  waist  by  a  leather  belt  and 
on  each  side  of  the  breast  is  a  row  of  cartridges  kept  in  small  pockets. 
They  wear  round  fur  caps,  smaller  than  those  worn  by  the  Cossacks. 

THE  GEORGIANS. 

Georgia,  or  Tiflis,  is  in  the  center  of  the  Caucasus  country,  being 
a  grass  country  shut  out  by  mountains  from  the  other  provinces.  The 
mountain  valleys  are  also  fertile,  and  in  them  the  vine  is  successfully  cul- 
tivated. The  Georgians  manufacture  much  wine  and  they  drink  nearly 
all  they  make.  It  is  said  that  six  bottles  is  the  daily  consumption  of  the 
average  inhabitant  of  Tiflis,  the  capital  of  Georgia.  The  Georgians  are 
poor  agriculturists,  but  bold  soldiers.  Formerly  the  greatest  source  of 
revenue  which  the  nobles  enjoyed  was  from  the  trade  in  slaves,  which 
they  sent  to  the  harems  of  Turkey  and  Persia,  the  slaves  being  beautiful 
women  from  the  lower  walks  of  life,  over  whom  the  nobility  had  supreme 
control.  At  the  present  time  Georgian  girls  are  undoubtedly  sent  to  the 
seraglios  of  the  East,  but  ostensibly  as  servants.  The  beauties  have  oval 
faces,  fair  complexions  and  black  hair,  with  beautiful  lips  and  rounded 
forms.  While  they  were  being  raised  for  the  slave  market  it  was  cus- 
tomary to  keep  the  waist  tightly  laced  almost  from  girlhood,  which  had 
a  tendency  also  to  develop  the  bust.  A  small  waist  is,  in  fact,  generally 
considered  a  mark  of  beauty  in  both  men  and  women,  and  the  higher 
classes  of  either  sex  wear  tight-fitting  belts  or  stays  in  order  to  come  up 
to  the  requirements  of  the  fashion.  The  men  themselves  were  formerly 
sold  as  slaves  for  service  in  the  Egyptian  armies,  as  both  they  and  the 
Circassians  are  remarkably  athletic. 

Tiflis,  the  capital  of  the  government  by  that  name  and  of  the  former 
kingdom  of  Georgia,  is  where  the  beautiful  women,  the  Armenians 
Persians,  Cossacks,  Russians  and  other  nationalities  of  Europe  and  Asia 
come  together.  It  is  a  busy  place.  The  manufacture  of  Persian 
rugs,  carpets  and  shawls  is  briskly  carried  on,  and  it  is  the  headquarters 
of  the  army  of  the  Caucasus.  The  Russian  quarter  is  St.  Petersburg 
on  a  very  small  scale.      Palaces,  government  buildings,   great  mansions, 

57 


898 


PANORAMA    Ol'     NATIONS. 


MODES   OF    TRAVEL.  899 

broad  streets  and  airy  squares,  give  it  a  decidedly  European  aspect. 
The  native  quarter  contains  diminutive  houses  and  irregular  streets, 
with  a  line  of  bazaars  extending  along  the  river. 

Where  beauty  and  wealth,  soldiers  and  officers,  meet  in  one  city,  we 
in  America  even  know  that  gayety  reigns  queen  most  of  the  time.  So 
at  Tirtis  it  is  not  unusual  for  Georgian  beauties,  Persian  women  and 
officers  of  rank  to  be  brought  together  under  the  magic  charms  of  music 
and  the  dance. 

MODES  OF  TRAVEL. 

We  have  already  given  panoramic  views  of  Lapps  and  Finns,  Poles 
and  Caucasians,  Cossacks  and  Siberians.  The  vastness  of  the  empire 
must  have  entered  the  consciousness  of  the  reader,  and  a  natural  desire 
be  awakened  for  further  information  as  to  the  means  of  communication 
between  these  people  separated  by  thousands  of  miles  of  steppes,  moun- 
tains and  snowy  plains.  First  as  to  the  cities,  and  we  take  St.  Petersburg 
as  a  type. 

In  summer  the  common  vehicle  of  conveyance  is  the  drosky,  which 
is  a  four-wheeled  vehicle,  setting  very  near  the  ground,  the  seat  being  so 
arranged  that  the  weight  of  the  passengers  is  thrown  upon  the  hind 
wheels,  the  driver  towering  above  them.  The  harness  of  the  horse  is 
very  light,  and  the  high  collar  which  rises  over  his  neck  is  a  part  of  the 
thills.  Whips  are  not  used,  but  driver  and  horse  seem  thoroughly  to 
understand  each  other,  and  though  a  Russian  was  never  known  to  drive 
moderately,  it  is  seldom  that  an  accident  occurs.  The  city  drivers,  or 
ishvoshtniks,  have  no  regular  abiding  place.  They  carry  their  oat  bags 
with  them  and  feed  their  horses  when  they  feel  disposed  or  have  leisure. 
Small  shops  sell  them  hay  in  little  bundles.  There  are  mangers  for  them 
in  every  street,  and  convenient  approaches  to  the  canals  or  river  so  that 
they  can  water  their  steeds.  Many  of  them  sleep  in  their  sledges. 
Among  the  nobility  the  styles  are  as  various  as  among  the  wealthy  of 
any  other  European  capital,  and  there  is  perhaps  no  city  in  the  world 
where  finer  specimens  of  real  live,  beautiful,  intelligent,  docile  horseflesh 
can  be  seen  than  in  St.  Petersburg.  The  streets  are  kept  clean  by  being 
swept  and  sprinkled  from  the  hydrants,  but  are  poorly  paved  with  cobble 
stones.  In  the  winter  the  thoroughfares  are  cleaned  after  every  snow- 
fall, leaving  a  couple  of  inches  for  sleighing. 

The  population  of  the  Russias  is  so  scattered,  and  much  of  the 
empire  is  so  incapable  of  supporting  population,  that  it  is  impossible  to 
conceive  of  railway  service  being  general.  It  is  a  country  also  in  which 
the  springing  of  rails  and  snow  blockades  would  play  altogether  too 


900  PANORAMA    OK    XATU^NS. 

frequent  a  role.  But  the  government  horse-service,  or  post-service,  is 
rapid  enough  for  ordinary  travelers.  It  is  such  an  effective  way  of  get- 
ting over  the  country,  that  not  only  government  officers  take  advantage  of 
it  but  private  individuals.  Three  passengers  are  usually  carried,  and  the 
first  difficulty  is  to  obtain  the  "  padaroshna,"  or  government  order,  for 
the  supply  of  horses.  This  obtained,  a  fresh  relay  is  assured  every  thirty 
miles  or  so.  Applying  to  the  nearest  post-station,  a  drosky  on  a  large 
scale,  a  driver  and  horses  are  furnished,  usually  after  sufficient  delay  to 
draw  from  the  travelers  an  extra  stipend  to  hurry  up  matters.  In  winter 
a  broad  sledge,  filled  with  warm  furs,  is  supplied,  in  place  of  the  heavy, 
jolting  tarantas.  Whether  the  horses  are  three  abreast  or  more,  will 
depend  upon  the  pressing  nature  of  the  errand.  The  animals  are  driven 
abreast,  there  being  no  pole  to  the  wagon  or  sledge,  but  the  horse 
between  the  thills  guides,  and  his  companions  are  fastened  to  the 
whiftletree.  The  collar,  which  resembles  a  horseshoe,  is  the  duga,  to  the 
top  of  which  is  attached  the  bearing-rein,  and  underneath  the  highest 
part  is  fastened  a  big  bell,  to  warn  other  furious  drivers  of  the  approach 
of  the  tornado.  A  most  picturesque  grouping  of  the  horses  is  obtained 
from  the  manner  in  which  they  are  harnessed,  for  the  bearing-rein  forces 
the  animal  within  the  shafts  to  hold  his  head  high,  while  those  to  either 
side  of  him  have  their  heads  turned  outward  and  their  necks  gracefully 
arched,  having  their  intelligent  eyes  fi.xed  upon  the  driver. 

The  vehicle  which  the  Imperial  Government  provides  has  been  de- 
scribed as  a  cradle  upon  wheels.  An  armful  of  hay  is  spread  over  the 
bottom  of  the  wooden  box  and  you  sit  with  your  legs  under  the  driver's 
seat. 

It  should  be  no  disappointment  if  the  horses  produced  are  lean  and 
ungainly,  for,  under  the  generalship  of  a  master,  they  may  do  wonders. 

Suppose  the  race  commences — eight,  ten,  twelve  miles  an  hour,  for 
hundreds  of  miles.  If  the  road  is  between  important  points,  such  as  St. 
Petersburg  and  Moscow,  it  will  be  found  in  good  order,  the  little  station 
houses  a  few  miles  apart  being  occupied  by  retired  soldiers,  who  see  to  its 
repairs.  On  each  side  are  tall  poles  which  mark  the  width  of  the  winter 
road.  Seated  on  his  high  seat,  with  his  hands  and  arms  full  of  reins,  the 
driver  urges  on  his  steeds  with  shout  and  curse,  encouragement,  sarcasm, 
aneer  and  affection  beinfr  thrown  at  them  in  the  various  intonations  of 
his  voice.  Now  he  draws  his  rushing  children  together,  now  spreads 
them  over  the  entire  width  of  the  roadway,  zigzaging  from  side  to  side, 
bounding  over  little  bridges  with  only  an  inch  to  spare  on  either  side, 
playing  with  his  pets  as  if  they  were  a  pack  of  hounds  in  leash  and  he  was 
only  concerned  in  getting  them  over  the  ground. 


MODES    OF    TRAVEL.  9O I 

Travelers,  even  on  the  public  roads,  are  not  numerous,  but  it  will 
sometimes  happen  that  a  whole  procession  of  little  government  carts 
(telegas)  will  be  met  or  overtaken,  laden  with  hides,  tallow,  provisions 
and  goods,  or  bearing  merely  messengers  burdened  with  imperial  orders 
flying  along  at  the  top  of  speed  of  which  their  little  horses  are  capable. 
This  is  the  opportunity  for  which  the  Russian  postilion  craves.  If  any- 
thing, he  increases  his  furious  gallop  and  winds  in  and  out,  in  and  out, 
taking  the  greatest  pride  in  narrow  escapes  from  total  annihilation  or 
from  totally  wrecking  the  smaller  fry.  In  taking  a  journey  of  any  length, 
it  is  often  found  a  physical  necessity  to  sleep  at  a  post  station.  A 
wooden  bench  and  a  possible  bundle  of  hay,  furnished  by  the  keeper,  if 
sufficiently  feed,  are  the  accommodations  which  may  be  expected,  with 
the  further  expectation  of  being  disturbed  several  times  during  the 
night  by  beetles  (and  worse)  and  travelers,  who,  waiting  to  change  their 
horses,  smoke,  laugh,  chat  and  drink  tea. 

Whether  in  Russia  in  Europe  or  in  Siberia,  the  Russian  driver  is 
the  same — tireless,  brave,  proud  of  his  horses  and  his  horsemanship, 
reckless  because  so  skillful,  and  as  impervious  to  cold  as  the  Arctic  bear. 

Traveling  by  steamer  on  the  Volga  and  the  Don  does  not  repay  one 
by  offering  any  scenery,  but  rather  by  enabling  one  to  come  in  contact 
with  so  many  of  the  races  which  go  to  make  up  the  great  empire.  The 
Finns  are  rather  silent,  but  the  Tartars,  who  usually  carry  bundles  of 
goods  for  sale  which  they  have  perhaps  bought  at  the  Nizhni-Novgorod 
fair,  are  communicative  and  lively.  Whatever  the  temperature  the 
Tartar  wears  a  fur  cap,  and  toward  sunset  he  retires,  with  other  good 
Mohammedans,  to  a  quiet  spot  on  deck,  to  kneel  on  his  square  of  carpet 
and  say  his  prayers.  If  the  passage  is  by  way  of  the  Don,  a  number  of 
burly  Cossacks  are  always  on  board  and  when  the  steamer  runs  aground 
the  discovery  is  made  that  they  have  their  uses.  They  are  dead-heads, 
in  American  parlance,  and  pay  their  fare  by  jumping  overboard  when- 
ever the  steamer  grounds  and  pulling  it  out  of  the  mud. 

It  is  not  at  all  likely  that  the  empire  will  ever  become  netted  with 
railways,  but  already  the  western  half  of  Russia  in  Europe,  with  St. 
Petersburg  and  Moscow  as  the  principal  centers,  have  fair  facilities. 
Strictly  speaking  St.  Petersburg  is  the  head  of  the  system  and  Moscow 
is  the  center,  the  travel  to  the  Black  Sea  ports  and  the  Caucasus  country 
being  chiefly  from  the  latter  point.  From  St.  Petersburg  to  Moscow 
the  line  is  straight  as  an  arrow,  because  the  Czar  ordered  it  so  ;  and  if 
the  autocrat  of  the  Russias  should  decide  to  build  a  line  from  St. 
Petersburg  to  Behring's  Strait  it  would  undoubtedly  be  constructed,  but 
considering  the  question  economically,  Siberia   is  not  destined   to  be  a 


902  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

land  of  railroads.  The  cars  are  heated  with  small  stoves,  few  stops  are 
made,  and  if  the  aim  is  to  i^^et  from  point  to  point  twice  as  fast  as  by 
horse  conveyance  the  modern  steed  will  be  patronized. 

Whether  traveling  by  rail  or  river,  however,  there  is  one  peculiar 
custom  which  is  constantly  obtruding  itself  upon  the  native's  pocket- 
book.  In  Russia  the  bedding  does  not  go  with  the  bedroom.  Pillows, 
blankets,  bed-linen  and  towels  are  extra,  and  are  borne  around  as  lug- 
gage by  the  Russian  traveler.  The  bedrooms  are  thoroughly  heated  in 
cold  weather,  so  that  a  blanket  and  a  pillow  are  all  the  bulky  articles 
which  are  required;  but  it  causes  the  foreigner  to  smile  internally,  when 
stopping  at  railway  stations  or  hotels,  to  see  men  and  women  carrying 
their  pillows. 

Tea  is  as  much  the  popular  beverage  in  Russia  as  beer  is  in  Ger- 
many. At  the  eating  stations  on  the  line  of  the  railroads,  in  each  private 
house,  the  invariable  brass  urn  is  on  hand  filled  with  hot  water.  A 
charcoal  fire  is  kept  burning  beneath  and  whether  it  is  the  train  of  pas- 
sengers or  the  master  of  the  house  that  arrives,  tea  is  the  first  considera- 
tion. The  boiling  water  is  poured  over  the  leaves  in  the  porcelain  or 
earthen  tea  pot.  The  liquid  is  not  allowed  to  steep  but  is  quickly  trans- 
ferred to  glasses  or  cups,  and  drunk  with  lemon  and  sugar.  Counting 
houses,  cafes,  street  booths,  all  have  their  tea  urns.  Not  only  does  the 
mode  of  preparing  the  tea  give  the  delicious  drink  its  fragrant  first 
strength,  but  the  overland  journey  through  Mongolia  and  Southern 
Siberia  prevents  the  salt  sea  breezes  from  extracting  any  of  its  vigor  ;  a 
sea  voyage,  in  fact,  is  said  to  have  a  deleterious  effect,  so  that  few  Euro- 
peans outside  of  Russia  really  know  what  good  tea  is. 

EXILES  TO  SIBERIA. 

Exiled  to  Siberia!  The  very  sentence  has  a  hopeless,  weary  sound 
to  it.  Yet,  except  to  the  very  worst  classes  of  offenders,  the  sentence  is 
not  so  much  a  living  death  as  an  escape  from  the  wearing  delay  of  the 
Russian  courts.  To  exiles,  however,  who  are  sent  to  the  mines  for  life, 
there  can  be  nothing  surrounded  with  such  terrors  as  the  portentous 
words  of  the  Russian  court.  After  being  tried,  the  offender  is  removed 
from  the  common  prison  to  a  plain  building,  where  all  those  destined 
for  Siberia,  of  whatever  sex,  age,  or  degree  of  wickedness,  are  huddled 
together.  The  friends  of  the  prisoners  are  allowed  free  access  to  them, 
but  escape  from  the  empire,  as  every  one  knows,  would  be  next  to  an 
impossibility  ;  consequently  escape  from  the  prison  would  be  useless. 
The  rendezvous  for  exiled  criminals  is  Moscow.      Before  their  departure 


EXILES    TO    SIKERIA. 


903 


on  their  long  journey  they  are  visited  by  a  committee  of  citizens  who 
inquire  if  there  is  any  reason  for  delay.  If  there  is  a  good  one,  such  as 
sickness  or  the  expected  coming  of  a  relative,  the  respite  is  granted  ; 
but  everything  being  at  length  in  readiness  active  preparations  are  made 

for  the  departure. 

"  The  scene  is  then  transferred  to  a  yard,  ^vherc  the  parties  are  all 
collected  ;  several  barrels  of  qvass  and  abundance  of  bread  are  provided 
for  their  refreshment,  and  a  priest  furnishes  each  person  with  a  book  of 
prayers  and  other  religious  works  ;  what  little  money  they  may  have  is 
taken  from  them,  to  prevent  their  losing  it  or  being  plundered  on  the 
road,  and  a  receipt  is  given  them  for  the  full  amount  which  they  are  en- 
titled to  reclaim  on  their  arrival.  All  this  is  excellent  and  praiseworthy, 
but  the  worst  is  to  follow.  Piles  of  chains  and  an  anvil  tell  the  tale  of 
suffering  to  be  endured  on  the  weary 
march,  and  as  the  men  are  arranged  in 
little  squads  of  six  or  eight  individuals 
the  manacles  are  fixed  and  are  not  to  be 
removed  until  the  journey  is  accom- 
plished. Single  individuals  have  irons 
riveted  round  the  ankles  connected  with 
chains  fastened  round  the  waist,  and  thus 
are  comparatively  free  in  their  move- 
ments ;  but  others,  being  handcuffed  and 
linked  to  a  long  chain  passing  from  one  / 
to  the  other,  are  entirely  dependent  on  ?;vj 
each  other's  will  as  they  walk  in  file. 
The  day's  march  is  about  ten  miles,  and 
thus  the  journey  occupies  at  least  four 
months,   during  which   time   the   chains  a  Siberian  exile. 

are  not  removed  nor  the  arrangements  altered.  It  is  worse  than  hard- 
ship ;  it  is  torture.  The  women  prisoners  are  without  bonds,  and  bring 
up  the  rear  of  the  procession  with  the  little  carts  containing  the  bag- 
gage of  the  party  and  the  wives  and  children  who  have  selected  a  volun- 
tary exile.  The  caravan  is  accompanied  by  a  guard  of  soldiers,  whose 
responsibility  is  of  so  penal  a  character  that  they  are  made  to  take  the 
place  and  suffer  the  sentence  of  any  prisoner  who  may  escape." 

The  average  journey  of  the  exiles  is  ten  miles  daily,  and  the  average 
weight  of  chains  upon  the  hands  and  feet,  four  pounds.  They  have 
regular  sleeping  places,  and  many  of  the  exiles  are  accompanied  by  their 
families.  The  weary  journey  lies  due  east,  through  the  city  of  Kazan, 
and  if  the  prisoner  is  wealthy  his  chances  are  decreased  of  dying  upon 


904 


TAMiKA-MA    OF    NATIONS. 


the  road.  The  exiles  are  much  less  in  number  than  in  former  years, 
and  whereas  over  thirty  per  cent,  formerly  died  upon  the  way,  now  fif- 
teen per  cent,  fail  to  reach  the  mines  of  the  Ural  Mountains  and  Eastern 
Siberia,  or  the  various  towns  of  Southern  Siberia. 

Before  starting,  the  convicts  are  inspected  by  a  surgeon,  and  those 
who  can  not  walk  are  placed  in  carriages,  with  many  of  the  wives  and 
children.  It  sometimes  happens  that  male  relatives,  who  are  not  crim- 
inals, accompany  the  squad  on  foot.  The  journey  lasts  seven  or  eight 
months.  The  prisoners  are  allowed  to  talk  and  sing,  if  they  have  the 
heart  to  do  it,  and  if  they  are  not  bound  for  the  mines  they  know  that 
their  condition  will  not  be  bad  when  they  settle  as  colonists  in  the  not 
unfertile  tracts  of  Southern  Siberia.  They  generally  pass  through  the 
towns  at   night,  but  the  peasants  of  the  villages  on  the  way  feel  such 

pity  for  them  that 
they  usually  bring 
the  weary  tramps 
jugs  of  liquor,  im- 
m  e  n  s  e  p  i  1  e  s  of 
bread,  and  even 
better  food.  The 
contributions  are 
so  liberal  that  the 
guards  sell  the  ex- 
cess and  purchase- 
additional  cloth- 
ing for  the  con- 
victs. Thoueh 
the  prisoners  may 
speak     among 

themselves  no  outsider  is  allowed  to  converse  with  them,  so  that  all 
these  good  offices  are  done  amid  perfect  silence. 

The  Asiatic  portion  of  the  journey  is  the  most  trying,  and  if  winter 
weather  has  set  in  the  mortality  is  shocking.  Upon  their  arrival  in  the 
countr\'  be\ond  the  Urals,  the  worst  criminals  are  sent  to  the  mines.  In 
former  days  they  never  again  saw  the  light  of  day,  but  now  they  are  not 
kept  underground  more  than  eight  hours  a  day,  and  have  their  freedom 
on  Sundays.  The  next  grade  are  employed  on  public  works  for  a  time, 
and  afterward  are  allowed  to  become  colonists. 

The  colonists  of  .Southern  Siberia  are  politically  dead,  but  are  gen- 
erally prosperous,  the  descendants  of  the  early  convicts  being  especially 
fortunate;  some  of  them  are  very  rich.    The  convict  colonist  commences 


VIEW  OF  OMSK. 


GOVERNMEXT    AXI>     ARMY     LIFE. 


905 


g;S^^>> 


an  entirely  new  life  in  a  community  which  is  under  military  surveillance, 
it  is  true,  but  in  which  no  one  is  allowed  to  remind  him  of  the  past. 
Both  in  the  public  reports  and  in  conversation,  if  he  is  desitjnated  in  a 
general  way,  he  is  simply  called  "  the  unfortunate."  Within  a  few  )ears 
he  can  establish  a  good  home  and  be  the  ownctr  of  a  t'lekl  which  will  suf- 
fice for  the  wants  of  his  family.  Omsk,  in  Western  Siberia,  is  one  of  the 
best  known  of  the  convict  towns.  Colonists,  convicts  to  the  mines  and 
A'oluntary  exiles,  such  as  wives  and  children,  are  estimated  to  compose 
over  100,000  of  the  population  of  Siberia. 

GOVERNMENT  AND  ARMY  LIFE. 

As  one  would  be  able  to  gather,  by  putting  together  certain  facts 
already  given,  the  government  and  army  of  Russia  are  one.  Whether 
in  St.  Petersburg,  Moscow,  Odessa,  the 
Don  country,  the  country  of  the  Caucasus 
or  Siberia,  attempt  to  place  your  hand  on 
a  civil  official  and  you  will  touch  an  army 
officer,  or  there  will  be  one  within  reach. 
The  vast  extent  of  the  empire  and  the 
restless  character  of  its  numerous  semi- 
civilized  tribes  make  military  rule,  to  a 
great  extent,  a  necessity. 

St.  Petersburg  is  covered  by  the 
imperial  guards  as  well  as  the  police.  '^ 
The  active  army  faces  the  frontier  of 
Europe,  with  head-quarters  at  Warsaw, 
a  separate  corps  being  reserved  for  Mos- 
cow and  Novgorod.  The  army  of  the 
Caucasus  includes  the  Cossacks,  the  Cir- 
cassians, and  Tartars,  with  many  Poles 
who  are  being  gradually  drawn  from  their 
old  kingdom.  A  division  of  infantry 
occupies  Finland,  and  another  is  scattered 
over  Siberia,  subject  to  the  call  of  the 
governors.  In  the  government  of  Nov- 
gorod, east  of  St.  Petersburg,  and  in 
various  governments  of  Southern  Russia,  are  whole  brigades  and 
squadrons  of  infantry  and  cavalry  who  are  outwardly  tillers  of  the  soil. 
Lands  belonging  to  the  Crown  are  divided  among  reliable  peasants,  who 
are  furnished  wath  stock  and  implements,  and  each  must  maintain  a 
.soldier.     When  not  engaged  in  the  service,  the  soldier  assists  the  peas- 


SOLDIER  OF  THE  CAUCASUS. 


9o6 


I'ANOUAMA    OK    NATIONS. 


ant.  Roth  colonists  and  soldiers  are  deprived  of  their  beards,  and 
uniformed,  the  peasants  being  entitled  to  the  surplus  of  their  produce 
after  they  have  contributed  to  the  common  magazine  of  the  village  and 
done  their  share  toward  keeping  the  roads  in  repair.  Soldiery  and 
peasantry  intermarry,  and  the  children  generally  enter  the  army.  In 
addition  to  the  principal  soldier,  each  peasant  retains  in  his  cottage  a 
substitute,  usually  his  own  son,  so  that  if  the  regular  limb  of  the  army 
dies  the  vacanc\'  can  be  at  once  filled. 

The  Guard  of  the  Interior  and  the  gendarmes  are  the  police  of  the 

army,  the  political 
police  and  spies, 
and  form  the  con- 
nection between 
the  widely-extend- 
ed secret  service 
and  the  military  — 
the  stone  wall 
aeainst  which  nihi- 


1 1  s  m  CO  m  m  only 
dashes  itself. 

The  Russian 
soldiers  are  care- 
fully drilled,  and 
for  blind  obedi- 
ence, wonderful  en- 
durance and  un- 
flinching courage 
have  not  their  su- 
periors in  Europe. 
The    great     aim 


A  COSSACK  OF  THE  LINE. 


seems  to  be  to 
teach  both  infantry 
and  cavalry  to  fire 
rapidly.  Capital 
punishments  are 
rare.  They  are  occasionally  inflicted  in  times  of  war,  but  the  usual 
forms  of  punishment  are  transportation  to  Siberia  or  corporal  dis- 
cipline, b'ormerly,  nobles,  magistrates,  clergymen,  studfents,  and  mer- 
chants and  traders,  enrolled  in  the  different  guilds,  were  exempt 
from  service.  The  noble  could  nominate  his  serf  to  fill  up  a 
quota,  the   slave    becoming   a    free    man  when    he   entered   the    army. 


THE    SWORD    AND    THE    CROSS.  9O7 

If  lie  deserted  he  was  again  enslaved.  Now  there  is  an  annual  con- 
scription to  which  all  able-bodied  men  are  liable  who  have  completed 
their  twenty-first  year.  If  they  so  desire,  however,  educated  young- 
men  may  enter  a  short  period  of  service  from  their  seventeenth  year. 
Fifteen  years  is  the  period  of  service  in  the  army,  six  in  the  active 
and  nine  in  the  reserve.  During  the  latter  period  the  soldier  is  liable 
to  service  only  in  time  of  war.  Under  the  general  law,  however,  the 
Cossacks,  the  iMnns  and  the  non-Russian  tribes  are  not  liable,  mili- 
tary service  with   them   being  regulated  by  special  enactments. 

Neither  army  officers  nor  soldiers  save  fortunes  from  their  salaries. 
Besides  a  few  allowances  and  mess  money  the  officer  is  entitled  to  a 
servant  or  two  from  the  government,  whom  he  must  equip  at  personal 
expense.  The  pay  of  the  common  soldier  consists  of  a  few  dollars  in 
money,  a  new  uniform  and  a  stock  of  flour,  salt  and  meal  On  fete 
days  an  Imperial  Guard  is  enabled  to  eat  butcher's  meat  at  govern- 
ment expense,  but  the  soldier  of  the  line  has  no  such  allowance.  With 
all  this  niggardly  treatment  the  Czar  spends  over  $100,000,000  on  his 
army  and  as  much  more  for  his  navy  ;  but  it  is  quite  likely  that  if  the 
pay  were  not  so  inadequate  there  would  be  le.ss  jobbing  and  thieving 
in  the  service. 

THE  SWORD  AND  THE  CROSS. 

The  great  ally  which  the  Czar  possesses  in  the  Church  is  never  so  for- 
cibly shown  as  when  his  armies  are  turned  toward  Constantinople.  Then, 
it  matters  not  what  the  real  pretext,  the  conflict  is  held  up  to  view  as  a 
holy  war.  Never  was  this  truth  so  evident  as  when  the  last  imperial 
proclamation  of  war  issued  against  Turkey.  At  two  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  a  solemn  service  was  ordered  to  be  held  in  each  church  of  the 
Russian  empire,  the  declaration  of  war  having  been  read  in  these 
thousands  of  holy  places.  Moscow,  especially,  that  superb,  church- 
laden  city,  which  in  the  Kremlin  alone  contains  almost  a  city  of  churches, 
was  stirred  to  its  depths. 

Within  the  massive  gates  of  the  Kremlin  are  cathedrals  and 
churches  where  the  Czars  have  been  baptized,  crowned,  married  and 
buried.  The  Cathedral  of  the  Assumption  was  the  most  abandoned 
scene  of  warlike  and  religious  fervor.  Its  entrance  was  kept  clear  by 
soldiers,  and  soldiers  kept  open  a  passage  for  the  carriage  of  the  Gover- 
nor-General and  the  plumed  generals  and  officers,  with  swords  and 
spurs. 

At  length  the  civil  and  military  leaders  of  the  people  were  assem- 
bled and  the  services  commenced.     The   royal  proclamation  was  read,. 


908  PANORAMA    (iK    NATIONS. 

blessings  were  bestowed  upon  the  imperial  arms,  prayers  were  said, 
noble  and  peasant  knelt  together  in  a  common  cause  and  the  bells  in 
all  the  churches  of  Moscow  and  the  two  Russias  lashed  and  clanged 
the  empire  into  fury.  The  dense  crowds  without  in  vain  attempted  to 
breathe  the  incense  within  the  temples,  and  then  shouted  and  reeled 
through  the  streets,  intoxicated  with  war  and  smothered  beneath  war- 
like Hags  and  emblems. 

In  speaking  of  the  Greek  Church  we  usually  have  in  mind  the 
Russian  Church.  There  is  no  Patriarch  of  the  Church,  as  there  was 
before  Peter's  time.  The  first  step  towards  the  founding  of  the  State 
Church  was  to  make  the  see  of  Moscow  a  patriarchate,  with  jurisdiction 
over  the  empire,  and  to  cut  clear  of  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople. 
This  was  the  doing  of  the  Church,  however,  and  the  father  of  Peter  the 
Great  did  not  like  the  pretensions  of  his  bishop.  But  when  Peter 
ascended  the  throne  he  proposed  to  have  no  one  the  head  of  the  mighty 
National  Church  but  himself.  So  when  he  had  matured  his  plans  he 
waited  for  the  death  of  the  Russian  Patriarch.  He  died,  and  the  Czar 
appointed  an  acting  director  of  the  Church,  whom  he  called  the  Exarch. 
When  the  people  had  forgotten  to  miss  their  Patriarch,  the  office  was  form- 
all)'  abolished,  and  the  affairs  of  the  Church  were  placed  in  the  hands  of 
the  Holy  S\nod,  comprised  of  high  ecclesiastics,  and  forming  a  grand 
department  of  the  government.  The  Minister  of  Public  Worship 
is  ex  officio  a  member  of  the  Synod.  The  liturgy  of  the  Greek  Church 
is  the  same  as  that  of  Constantinople,  but  in  the  State  Church  it  is  cele- 
brated in  the  Slavonic  language.  As  the  Czar  appoints  all  the  members 
of  the  Holy  Synod,  the  Russian  Church  is  both  imperial  and  national 
in  its  character.  The  Emperor  can  not  modify  the  dogmas  of  the  Church, 
but  the  entire  organization  is  under  his  autocratic  control. 

IMAGE  WORSHIPING. 

In  nearly  every  peasant's  house,  in  a  corner  of  the  room  facing 
the  door,  will  be  seen  a  representation  of  the  Saviour  or  Madonna. 
Sometimes  the  figure  is  embossed  and  covered  with  a  metallic  sheet, 
the  face  and  hands  being  painted.  On  entering  the  hut  orthodox 
Christians  bow  to  the  representation,  which  may  be  an  inch  or  a  foot 
square,  and  cross  themselves.  Before  and  after  eating  the  same  cere- 
mony is  performed.  If  the  day  is  a  noteworthy  one  in  the  Church 
calendar,  the  icon,  as  it  is  called,  is  honored  and  illuminated  liy  a  special 
lamp  placed  before  it. 

The  Czar  himself  has  his  icon  Icons  are  scattered  from  one  ex- 
tremity of  Russia  to  the  other,  whole  villages  busying  themselves  in  their 


TVl'ICAL    CEREMONIES.  9O9 

manufacture.     The  pretentious  icons  are  ornamented  with  gold  work, 
pearls  and  precious  stones  of  great  value. 

Besides  these  simple  or  symbolic  pictures,  many  of  the  churches  and 
•  monasteries  of  the  Russian  Church  have  in  their  possession  icons  which 
have  been  pronounced  by  the  Holy  Synod  to  be  of  divine  origin  and  of 
miraculous  properties.  They  are  found  in  the  ground,  in  caves,  in  trees 
and  other  out-of-the-way  places,  the  priest  or  peasant  who  discovered  them 
having  been  guided  to  the  treasure  by  supernatural  agents.  These  so- 
called  divine  manifestations  are  common  to  the  Greek  Church  and  the 
Roman  Catholic,  and  costly  edifices  are  erected  from  the  offerings  which 
pious  pilgrims  lay  at  the  shrines  of  the  visible  objects.  As  at  Lourdes 
in  France,  the  people  flock  to  the  scene  of  the  manifestation,  bringing 
with  them  their  diseases  and  departing  whole;  so  proclaims  the  Holy 
Synod  for  the  Russian  Church  as  does  the  Pope  for  the  Catholic  Church. 
Such  icons  become  so  famous  that  the  anniversaries  of  their  discovery 
are  celebrated  by  the  whole  Church,  and  it  becomes  almost  a  matter  of 
dispute  as  to  which  city  or  church  shall  be  blessed  by  their  presence. 
One  of  the  most  famous  of  these  miracle-workers  is  the  Kazan  Madonna. 
It  was  brought  from  Kazan,  that  Tartar  stronghold,  in  the  fourteenth 
century,  and  afterward  transferred  from  Moscow  to  Peter's  new  capital. 
It  had  a  cathedral  built  for  it ;  and  now,  at  any  hour  of  the  day,  the 
devout  will  be  found  kneeling  on  the  polished  marble  floor,  with  their 
foreheads  pressed  to  the  cold  stone,  praying  before  the  mother  of  the 
carpenter's  son,  whose  image  is  decorated  with  jewels  said  to  be  worth 
$75,000.  In  the  center  of  her  crown  is  a  large  sapphire.  The  screen 
around  the  image  as  well  as  the  balustrades  are  said  to  be  of  pure  silver 
being  an  offering  of  the  Cossacks  of  the  Don  after  they  had  returned 
from  their  harassing  pursuit  of  the  French  army, 

TYPICAL  CEREMONIALS. 

The  burial  of  a  priest  of  the  Greek  Church  is  eminently  character- 
estic  of  its  ceremonials.  We  describe  an  actual  scene.  The  church 
was  filled  to  suffocation  with  perspiring  peasants,  the  heads  of  most  of 
the  women  being  bound  with  thick  shawls.  All  carried  lighted  candles. 
In  the  center  of  the  edifice  lay  the  body  of  the  deceased,  clad  in  his. 
ecclesiastical  robes  and  reposing  in  a  white  gilded  coffin,  while  the  face 
and  hands  were  half  buried  in  white  lace.  Tall  lighted  candles  draped 
with  white  crape  surrounded  the  dead  priest,  and  the  officiating  brothers. 
were  clad  in  magnificent  robes  in  which  appeared  no  sombre  color. 
Everything  was  bright  or  pure  white.  The  head  of  the  deceased  was 
bound  with  a  fillet  on  which  was  written  "The  Thrice  Holy." 


9IO  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

After  many  chants  had  been  intoned  for  the  repose  of  the  soul, 
priests,  relatives  and  friends  came  reverently  forward  to  receive  the  last 
kiss,  some  being  allowed  to  kiss  the  cold  clay,  others  contenting  them- 
selves with  a  pressure  of  the  lips  upon  the  cold  coffin.  Both  forms  of 
salutation  are  thought  to  be  equivalent  to  the  bestowal  of  a  blessing. 
While  this  affecting  ceremony  is  progressing,  a  service  is  being  read, 
impressing  upon  those  present  the  uncertainty  of  human  life,  after  which 
the  absolution  is  pronounced  and  a  paper  is  placed  in  the  dead  priest's 
hand — "The  Prayer,  Hope  and  Confession  of  a  Faithful  Christian 
Soul."  Then  an  attendant  took  away  the  lighted  tapers  from  the  mourners, 
the  coffin  was  removed  to  the  hearse  without,  which  was  hung  with  white 
silk  and  purple  and  gilt  draperies,  a  gilt  crown  surmounting  all.  Two 
priests,  robed  in  yellow  garments,  stood  upon  the  bier  facing  each  other 
and  watching  the  dead  —  who  is  never  left  alone  while  the  body  is 
unburied  —  while  censer-bearers,  singing  men  and  boys  and  the  attendant 
holy  brothers  completed  the  procession,  which  slowly  passed  along  the 
street  crowded  with  figures  whose  every  head  was  bare.  As  the  mourners 
approached  a  church,  the  bells  were  rung,  the  procession  halted,  and  did 
not  again  proceed  until  the  receiving  priests  had  laden  the  air  with 
incense  and  sent  the  pageant,  blessed,  on  its  way.  Thus  it  was  passed 
on,  from  one  holy  church  and  brotherhood  to  the  next,  receiving  a  con- 
tinuous benediction  from  the  spectators  on  the  streets  and  at  windows 
of  houses,  who  crossed  themselves  and  took  part  in  the  funeral  service 
as  the  procession  moved  on  its  way  to  the  cemetery. 

The  baptism  of  a  Russian  infant  of  noble  blood  is  usually  a  matter 
which  is  in  the  hands  of  his  god-parents.  The  god-father  stands  with 
the  god-mother  in  front  of  the  baptismal  font  and  presents  a  small  golden 
cross  vvhich  the  baby  is  expected  to  thereafter  wear.  The  ceremonies 
comprise  a  blowing  in  the  infant's  face  three  times,  signing  its  name  on 
forehead  and  breast,  immersion,  and  anointing  the  various  parts  of  the 
body  with  the  holy  unction  prepared  during  Holy  Week, within  the  walls  of 
the  Kremlin,  and  consecrated  by  the  Metropolitan.  There  is  considerable 
marching  around  b)'  the  god-parents  and  an  impressive  service.  The 
concluding  act  is  for  the  priest  to  cut  off  a  small  portion  of  the  child's 
hair  in  four  different  places  on  the  crown  of  the  head,  inclose  it  in  a  mor- 
sel of  wax  and  throw  it  into  the  font. 

NOBILITY  AND  PEASANTRY. 

The  nobility  form  a  separate  body  in  every  province,  being  gov. 
erned  by  a  marshal  of  their  choosing.  They  pay  no  poll  tax,  but  are  no 
longer  free  from  conscription.     After  them  comes  the  clergy,  which  for 


NUHILITV    AND    PEASANTRY. 


911 


twenty  years  has  not  been  an  hereditary  class.  The  sons  of  clergymen, 
irrespective  of  their  preferences,  are  not  obliged  to  follow  the  service  of 
the  church.  The  merchants  are  next  in  the  social  scale,  and  then  the 
burghers  and  peasants.  Since  the  abolition  of  serfdom  in  Russia  there 
are  no  castes,  and  since  then  social  distinctions  are  less  marked  than  they 
formerly  were.  A  peasant  may  become  a  merchant  or  a  noble.  He 
may  enter  the  church  and  all  government  preferments  are  open  to  him. 
The  son  of  a  priest  may  become  a  peasant  or  a  noble.  The  fences  are 
down,  although  the  fields  are  still  staked  out ;  but  the  classes  are  social 
rather  than  political. 

The  slavery  of  the  Russian  peasant  was  of  a  double  kind.  He 
was  bound  to  the  soil  and  to  his  master.  The  Tartar  composition 
of  his  blood  made  him  prone  to  wander,  and  to  wander  at  pleasure 
meant  to  rebel.  Therefore  the  slavery  of  the  Russian  peasant  was, 
primarily,  a  matter  of  state  policy.  The  noble  was  the  Czar's  police 
officer,  though  unappointed.  He  was  a  task-master,  and  often  a  hard 
one,  and  he  was  also  an  unofificial  preserver  of  the  peace.  In  a  way 
he  accomplished  his  mission  ;  for  the  peasantry,  as  a  class,  were  never 
the  Nihilists  of  Russia.  They  cultivated  the  great  estates  of  the  nobil- 
ity and  were  allowed  to  get  a  living  from  a  certain  piece  of  land  as 
long  as  they  remained  rooted  to  the  soil.  How  the  nobles  abused  their 
position  to  crush  manhood  and  degrade  womanhood  has  been  told  in 
whole  libraries.  The  strongest  protests,  however,  came  from  a  numer- 
ous outside  class.  The  Emperor  freed  the  22,000,000  serfs  and  gave 
them  land  to  cultivate.  He  issued  the  imperial  decree  two  years  before 
Lincoln  signed  the  Proclamation  of  Emancipation,  but  Alexander  of 
Russia  only  changed  one  form  of  slavery  into  another.  That  of  the 
later  days  is  not  quite  so  grievous,  which  is  the  best  that  can  be  said 
of  it. 

Once  the  peasant  was  bound  personally  to  the  noble  ;  now  he  is 
bound  financially  to  both  the  Czar  and  the  noble.  The  government 
assumed,  when  the  serf  became  a  freeman  and  received  the  hut  and  the 
garden  patch  as  his  own  and  was  an  authorized  member  of  the  com- 
mune which  holds  the  village  lands,  that  he  was  indebted  to  his  former 
master  to  a  certain  amount.  He  had  no  freedom  of  choice  ;  the  land 
was  thrust  into  his  hands,  and  he  was  made  a  financial  slave.  The  gov- 
ernment advances  four-fifths  of  his  debts  to  the  noble,  and  the  remaining 
fifth  he  still  owes  to  his  former  master.  The  government  also  receives 
its  five  per  cent,  interest  on  the  sum  it  advances,  this  being  paid  to  it  by 
the  village  or  commune  of  which  every  peasant  is  a  member.  The  com- 
mune is  the  local  government,  in  which  every  peasant  has  a  voice.     To 


gl2  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

it  the  government  granted  lands  in  common,  whicli  are  apportioned  every 
three  years  according  to  the  number  of  laboring  men  and  women  which 
the  family  can  muster.  The  commune  is  responsible  as  a  whole  for  the 
p-overnment  interest,  the  fifth  of  the  debt  due  the  nobility  and  all  other 
taxes  and  duties.  In  some  communes  the  soil  is  j^oor  ;  in  others  there 
are  too  many  idlers  —  sometimes  the  peasants  manage  to  meet  their 
liabilities,  and  at  other  times  they  can  not  see  how  Alexander  the  Czar 
did  them  so  good  a  turn.  Under  the  old  serf  system  when  an  estate 
was  not  profitably  cultivated  it  was  customary  for  the  landlord  to  allow 
his  peasants  to  seek  other  more  profitable  employment ;  such  a  course 
of  action  was  designated  "  for  the  good  of  the  estate."  It  is  for  a  simi- 
lar reason  that  the  communes  throughout  Russia  are  granting  leaves-of- 
absence,  by  the  thousands,  to  the  manufacturing  and  commercial  towns 
of  the  Empire.  The  peasant  could  run  away  if  he  had  a  noble  master; 
so  now  he  can  fiee  from  his  commune:  but  if  he  has  not  made  up  his 
mind  to  cut  all  Russian  ties,  he  is  obliged  to  pay  into  the  treasury  of  his 
commune  a  percentage  of  his  extra  earnings,  as  he  was  when  he  had  a 
noble  for  a  master.  In  many  cases,  also,  the  peasant  works  for  his  old 
master,  cultivating  the  smaller  estate  with  his  own  communal  field,  and, 
with  the  aid  of  a  whole  family,  faithfully  striving  to  lift  a  galling  burden 
of  debt  which  was  placed  there  by  imperial  hands  which  were  supposed 
to  be  friendly.  He  is  almost  as  much  a  slave  to  the  soil  as  he  was  pre- 
vious to  1 86 1, when  he  was  politically  a  serf. 

It  is  against  such  a  state  of  affairs  that  a  large  class  of  educated 
Russians  is  growing  up  between  the  Nihilists  and  the  government. 
Their  blood  boils  at  the  abuses,  but  they  are  not  blood-thirsty.  There 
are  many  Count  Tolstois  in  spirit,  but  few  so  bold  and  none  so  able. 
The  Nihilists  compose  the  visible  opposition  to  nobility  and  royalty,  and 
their  dark-red  organization  is  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  century.  How 
great  or  how  little  it  is  no  one  knows.  But  it  raises  its  head  in  the 
most  unexpected  quarters.  Now  a  student,  now  a  carpenter,  here  a 
Jewish  peddler,  there  a  noble  lady  are  pounced  upon  by  the  secret  ser- 
vice. Though  the  Czar  station  an  ofiicial  before  the  doorway  of  every 
lodging  house  in  St.  Petersburg,  suspicious  persons  prowl  in  and  out 
and  secret  meetings  are  held.  Those  whom  he  trusts  as  his  agents  are 
Nihilists  themselves.  His  very  lackey  may  be  meditating  a  bomb.  An 
unpopular  police  official  is  shot.  The  woman  is  tried  by  jury  "  for  attempt" 
and  is  acquitted.  There  must  be  Nihilists  on  the  jury!  Letters  are 
mysteriously  sent  to  the  Czar  and  his  officials  and  revolutionary  posters  ap- 
pear on  the  walls  of  public  buildings.  The  letters  are  torn  up,  the  posters 
are  taken  down,  extra  spies  are  placed  around  and  in  the  royal  palaces,  and 


NUBILITY    AM)     I'EASAXTRY. 


913 


keen  policemen  patrol  the  streets  night  and  day.  While  a  spy  nods  or 
a  patrohnan  turns  a  corner  another  letter  falls  upon  the  Emperor's  pri- 
vate table  or  an  incendiary  sheet  flares  from  a  blank  brick  wall.  The 
Nihilists  compose  the  visible-invisible  opposition  to  the  imperial  gov- 
ernment of  Russia. 

To  resume  :  The  communal  land  is  of  three  kinds.  First  is  the 
village  plat,  including  the  house  gardens;  second,  the  arable  land;  and, 
third,  the  meadow  land.  The  arable  land  is  divided  into  a  number  of 
long,  narrow  strips.  "Sometimes  it  is  necessary  to  divide  the  field  into 
several  portions,  according  to  the  quality  of  the  soil,  and  then  to  sub- 
divide each  of  these  portions  into  the  requisite  number  of  strips.      Thus, 


A  kUiSIAN  VILLAGE. 


in  all  cases,  every  household  possesses  at  least  one  strip  in  each  field  ; 
and  in  those  cases  where  subdivision  is  necessary,  every  household  pos- 
sesses a  strip  in  each  of  the  portions  into  which  the  field  is  subdivided. 
This  complicated  process  of  division  and  subdivision  is  accomplished  by 
the  peasants  themselves,  with  the  aid  of  simple  measuring  rods,  ami  the 
accuracy  of  the  result  is  truly  marvelous." 

"  The  meadow,  which  is  reserved  for  the  production  of  ha\-,  is 
divided  into  the  same  number  of  shares  as  the  arable  land.  There,  how- 
ever, the  division  and  distribution  take  place  annually.  Every  year, 
on  a  day  fixed  by  the  Assembly,  the  villagers  proceed  in  a  body  to  this 


^i' 


9'4 


PANORAMA    or     NATIONS. 


part  of  their  property,  and  divide  it  into  the  requisite  number  of  portions. 
Lots  are  then  cast,  and  eacli  famih'  at  once  mows  the  portion  allotted 
to  it.  In  some  communes  the  meadow  is  mown  l)y  all  the  peasants  in 
common,  and  the  hay  afterward  distributed  by  lot  among  the  families  ; 
but  this  system   is  by  no  means  so  frequently  used." 

"As  the  whole  of  the  communal  land  thus  resembles,  to  some 
extent,  a  big-  farm,  it  is  necessary  to  make  certain  rules  concerning 
cultivation.  A  family  may  sow  what  it  likes  in  the  land  allotted  to 
it,  but  all  families  must  at  least  conform  to  the  accepted  system  of  rota- 
tion. In  like  manner  a  fam.ily  can  not  begin  the  autumn  plowing  before 
the  ap]:)ointed  time,  because  it  wouUl  tlKM'eby  interfere  with  the  rights  of 
the  other  families  who  use  the  fallow  field  as  pasturage." 

IN  A  PEASANT  VILLAGE. 

A  Russian  village  is  as  different  from  a  German,  Dutch,  English  or 
American  village  as  the  Arctic  Ocean  is  from  the  Mediterranean  Sea. 
Some  little  distance  from  the  road  stretch  two  rows  of  mud  or  log  huts, 
with  not  a  school-house  in  sight.  There  is  a  gilded  church,  with  a  grand 
spire,  and  a  beautiful  altar  and  man)-  rich  decorations  within.  This 
costly  church  is  drawn  from  the  home  of  the  peasant — one-third  of  his 
earnings  go  to  it.  The  result  is  that  in  summer  the  hut  of  the  average 
peasant  is  too  close  and  squalid  to  be  occupied,  and  whole  villages  sleep 
in  the  street  or  in  the  balconies  of  their  houses.  Few  of  their  homes 
boast  the  luxury  of  a  bed,  and  in  winter  they  stow  themselves  around  the 
stove.  The  stove  is  of  brick  and  whitewashed,  and  an  enormous  shelf  is 
often  constructed  from  it  to  the  wall,  upon  which  a  portion  of  the  family 
sleep.  In  very  cold  weather  even  some  of  the  members  may  sleep  upon 
it  ;  for  there  is  no  limit  either  to  the  heat  or  the  cold  which  a  Russian 
can  endm-e. 

This  fact  is  most  evident  when  the  peasant  takes  his  regular  vapor 
bath,  every  Saturday  afternoon.  With  him  it  has  a  religious  significance, 
symbolic  of  spiritual  purification.  Sonie  villages  have  public  or  com- 
munal baths,  but  many  peasants  take  their  steamings  in  the  great  house- 
hold oven  in  which  the  family  cooking  is  done.  From  a  temperature 
which  we  should  hesitate  to  designate  in  figures  they  rush  into  the 
extreme  of  cold  and  roll  in  the  snow.  The  houses  outside,  are.some- 
tin-ies  adorned  with  bright  colored  carvings,  the  cracks  between  the  logs 
being  stuffed  with  moss  and  lime. 

But  the  peasant  pays  two-thirds  of  his  substance  to  the  church  and 
to  the  crown,  eats  his  cabbage  soup  and  drinks  his  tea  and  liquor,  and 


THE    GREAT    MIDDLE    CLASS.  915 

worships  thankfully  in  the  grand  church.  When  the  tax  collector  comes 
around,  once  a  year,  he  has  his  money  ready  and  sees  it  go  into  the  bag 
of  the  Czar's  representative,  without  a  murmur.  But  the  Russian 
peasant  is  far  from  cheerful  ;  he  is  merely  resigned  under  a  despotism. 
The  women  do  not  show  the  attractive  weakness  of  their  sex  for  per- 
sonal adornment.  They  wcur  a  loose  robe,  fastened  at  the  neck  and 
buttoned  down  the  front,  and  over  this  an  apron  fastened  over  the 
shoulders  by  two  short  braces.  Those  of  the  better  class  wear  boots 
reaching  to  the  knee,  l)ut  the  majoritx'  of  them  are  barefooted. 

THE  GREAT   .MIDDLE  CLASS. 

The  merchants  belong  to  the  town  population,  and  they  have,  as 
fellow-citizens,  divided  into  separate  guilds,  burghers  and  artisans.  Any 
one  may  engage  in  mercantile  pursuits  by  joining  the  guild  and  paying 
his  dues  ;  strictly  speaking,  he  will  have  the  standing  of  a  merchant  by 
so  doing.  \\Mien  he  ceases  to  pay  his  dues  he  ceases,  of^cially,  to  be  a 
merchant  and  returns  to  the  class  from  which  he  came.  He  might  have 
been  a  peasant,  or  a  burgher  —  which  latter  is  a  permanent  resident  who 
has  not  joined  the  guild  of  artisans  or  merchants.  The  peasant  often 
joins  the  trade  corporation,  although  maintaining  his  connection  with 
the  commune  or  the  landed  corporation  of  which  he  is  a  member. 

The  Russian  merchant  is  at  the  head  of  the  town  classes,  but  he  is 
not,  as  a  rule,  an  educated  man.  It  would  be  nothing  unusual  if  he 
could  not  read  or  write.  He  is  the  conservative  of  the  empire,  as  are 
his  brethren  in  all  lands.  A  disturbance  of  the  existing  order  of  things 
would  be  likely  to  disturb  business.  He  therefore  stands  midway  in  the 
scale  between  im[)erialism  antl  nihilism  —  first  the  Czar,  second  the 
noble,  third  the  merchant,  fourth  the  bloodless  agitator  and  fifth  the 
nihilist.  The  merchant  mounts  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  bankrupt 
noble.  He  buys  his  house,  or  builds  a  fine  one  himself  as  near  like  it  as 
possible.  He  places  in  his  mansion  the  same  order  of  great  mirrors,  grand 
pianos  and  rich  furniture.  His  floors  are  marble  and  his  curtains  are  of 
the  most  costly  material.  But  with  him  everything  is  merely  to  have, 
sometimes  not  even  to  show.  The  educated  noble  entertains  royally.  He 
is  a  linguist,  a  musician,  a  politician,  a  traveler,  a  man  of  the  broad 
world  and  a  fascinating  gentleman  with  all  his  faults.  He  gambles,  he 
spends  his  money  recklessly,  but  he  throws  himself  and  his  establishment 
open  to  society  and  revels  in  publicity  and  the  fruitfulness  of  his  resources. 
Except  the  merchant  has  something  to  gain  by  it  he  shuts  up  the  best 
rooms  of  his  mansion  and  lives  in  the  shabbiest.      His  life,  e.xperiences 


91 6  I'AXORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

and  reading  having  been  confined,  and  not  wishing  to  expose  any  of  the 
secrets  of  his  business,  conversation  is  naturally  circumscribed.  The 
merchant  dresses  according  to  his  rank,  owns  and  exhibits  fast  trotters, 
and  is  proud  of  the  patronage  of  government  officers,  but  scouts  the 
hereditary  nobility.  He  subscribes  liberally  to  churches,  monasteries  and 
benevolent  objects,  but  the  price  of  his  subscription  is  often  a  decoration. 

ST.   PETERSBURG. 

St.  Petersburg  is  worthy  of  the  vast  empire  which  it  represents; 
its  vastness,  the  width  of  its  streets,  the  area  of  its  public  squares,  the 
gigantic  dimensions  of  its  palaces,  churches  and  houses  are  simply 
oppressive.  There  is  a  self-conciousness  about  the  city  that  its  architect 
had  deliberately  set  out  to  build  the  most  magnificent  monument  to 
kingly  ambition  in  the  world.  St.  Petersburg  was  raised  from  the  marsh 
on  the  graves  and  shoulders  of  slaves,  but  it  no  doubt  impresses  the 
world  as  its  founder  meant  that  it  should.  He  also  wanted  a  port  on 
the  Baltic  Sea,  and  he  obtained  it,  although  there  was  not  a  square  rod  of 
the  site   which  he  had  chosen  which  would  support  a  massive  structure. 

The  nobles,  the  criminals,  the  men,  women  and  children  of  the 
two  Russias  all  contributed  toward  the  furtherance  of  this  mammoth 
work.  The  nobles  were  obliged  to  build  palaces  and  the  proceeds  of 
the  sale  of  lands  to  them  helped  erect  the  government  structures. 
Ever)'  boat  upon  Russian  waters  and  every  cart  on  Russian  soil  fur- 
nished timber,  stone  or  brick.  But  the  city  was  founded,  fairly  lifted 
above  the  mud,  within  a  period  of  nine  years.  Succeeding  monarchs 
seemed  inspired  with  the  determination  of  Peter  the  Great,  and,  though 
the  foundations  of  bridges  and  buildings  might  periodically  disappear, 
a  new  set  of  pilings  was  driven  upon  the  old  and  the  work  of  extending 
the  city  went  on. 

Hare  Island  it  is  called  where  Peter  laid  the  first  walls  of  his 
spacious  capital.  He  superintended  the  building  of  one  of  the  fortress 
bastions  himself,  his  chief  officers  taking  charge  of  the  other  work.  "At 
first  the  fortifications  were  only  built  of  wood,  but  three  years  afterwards 
they  were  reerected  in  stone  by  masons  from  Novgorod,  who  were 
assisted  by  the  soldiers.  The  first  fortress  was  begun  May  i6,  1703, 
and  finished  in  five  months.  Wheelbarrows  were  unknown,  and  the 
workmen  scraped  up  the  dirt  with  their  hantls,  and  carried  it  to  the 
ramparts  in  their  shirts  or  in  bags  made  of  matting.  Two  thousand 
thieves  and  other  criminals  sentenced  to  Siberia,  were  ordered  to  serve 
under  the  Novgorod  workmen.     Peter  constructed  a  little  brick  cottage 


ST.    pi-:tersi!i;kg.  917 

just  outside  the  fortress  which  he  called  his  palace.  Every  large  vessel 
on  the  Neva  was  forced  to  bring  thirty  stones,  every  small  one  ten,  and 
every  peasant's  cart  three,  toward  the  building  of  the  new  city." 

St.  Petersburg  stantls  but  fifty-six  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and 
every  year  when  the  ice  breaks  up  the  lower  part  of  the  city  is  threatened 
with  inundation.  Warnings  of  any  threatened  danger  are  given  from  the 
citadel  which  stands  upon  an  island  in  the  Neva;  but  even  the  prompt 
discharge  of  guns  has  not  aKva\s  [M-o\ed  effective  in  giving  the  citizens 
tinielv  warning.  E\'itlcnce  of  this  fact  is  still  found  in  some  quarters  of 
the  city  in  which  red  plates  are  seen  afiixed  to  various  houses,  twelve  and 
fourteen  feet  above  the  street,  and  marking  the  point  to  which  the  flood 
reached  in  1824,  when  thousands  of  persons  perished.  Little  attention 
is  given  to  the  firing  of  the  first  gun,  that  indicating  merely  an  inunda- 
tion. At  the  second  gun  people  bestir  themselves  in  the  lower  town  and 
commence  to  move  the  horses  from  the  stables.  The  third  gun  produces 
3.  panic. 

The  canals  of  St.  Petersburg,  although  furnished  with  broad  granite 
quays,  are  little  used  for  commerce.  The  primary  object  was  to  drain 
the  marshes,  and  that  object  has  been  principally  kept  in  view.  Immense 
barges,  however,  pass  back  and  forth,  laden  with  firewood,  building  stone 
and  rubbish,  so  that  the  streets  are  less  encumbered  witli  heavy  wagons 
and  carts  than  in  other  large  cities.  As  in  Holland,  the  women  of  St. 
Petersburg  find  the  canals  convenient  for  washing  purposes.  Most  of  the 
produce  and  merchandise,  also,  which  comesfrom  the  interior  of  the  em- 
pire is  distributed  to  the  great  markets  and  warehouses  by  means  of  the 
canals.  Much  of  the  fruit  and  grain  comes  up  on  these  barges  from  the 
Odessa  region  ;  also  hay,  in  great  stacks,  is  piled  upon  them  and  floated 
from  the  interior.  The  firewood,  which  is  mainly  of  birch,  is  cut  in 
lengths  ready  for  the  stove,  and  the  barges  themselves,  which  are  little 
better  than  rafts,  are  often  broken  up  for  fuel.  The  felling  of  trees,  the 
construction  of  barges,  and  the  transportation  of  fiesh,  fish  and  fowl  to 
the  great  Frozen  Market  occup)'  much  of  the  peasant's  time  during  the 
winter  months. 

The  Neva  does  not  connect  St.  Petersburg  directly  witli  the  marine 
"world,  for  tliou^h  broad  it  is  too  shallow  at  its  mouth  to  admit  larsre  ves- 
sels.  Cronstadt  is  the  port  of  entry  and  the  great  vessels  whose  hulls 
are  built  in  the  city's  dock  yards  are  floated  to  its  port  to  receive  masts, 
rigging,  cargoes  or  armament.  The  harbor  of  Cronstadt  is  divided  into 
three  sections — the  outer,  or  military,  for  ships  of  the  line  ;  the  middle, 
for  repairing  vessels,  and  the  inner,  used  only  by  merchant  vessels. 

The  town,  l^iuilt  on  the  island  of  Kotlin,  opposite  the  mouth  of  the 


9l8  PANORAMA    OF    XATIOXS. 

Neva,  is  stronyly  fortific-d,  bcint^  entered  by  three  gates.  It  contains  a 
marine  hospital,  barracks,  cannon  loundry,  and  the  small  palace  in  which 
Peter  resided,  in  the  gardens  of  which  are  several  oaks  planted  by 
liis  own  hand.  Between  the  two  canals  which  intersect  the  well-built 
town  is  a  naval  academy,  formerly  a  palace  built  by  Prince  MenchikofT. 
The  city  ot  St.  Petersburg  is  divided  by  the  River  Neva  into  two 
great  sections,  the  northern  portion  being  built  upon  half  a  dozen  islands 
and  the  southern  upon  the  mainland.  The  latter  is  called  the  Great 
Side,  and  exhibits  most  of  the  grandeur  which  has  rrade  this  youngest  of 
European  capitals  su  famous. 

THE  WINTER  PALACE. 

Perhaps  the  most  prominent  architectural  feature  of  the  capital  is 
the  Winter  Palace,  standing  in  a  vast  open  space  in  the  heart  of  the  city. 
On  two  sides  is  the  great  Admiralty  Square,  on  another  the  river,  and 
on  an  opposite  island  the  massive  fortress,  while  the  fourth  side  over- 
looks the  Hermitage,  once  the  favorite  residence  of  Catherine  II..  with 
which  it  is  connected  by  covered  bridges.  This  palace,  which,  in  dimen- 
sions, if  not  in  magnificence,  leads  the  world,  is  700  feet  square,  and 
contains  numerous  great  halls,  saloons  and  suites  of  apartments,  lavishly 
adorned  with  porphyry  and  marbles,  and  magnified  into  a  hundred  vast 
palaces  b)'  the  immense  mirrors  of  its  loft)'  rooms.  St.  George's  hall, 
in  which  are  held  the  chapters  of  the  different  orders,  is  among  the  most 
brilliant.  During  the  former  residence  of  the  Emperor  the  palace  was 
occupied  by  six  thousand  people. 

The  palace  is  used  principalh'  for  ceremonials  by  the  present  Czar, 
who  is  not  prepossessed  with  the  great  structure  which  furnishes  so 
many  opportunities  for  the  Nihilists.  About  a  year  before  his  father 
was  assassinated,  near  the  Catherine  Canal,  an  attempt  was  made  upon 
his  life  at  the  Winter  Palace;  s(j  that  Alexander  the  III.  prefers  the 
palace  on  the  Neva  Perspective  which  he  occupied  while  Crown  Prince. 

The  Winter  Palace  is  painted  a  sore  of  an  orange  color,  while  yellow 
and  blue  are  not  unusual  tints;  the  prevailing  color,  however,  is  an  imi- 
tation of  sandstone.  The  main  entrance  looks  upon  the  river.  It  is  a 
marble  vestibule  of  stately  proportions  and  from  itgreat  stairways,  adorned 
with  liistoric  figures  in  marble,  lead  to  the  throne  room,  reception  rooms 
and  splendid  halls  above.  The  hall  of  St.  George,  the  reception  rooms  of 
the  Empress  and  scores  of  other  magnificent  apartments,  thrown  open  to 
the  public,  are  blazing  with  golden  decorations  and  oppressive  with  silks 
and  tapestry,  but   tlie  living  rooms  of  former  imperial  families  are  unat- 


THE    WINTER    PALACE.  919 

tractive  in  the  extreme.  This  is  particularly  true  of  the  room  in  which 
the  late  Czar  died  and  that  which  was  the  scene  of  Emperor  Nicholas' 
death,  whose  heart  is  said  to  have  broken  over  the  capture  of  Sebastopol. 

"  It  is  the  smallest,  plainest  rocim  in  the  whole  building,  and  was  at 
once  his  library  and  bedroom.  Everything  remains  just  as  it  was  when 
he  died,  and  a  sentinel  always  stands  at  the  door.  Before  the  window 
is  a  small  writing  desk,  upon  which  are  his  portfolio,  pens,  and  paper 
exactly  as  he  left  them.  The  plain  furniture  is  worn  and  dilapidated, 
The  iron  bedstead,  nothing  but  a  camp  cot,  on  which  he  slept  for  years. 
is  in  the  corner  of  the  room,  with  the  great  military  coat  he  always  used 
as  a  coverlid  hing  upon  it.  His  patched  slippers  are  beside  the  bed, 
and  upon  nails  driven  in  the  wall  hang  his  uniform.  In  a  chest  of 
drawers  near  by  is  his  coarse  underclothing,  and  his  cane  and  sword 
are  hanging  from  a  hook,  with  his  hat  above  them.  On  the  walls  are 
portraits  of  some  of  his  generals,  and  on  his  little  table  at  the  head  of 
his  bed,  with  a  candlestick  and  a  prayer  book,  well  used,  are  the  pictures 
of  his  wife  antl  chiUlren.  Adjoining  the  little  chamber  is  an  ante-room 
in  which  his  ministers  awaited  an  audience,  and  they  had  to  sit  upon  an 
ordinary  wooden  bench.  A  spiral  staircase  leads  to  the  rooms  of  the 
Empress  above,  so  that  he  and  she  could  go  back  and  forth  without  pass- 
ing through  any  other  room,  and  there  was  a  concealed  entrance  by 
which  he  could  reach  the  street  and  return  without  being  observed  by 
any  one." 

The  candle  light  which  has  heretofore  flickered  and  gleamed  upon 
the  magnificence  of  the  Winter  Palace  has  given  place  to  the  electric 
glory.  It  should  be  added  that  the  Winter  Palace  is  not  alone  honored 
with  electric  lights.  Nearly  all  the  places  of  public  resort — theatres, 
hotels,  government  buildings,  gardens — have  them,  as  well  as  many  of 
the  splendid  palaces  along  the  Neva  River  and  the  Perspective.  "The 
merry  ring  of  the  telephone  is  heard  in  all  the  land  ;  the  telegraph  wires 
are  strung  on  ornamental  brackets  alone  the  houses,  and  the  onl\-  thingf 
that  is  not  modern  about  St.  Petersburg  is  her  ancient  fire  tower,  with 
its  watchman,  signal  balls  and  lanterns. 

The  Hermitage  connected  with  the  Winter  Palace  contains  a  gallery 
of  paintings,  which  is  noted  for  its  specimens  of  the  Spanish  school,  and 
has  a  fine  library  as  well.  But  the  Imperial  library  exhibits  an  array  of 
over  1,000,000  volumes,  and  is  one  of  the  greatest  libraries  in  Europe, 
as  the  Winter  Palace  is  among  the  first  of  her  palaces.  Before  ceasing 
to  wonder  at  the  magnitude  of  the  Czar's  former  home,  it  should  be 
remembered  that  the  first  Winter  Palace  was  destroyed  by  fire  half  a 
century  ago,  ami  that  this  one  was  erected  and  occupied  within  two  years. 


g20  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

PETER'S  STATUE. 

From  the  Neva,  this  locahty  presents  a  superb  appearance.  The 
Admirahy  Square  is  a  mass  of  grand  buildings  —  the  Admiralty,  with  its 
loft)-  spire  ;  the  ponderous  cathedral  of  St.  Izak,  with  its  great  bronze 
domes  and  massive  pillars  of  red  granite,  and  other  structures  of  impres- 
si\'e  size.  Adjoining  the  Admiralty  is  the  Palace  Square,  in  which 
stands  the  monolith  of  red  granite,  erected  to  the  memory  of  Alexander. 
An  equestrian  statue  of  Peter  the  Great,  eighteen  feet  high,  occupies 
Peter's  Square.  Then  there  is  the  Field  of  Mars,  where  the  Czar  can 
review  50,000  troops  at  once.  This  stupenduous  architectural  array  is 
all  drawn  up  in  mighty  battalions,  like  the  Russian  troops  massed 
for  an  attack  upon  the  Furks,  or  waiting  silently  for  the  approval  of  their 
mighty  monarch. 

Upon  the  enormous  mass  of  granite  which  forms  the  pedestal  to 
the  statue  is  inscribed  "Peter  F,  Catherine  II.,  1782."  This  pedestal 
is  said  to  be  the  rock  upon  which  Peter  stood  to  witness  a  naval  victory 
over  the  Swedes.  It  was  brouirht  from  P'inland,  and  in  surmounting  a 
few  of  the  obstacles  to  get  it  to  the  Czar,  a  swamp  was  drained,  a  forest 
cut  down  and  a  long  road  constructed. 

The  horse  which  Peter  rides  is  represented  as  laboring  up  a  steep 
ascent,  horse  and  rider  being  one  in  fire  and  determination.  They  have 
nearly  reached  the  top,  and  the  Czar  points  with  his  right  hand  in  the 
direction  of  the  citadel  which  was  the  nucleus  of  his  capital.  He  is 
seatetl  upon  a  Ijear's  skin  and  is  clad  in  such  simple  garments  that  he 
might  be  either  Russian  or  American  The  sculptor,  P'alconet,  explains 
that  Peter  wished  himself  to  abolish  the  Russian  dress  and  that  the  skin 
on  which  he  is  seated  is  emblematic  of  the  nation  he  refined.  The  artist 
put  no  sabre  into  his  hand,  because  he  wislied  to  symbolize  on]\-  the 
better  nature  of  the  Czar.  He  said,  however,  nothing  about  the  animal 
which  the  Emperor  bestrode  ;  the  horse  should  represent  the  people 
striving  upward  with  Peter  the  Great  upon  its  back,  its  muscles  strained 
and  quivering  in  its  endeavors  to  reach  the  summit  of  his  ambitions. 

The  suggestive  figure  of  Peter  looks  toward  the  tombs  of  the  Kings  ; 
for  within  the  citadel  is  the  Church  of  St.  Peter  and  -St.  Paul,  Avhose 
loft}-,  slender  spire  marks  the  locality  whereiti  are  gathered  the  remains 
of  all  the  monarchs  of  Russia  since  his  day.  A  bridge  crosses  to  the 
island.  Near  the  northern  entrance  to  the  bridge  which  leads  to  the 
fortress  is  the  most  ancient  chiuxh  in  St.  Petersburg,  where  the  Czar 
used  to  pray.  It  contains  numerous  relics,  one  of  its  chandeliers  being 
turned  by  his  own  hand      One  of  the  boats  which  he  built  is  preserved 


rETKKS    STATUE.  92  I 

in  his  cottage  which,  in  turn,  is  encased  by  a  larger  structure.  Here  also 
is  the  gigantic  staft'  which  he  wielded.  Since  the  death  of  the  great,  cruel 
Czar,  part  of  the  cottage  has  been  used  as  a  chapel.  In  his  first  modest 
palace,  as  well  as  in  the  more  imperial  Ijiiildings  of  the  cit)',  evidences 
are  continually  given  of  how,  despite  his  gigantic  works,  Peter  loved  to 
labor  with  his  own  hands.  One  of  the  most  elaborate  is  the  sledge  in 
which  he  used  to  travel  thousands  of  miles,  deposited  in  the  Museum  of 
Imperial  Carriages. 

I'rom  the  .Xdiniralt)'  spire,  where  the  whole  city  is  seen  in  a  bird's  eye 
view,  one  realizes  how  perfectly  the  emperors  and  empresses  of  Russia 
have  developed  Peter's  idea  to  make  his  capital  the  prototype  of  the 
national  character.  If  Berlin  stands  for  Germain'  much  more  does  St. 
Petersburg — a  cold,  gray,  vast,  massive  city — stantl  for  the  empire  of 
tile  Russias.  ()|)[)osite  our  [joint  of  view  is  an  island  on  which  are  the 
Bourse,  Academy  of  Sciences  and  various  military  establishments  ;  to 
the  north  the  citadel  island  and  other  islands  which  resemble  gardens 
and  groves  springing  from  the  water  for  the  purpose  of  sheltering  the 
palaces  and  villas  which  they  can  not  hide.  The  Great  Side  of  St. 
Petersburg  has  the  Admiralty  spire  as  its  center.  The  great  canals 
which  Catherine  dug  divide  this  portion  of  the  city  into  several  sec- 
tions, and  the  three  princii:)al  streets  radiate  from  the  square.  The 
Neva  Perspective,  as  it  stretches  from  the  center  of  the  city,  increases  in 
breadth  and  magnificence.  Palaces,  churches  and  splendid  business 
structures  tower  above  its  dense  bordering  of  foliage;  for  four  miles  it 
continues  its  triumphal  march,  and  concludes  by  taking  the  first  prize 
among  the  thoroughfares  of  Europe  for  unvarying  grandeur.  There  are 
other  streets  founded  upon  the  same  plan  but  not  upon  the  same  scale. 

On  the  Neva  Perspective  are  the  military  headquarters  and  the  great 
bazaar  in  which  10,000  merchants  are  engaged  in  business.  Greek,  Cath- 
olic, Protestant  and  Armenian  churches  are  strewn  alone  this  wonderful 
street,  and  at  its  extremity,  also  marking  the  city  limits,  are  the  convent 
and  church  of  St.  Alexander  Nevskoi,  containing  the  body  of  the  saint 
in  a  silver  sarcophagLis,  and  the  palace  of  the  Metropolitan,  a  high  priest 
of  the  State  Church.  The  monastery  was  founded  by  Peter,  to  com- 
memorate the  \ictor\-  of  Grand  Duke  Alexander  over  the  Swedes  in  a 
battle  fought  upon  the  very  spot.  Centuries  afterward  the  duke  was 
canonized. 

Aside  from  the  Church  of  St.  Izak,  the  onl)-  other  fine  religious  edi- 
fice in  St.  Petersburg  is  the  Cathedral  of  Our  Lad)-  of  Kazan.  The  lady 
is  believed  to  have  the  empire  under  her  particular  charge,  and  the  cathe- 
dral was  built  to  enshrine  her  picture,  which  is  said  to  ha\-e  the  power  of 


932 


PANORAMA    UI"    NATIONS. 


performing-  miracles.  The  monarchs  of  Russia  worship  at  her  shrine, 
both  before  they  undertake  anything  of  im[jortance  and  after  it  is  ac- 
compHshed,  and  therefore  their  coming  is  a  [jortentous  sign  to  the  com- 
mon people. 

WINTER  .SPORTS  AND  SCENE.S. 

St.  Petersburg  is  almost  deserted,  in  summer,  by  the  fashion  and 
nobility  of  the  cit)',  but  in  winter  it  is  the  gayest  of  European  capitals. 
Not  onh'  are  there  theatres  especially  fitted  up  for  Italian,  Prench,  Ger- 
man and  Russian  companies,  but  the  peculiar  winter  sports  which  the 
people  patronize  have  made  the  city  like  no  other  during  the  winter  fes- 
tivities. It  was  then  that  the  Winter  Palace  was  once  seen  at  the  height 
of  its  glor)'. 

But  although  the  great  palace  is  not  thrown  open  to  the  gayety  of 
,.,.,.  ■  tile  winter  season,  as  of  yore,  the 

residences  of  the  nobility  on  the 
river  front  are  flooded  by  brill- 
iancv.  P^ach  proprietor  attempts 
to  outdo  the  other  in  executing 
some  original  idea  to  entertain 
his  friends  and  spread  abroad  the 
magnificence  of  his  hospitality. 
By  nature  the  Russians  are  hos- 
pitable, but  it  is  foreign  to  their 
disposition  to  combine  simplicity 
with  it.  One  of  the  most  ambi- 
tious of  tlie  hosts  of  St.  Peters- 
burg flooded  the  lower  part  of 
his  palace  and  turned  it  into  a 
magnificent  skating  rink,  deco- 
rated with  evergreens  and  lighted 
by  thousands  of  wax  candles. 
A  LADY  OF  FASHION.  Wheu    the  brilliant  compan\- of 

ladies  and  gentlemen,  wrapped  in  rich  furs,  had  skated  to  their  hearts' 
content,  they  adjourned  to  the  apartments  above,  removed  their  wraps 
and  appeared  in  full  dress  to  enjoy  an  elegant  banquet. 

The  typical  St.  Petersburg  is  out  of  doors  in  the  winter.  The  river 
is,  in  places,  a  gay  race  course,  over  which  the  wealthy  Russian  merchants 
and  noblemen  speed  their  horses  in  harness,  the  sledges  used  being  often 
mere  shells  not  weighing  more  than  fifty  pounds.  Unless  the  ice  is  perfect, 
skating  is  not  so  favorite  a  pastime  as  racing  or  coasting  on  the  ice  hills. 


WINTER    SPORTS    AND    SCENES.  923 

There  are  private  hills  patronized  exclusively  by  Russian  nobles,  or  by 
the  fashionables  of  France,  Germany,  England  and  America.  Elegant 
gentlemen  and  ladies,  who  live  in  palaces  and  to  whom  precious  stones 
are  as  common  as  cut-glass  to  the  majority,  keenly  enjoy  the  exhilarating 
sport  for  hours  at  a  time.  There  are  immense  numbers  of  public  slides 
for  the  masses,  so  that  no  one  need  pass  a  winter  unsatisfied.  Usually 
two  slides  are  nearly  opposite  each  other  so  that  the  (;nd  of  one  run  is 
near  the  tower  to  the;  summit  of  which  one  must  ascend  in  order  to  be 
prepared  for  another  rush.  Ice-boats,  also,  are  competing  for  public  favor, 
but  as  more  skill  is  recjuired  in  their  management,  the  sport  is  not  so 
popular  as  sliding.  Skating  is  getting  to  be  more  popular,  since  long 
stretches  of  the  river  have  been  illuminated  by  electricity  and  bands  of 
music  are  engaged  to  add  elegance  to  the  spore.  The  elderl)'  people 
enter  into  the  current  of  brisk  life  by  being  pushed  along  on  chair  sledges, 
cushioned  and  warm. 

As  the  winter  season  draws  to  a  close  and  man)'  of  the  \'isitors  have 
departed,  the  opening  of  the  river  becomes  a  matter  of  interest  and  pro- 
lific subject  for  wagers.  "As  regards  the  opening  of  the  river,  it  is  made 
a  matter  of  official  ceremony  ;  and,  although  there  may  not  be  a  particle 
of  ice  visible  in  the  stream,  still  no  boat  is  allowed  to  be  launched  till  the 
governor  of  the  citadel  has  made  his  official  report  to  the  Emperor.  He 
carries  to  His  Majest)"  a  cup  filled  with  water  from  the  Neva  and  announces 
the  freedom  of  the  stream.  The  Emperor,  after  drinking  the  contents, 
returns  the  cup  to  the  governor  filled  with  ducats  ;  and  a  gun  being 
,  fired  from  the  citadel,  proclaiming  the  completion  of  the  ceremony,  the 
river  is  almost  instantly  covered  with  boats." 

But  before  the  river  is  formally  opened  b)'  the  Czar  and  his  gov- 
ernor, its  waters  have  to  be  blessed  by  the  Metropolitan.  The  ceremony, 
which  is  one  common  to  the  Greek  Church,  commemorates  the  baptism 
of  the  Saviour,  but  the  State  Church  gives  it  a  peculiarly  Russian  char- 
acter by  making  it  a  safeguard  against  the  Hoods  of  the  Neva.  A 
temple  of  ice  is  erected  on  the  river,  and  the  baptisms  take  place  either 
by  sprinkling  or  immersion,  a  hole  being  cut  in  the  ice  for  that  purpose. 
The  date  of  the  ceremony  is  January  6.  It  may  be  of  interest  to  know 
that  both  Peter  the  Great  and  his  grandson,  Peter  II.,  caught  the  colds 
which  caused  their  deaths  attending  the  ceremonies  of  the  Benediction 
of  the  Neva. 

Another  sight  is  usually  in  store  for  the  visitor  to  .St.  Petersburg, 
which  is  almost  peculiar  to  that  city  and  Moscow.  When  winter  sets  in, 
from  hundreds  of  miles  around,  evt-n  from  the  shores  of  the  White  Sea, 
sledges  by  the  thousands  are  converging  towards  the  capital,  laden  with 


924  PANORAMA    (IK    NATION'S. 

frozen  carcasses  of  pigs,  q-oats,  reiiK^ef-r,  oxen,  hares,  grouse  and  cod- 
fish. This  army  of  peasants  and  huntsmen  aim  to  reach  the  capital 
before  Christmas,  for  that  day  inaugurates  the  Frozen  Market,  which  is 
usually  held  in  a  large  field  at  the  entrance  to  the  city,  or  in  one  of  the 
public  squares.  The  immense  meat  harvest  is  exposed  in  great  piles, 
but  if  the  weather  continues  good,  deer  and  oxen,  grouse  and  fish  dis- 
appear in  tile  cellars  of  rich  and  poor.  The  meat,  which  at  first  can  be 
only  chopped  and  sawed,  is  thawed  for  eating  by  being  plunged  into 
cold  water.  Should  a  thaw  set  in,  however,  while  the  sledges  are  mak- 
ing their  journe\'s  of  from  a  few  hundred  to  a  few  thousand  miles,  or 
whih-  the  pvramids  of  trrouse  and  tlie  hillocks  of  deer  are  awaitino-  to  be 
leveled  by  purchasers,  the  supplies  are  seized  by  the  sanitary  authorities 
and  burned  as  unfit  for  food.  The  misfortune  cuts  like  a  two-edtred 
sword  ;  for  the  peasants  depend  greatly  u[)on  their  sales  to  tide  them 
over  the  winter  and  the  consumers  suffer  greath-  for  lack  of  their  usual 
meat  supply,  so  necessar\-  to  health  in  tliis  climate. 

MO.SCOW. 

If  St.  Petersburg  represents  mod(;rn  Russia,  Moscow  is  the  personi- 
fication of  ancient  Russia.  The  bulk  of  the  city  lies  on  the  north  bank 
of  the  Moskva  River,  south  of  it  being  that  portion  which  is  built  upon 
a  series  of  small  elevations  called  the  Sparrow  Hills.  The  fantastic  city 
of  spires,  domes  and  minarets  is  surrounded  by  an  earthen  rampart,  and 
the  most  prominent  of  all  its  attractions  is  the  Kremlin.  It  stands  forth 
grandly  from  its  high  position  in  the  northern  section  of  the  city,  its 
gigantic  walls  with  their  curious  towers  inclosing  a  mass  of  palaces, 
public  buildings,  monasteries  and  churches.  The  streets  and  lanes  of 
Moscow  radiate  from  the  Kremlin,  around  which  also  run  several  broad 
boulevards  ;  the  gates,  above  which  rise  great  towers  or  spires,  are 
among  the  most  sacred  localities  of  the  sacred  city.  Especially  is  the 
Redeemer  gate  revered.  Above  it  is  a  faded  picture  of  the  Saviour. 
Once  within  the  Kremlin  walls  the  tower  of  Ivan  the  Great  is  the  most 
impressive  object,  looking  down  from  its  height  of  over  300  feet  upon 
the  surrounding  structures.  At  the  base  of  the  structure  is  a  chapel 
which,  perhaps,  is  more  frequented  than  the  great  bell.  It  is  dedicated 
to  St.  Nicholas,  and  ladies  about  to  be  married  repair  faithfully  to  the 
shrine  of  their  patron  saint  and  say  their  pra)-ers  with  more  or  less  trep- 
idation. If  war  has  been  declared  or  victory  perches  upon  the  Rus- 
sian arms,  Ivan  the  Great  roars,  clashes  and  thunders  over  the  event 
with  his  three  dozen  ponderous  bells,  the  largest  of  which  weighs  sixty- 
four  tons.     Near  the  foot  of  the  mighty  tower,  upon  a  granite  pedestal, 


MOSCOW.  925 

Stands  Tsar  Kolokol,  the  largest  bell  in  the  world.  Its  summit  is  nearly 
twenty-five  feet  from  the  ground,  and  entrance  to  it  is  effected  through 
an  opening  which  was  broken  from  its  side  by  some  heavy  timbers  which 
fell  upon  it  (hiring  a  fire.  Tsar  Kolokol  has  been  converted  into  a 
sacred  chapel,  and  no  true  Russian  neglects  to  religiousl)-  cross  himself 
when  ap[)roaching  it. 

Of  the  four  cathedrals  within  the  Kremlin  the  most  famous  is  the 
Archangel  Michael,  where  members  of  the  imperial  family  were  buried 
for  four  centuries,  until  Pelc^r  the  Great  transferred  his  capital  to  St. 
Petersburg;  the  most  interesting,  from  its  great  age,  is  the  Church  of 
the  Redeemer  in  the  Wood. 

The  principal  palace;  is  comparatively  modern,  much  of  the  city,  in 
fact,  dating  from  the  time  of  the  great  fire  preceding  Napoleon's  dis- 
astrous retreat.  Within  the  palace  are  magnificent  halls  in  which  meet 
the  different  knightly  orders,  and  near  it  a  treasure  house  containing 
royal  and  national  arms  and  relics.  The  hall  of  St.  George,  which  here, 
as  in  the  Winter  Palace,  is  the  most  magnificent  feature  of  the  interior, 
opens  directly  from  the  principal  staircase  which  leads  from  the  grand 
vestibule.  Upon  its  marble  walls,  in  letters  of  gold  are  inscribed  those 
who  have  been  knighted  with  the  highest  of  the  Russian  orders.  The 
ancient  palace  of  the  Czars  is  now  in  ruins.  What  remains  of  it  after 
the  French  occupancy  consists  of  two  singular  looking  buildings,  of 
Chinese  architecture,  one  of  which  contains  the  old  coronation  hall. 
Thev  are  connected  with  the  Great  Palace  erected  by  Ale.xander  upon 
the  site  of  the  main  body  of  the  old  structure.  Adjoining  the  Great 
Palace  is  the  Little  Palace,  simple  in  construction  and  decorations  ;  here 
the  Emperor  Nicholas  resided  previous  to  his  elevation  to  the  throne.  In 
one  of  the  rooms  is  a  musket  with  which  the  Czar  used  to  exercise  and 
put  his  sons  through  the  drill  movements  to  teach  them  the  rudiments 
of  war. 

Near  the  ancient  palace  is  the  Treasury  wherein  is  written  in  arms, 
crowns,  thrones  and  other  curiosities  much  of  the  history  of  the  empire. 
The  crowns  of  Kazan,  Astrachan  and  Georgia  speak  of  the  conquest  of 
the  last  of  the  Tartar  kingdoms  governed  by  the  Khan  of  the  Golden 
Horde,  of  the  submission  of  the  Mogul  .State  on  the  Caspian  Sea,  and  of 
the  overwhelming  of  another  of  those  brave,  mysterious  and  beautiful 
races  of  men  and  women  who  have  so  long  held  the  country  near  the 
Caucasus  that  ethnologists  are  not  rare  who  seek  in  that  region  the 
original  home  of  the  Aryan  race.  Though  Russia  never  wrested  a 
crown  from  .Siberia  there  is  one  in  this  bewildering  collection  which  is 
made   to   represent  the   mastery   of    her    semi-savage   tribes.      Poland's 


g26  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

bloody  crown  is  also  in  the  imperial  treasury  and  the  book  of  her  con- 
stitution. The  litter  upon  which  Charles  XI!.  was  borne  at  the 
battle  of  Pultowa,  where  Peter  crushed  the  power  of  the  Swedes,  is  one 
of  the  most  treasured  articles  of  this  collection  designed  to  perpetuate 
the  memories  of  hideous  war  and  the  humiliations  of  defeat  and  enslave- 
ment. There  are  globes  and  sceptres,  banners  of  all  nations  and  the 
arms  and  e(|uipments  of  the  ancient  and  the  modern  arm\'  ;  the  ward- 
robes of  all  the  dead  Russian  sovereigns  from  the  days  of  Peter  the 
Great  ;  crown  jewels  of  inestimable  value  resting  upon  velvet  cushions 
and  having  as  a  background  the  throne  of  the  monarch  who  once  wore 
them  and  everything  suggestive  of  the  empire's  remorseless  grasp  for 
power  and  the  instability  of  indi\idual  might. 

In  front  of  the  massive  arsenal  building,  which  is  near  the  Treasury', 
are  man)-  batteries  of  captured  cannon  —  those  taken  from  the  French 
in  their  retreat,  making  a  large  collection  —  three  hundred  and  sixty-five 
pieces  in  all. 

OUT.SIDE  THE   KREMLIN. 

East  of  the  Kremlin  is  the  business  district,  surrounded  also  by  a 
wall  antl  containing  an  immense  bazaar  and  market  and  the  exchanges. 
The  Romanoff  house,  where  the  founder  of  the  present  dynasty  was 
born,  is  \n  this  locality. 

Between  the  boulevard  and  the  Kremlin  are  the  governor's  palace, 
schools  and  academies,  public  buildings,  the  famous  foundling  asj'lum, 
sometimes  having  the  care  of  twenty-five  thousand  children,  theatres, 
nunneries  and  churches.  The  Temple  of  the  Saviour  is  a  grand  church 
in  the  form  of  a  Greek  cross,  being  both  sacred  and  national  in  its  char- 
acter, the  outside  Iieing  ornamented  with  bas  reliefs  of  a  religious  nature 
and  commemorative  of  the  campaigns  of  iSi  2-15.  In  front  of  it  is  a  large 
stone  platform  from  which  the  Czars  once  proclaimed  their  ukases,  and 
the  block  in  the  center  was  the  public  place  of  e.xecution.  The  criminals 
were  privileged  to  say  their  prayers  before  the  gate  of  the  Redeemer, 
then  marched  across  the  Red  Place  to  the  block  of  execution,  and  when 
they  were  guillotined  their  heads  were  exhibited  upon  the  spiked  wall  of 
the  Kremlin  opposite.  The  church  is  sometimes  called  the  Cathedral 
of  Kazan,  because  it  was  built  by  Ivan  over  the  remains  of  .St.  Basil  to 
commemorate  the  taking  of  Kazan,  the  center  of  the  Tartar  khanate, 
which,  for  centuries,  was  a  terror  to  the  Russians. 

The  Church  of  St.  Basil  the  Idiot,  one  of  the  patron  saints  of  the 
Greek  Church,  is  a  series  of  towers  and  domes,  differing  in  architecture 
and  color,  and  unlike   any  other  ecclesiastical   structure   in   the   world. 


KAZAN.  927 

This  was  ihc  intention  of  Ivan  the  Terrible,  who  built  it.  The  church 
is  outsitle  the  Kremlin  walls.  l'"rom  the  midst  of  a  jumble  of  chapels  a 
tall  steeple  rises,  terminating-  in  a  cross.  Below  the  cross  is  the  crescent. 
Every  other  church  in  Moscow  e.xhibits  the  same  peculiarity  ;  or  rather, 
it  is  one  of  the  thousand  ways  which  the  empire  has  of  keepinjr  the 
power  of  its  arms  before  the  world,  for  thus  the  fact  is  perpetuated  that 
the  Mohammedan  Turk  is  no  longer  master. 

Between  the  two  boulevards  of  which  mention  has  been  made,  and 
in  the  suburbs  beyond,  are  numbers  of  great  public  buildings  and  private 
residences;  several  immense  monasteries,  embracing  within  their  walls, 
churches,  cloisters  and  gardens  ;  the  most  extensive  hospitals  and  two  im- 
]X'rial  residences.  Without  the  St.  Petersburg  gate  are  the  elegant 
summer  palace  and  gardens  where  Napoleon  retired  when  the  flames 
drove  him  from  the  Kremlin. 

The  schools  of  Moscow  are  almost  as  celebrated  as  its  palaces.  It 
not  only  has  a  large  university,  commercial  schools,  theological  semina- 
ries, military  academies,  theatrical  and  agricultural  colleges,  but  such 
institutes  as  those  which  educate  young  ladies  of  noble  birth  only,  or  the 
female  orphan  children  of  servants  of  the  crown.  Museums,  libraries, 
scientific  societies  and  art  institutes  are  as  numerous  as  the  churches  and 
schools,  and  indicate  that  the  ancient  capital  of  Russia  is  not  lagging 
behind  the  world. 

Moscow  is  the  commercial  center  of  the  empire,  and  her  Frozen 
Market,  if  anything,  rivals  that  of  .St.  Petersburg.  There  are  many  per- 
manent markets  in  the  city,  while  industrial  exhibitions  are  frequent. 
Moscow  is  a  laroe  manufacturing  center,  and  such  exhibitions  reveal  the 
o-reat  variety  and  excellence  of  her  work.  All  the  fabrics  are  manufact- 
ured, gold,  silver  and  glassware,  paper,  leather,  beer,  brandy,  etc.,  and 
by  the  most  improved  machinery. 

KAZAN. 

This  city,  the  old  portion  of  which  is  Tartary  itself,  is  on  the  direct 
line  of  greatest  travel  between  Russia  and  Siberia.  It  was  the  center  of 
the  Golden  Horde,  a  Tartar  khanate,  but  since  its  conquest  by  Russia 
in  the  fifteenth  century,  the  old,  unattractive  part  of  the  town  has  been 
occupied  by  the  Tartars.  The  first  Kazan  was  founded  by  a  Tartar 
Khan,  about  forty  miles  from  the  site  of  the  modern  city.  One  of  his 
followers,  while  dipping  water  from  the  river  with  a  caldron,  in  the  course 
of  preparing  a  meal  for  the  hungry  hunting  party,  let  his  vessel  slip  into 
the  stream  and  it  sunk  out  of  sight.     This  accident  made  so  lasting  an 


928 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


ini|)ression  upon  tlie  chief,  especially  as  he  was  far  from  any  orher  cal- 
dron, that  he  named  the  river  Kazan,  or  Kazanka;  the  word  means 
"  river  of  the  caldron."  When  he  built  a  town  upon  its  banks  he  called 
it  Kazan.  The  town  prospered  and  grew  into  a  considerable  city  before 
it  was  captured  and  completely  destroyed  by  Moscow  warriors,  sent  by 
a  Russian  orand  duke  one  hundred  and  forty  years  after  its  foundation. 
The  inhabitants  of  Kazan  were  massacred  without  mercy.  Another 
Tartar  prince  founded  the  second  Kazan,  the  present  city,  which  was 
twice  captured  by  the  Russians,  few  of  the  city's  defenders  surviving 
the  last  siege. 

The  conquerors  have  destroyed  most  of  the  grand  features  of  the 
Tartar  occupancy,  the  Kremlin,  or  citadel,  having  even  been  greatly 
champed.  Many  of  its  former  entrances  have  been  closed  up,  and  its 
towers  converted  into  chapels.  Over  one  of  the  gateways  is  suspended 
a  miraculous  image  of  the  Saviour,  and  near  by  is,  or  was,  a  small,  strange- 
looking  church  which  commemorates  the  capture  of  Kazan,  and  is 
reported  to  have  been  built  by  Ivan  the  Terrible  upon  the  very  day  that 
he  carried  the  Tartar  stronghold.  On  a  considerable  eminence  near  the 
city  is  the  Convent  of  Our  Lady  of  Kazan,  consisting  of  the  building 
proper  and  a  winter  and  a  summer  church. 

From  the  convent  there  is  an  annual  procession  to  the  Kremlin, 
bearing  along  a  representation  of  the  Madonna,  or  patroness  of  the  city, 
which  is  believed  to  be  possessed  of  miraculous  virtues.  .Adjoining  the 
Kremlin  is  the  middle  town,  with  many  grand  private  houses  and  the 
e.xtenslve  bazaar.  These  are  evidences  of  the  importance  of  old  Kazan, 
and  since  it  has  obtained  railway  connections  with  the  western  govern- 
ments they  are  again  coming  into  use.  The  manufactures  in  which 
Kazan  peculiarly  excels  are  those  of  leather  and  soap,  the  Tartars  being 
particularh-  expert  in  the  preparation  of  Russia  leather.  The  city  is 
renowned  in  the  empire  for  its  educational  institutes,  the  university  giving 
especial  attention  to  the  study  of  the  Eastern  languages  and  of  the 
national  history.  To  obtain  a  precise  knowledge  of  the  various  steps 
by  which  the  Tartar  and  Russian  elements  throughout  Russia  have  been 
consolidated  and  scattered,  there  is  no  surer  way  than  to  delve  in  the  rich 
library  of  this  university,  established  in  a  city  where  race  peculiarities 
may  be  so  conveniently  compared. 

Kazan  is  still  a  Tartar  city  upon  wliich  has  been  placed  a  Russian 
stamp.  The  suburbs  are  occupied  exclusively  by  the  Tartars,  their 
dwellings  consisting  principally  of  two-story  wooden  houses,  the  upper 
portion  being  occupied  by  the  owner  and  the  lower  serving  as  a  barn  or 
store-house.     The  women  of  the  higher  classes  are  secluded  as  they  are 


NOVGOROD    THE    GREAT.  9^9 

in  Turkey  and  marry  at  a  very  early  age.  The  men  shave  their  heads, 
trim  their  beards  and  periodically  are  bled  by  their  barbers.  They  wear 
calico  shirts,  wide  drawers  and  often  leather  stockings,  generally  red  or 
yellow  in  color.  The  long  wide  robe  which  covers  all  is  usually  of  blue 
cloth  and  attached  to  the  body  by  a  scarf.  j 

NOVGOROD  THE  GREAT.  ' 

The  territory  through  which  the  railroad  passes  from  St.  Petersburg 
to  Moscow  is  the  historical  nucleus  of  the  Russian  empire.  The  Slavs 
founded  the  town  of  Novgorod  there,  prolxiljly  in  the  fifth  century, 
and  an  independent  State  soon  grew  around  it.  It  was  invaded  by  a 
tribe  of  Northmen,  whom  its  inhabitants  called  the  Rus ;  this  was  after 
Novo-orod  had  been  a  powerful  principality  for  a  century  or  more. 
But  troubles  at  home,  with  the  invasion  of  these  fierce  northern  warriors, 
induced  the  Slavs  and  the  Finns  to  invite  Rurik,  a  prince  of  the  Rus,  to 
become  their  ruler  in  862.  First  he  made  it  the  seat  of  his  government, 
but  the  capital  was  removed  to  Kieff,  in  Southwestern  Russia,  when  his 
son  succeeded  him.  Kieff  was  also  a  Slavic  town,  and  disputes  with 
Novo-orod  the  honor  of  being  the  father  of  the  empire.  For  a  cen- 
tury Novgorod  was  a  dependency  of  Kieff,  ruled  by  governors,  or 
dukes,  and  the  empire  of  the  Rus  dynasty  extended  south  to  the  sea  of 
Azov.  Gradually,  however,  Novgorod  was  granted  such  great  privi- 
leges, commercially  and  politically,  that  she  became  stronger  than  Kieff 
and  finally  independent.  First  she  was  governed  by  grand  dukes,  then 
assumed  a  republican  form  of  government,  so  that  by  the  twelfth  cent- 
ury her  territory  extended  north  a  hundred  miles  beyond  the  present 
site  of  St.  Petersburg,  south  to  near  the  limits  of  the  Government  of 
Moscow  (founded  by  a  prince  of  Kieff),  east  to  the  Ural  Mountains  and 
west  to  the  Baltic  Sea.  Therefore  it  was  that  a  Russian  proverb  arose 
to  express  infallibility  :  "  Who  can  contend  against  God  and  the  great 
Novgorod?"  Novgorod  the  Great  was  long  the  political  power  of 
Northwestern  Russia,  and  the  opulent  commercial  link  connecting 
Europe  with  the  East.  Thousands  of  merchants  flocked  to  the  great 
mart  and  had  their  particular  quarter  in  the  city,  the  Germans  even 
enjoying  a  separate  government.  Its  bazaar  was  a  town  in  itself,  with 
its  long,  covered  galleries  and  accommodations  for  foreign  guests.  The 
city  had  its  great  Kremlin,  within  whose  walls  were  eighteen  churches 
and  150  houses  and  its  inner  and  outer  circle  of  boulevards.  The 
bazaar  buildings  and  galleries  exist,  but  the  thousands  of  visitors  do  not 
crowd  them.  The  trade  of  the  former  commercial  power  is  almost  con- 
fined to  icons,  or  sacred  pictures  of   the  Holy  Trinity,  the  Saviour  or 

59 


930 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


Virgin.  Within  the  walls  of  the  Kremlin,  rebuilt  by  Ivan  the  Great 
who  destroyed  the  liberties  of  the  republic,  is  a  magnificent  bell-shaped 
monument,  rich  with  statuary  and  ornamental  w^ork  and  surmounted  by 
an  ano-el  and  the  Greek  cross;   it  is  to  commemorate  the  one  thousandth 

anniversary  of  the 


Russian  Empire,  and 
was  erected  in  1862. 
The  church  of  Ste.  So- 
phia, a  low-domed  ca- 
thedral, frescoed  and 
is  the  burial- 
of  Russian 
this  is  also 
the     Kremlin 


irilded, 
place 
saints ; 
within 
walls. 

The  princes  of 
Novgorod  were  chosen 
by  a  popular  council 
called  the  Veche, which 
could  also  depose  them 
at  will.  Near  the  pal- 
ace of  the  Archbishop, 
in  a  pretty  green  court- 
yard, is  the  tower  in 
which  once  hung  the 
Veche  bell,  which  sum- 
moned the  citizens  to 
council,  and  when  the 
Grand  Princes  of 
Russia  moved  from 
Kief  to  Vladimir, 
thence  to  Moscow,  the 
Eternal,  as  the  great 
bell  was  called,  was  a 
persistent  discord  to 
their  autocratic  tastes. 
At  last,  in  the  fifteenth 
century,  a  woman  was 
elected  mayoress  of  Novgorod,  and  although  the  princes  now  claimed 
sovereignty  over  the  republic,  she  negotiated  an  alliance  with  Po- 
land.     Russian    arms    and  famine  crushed  the   independence  of    Nov- 


THE    RUSSIAN    HUNTER.  93 1 

gorod  the  Great,  and  the  Eternal  was  carried  in  triumph  to  Mos- 
cow. The  KreniHn  was  rebuilt,  its  first  stone  being  laid  on  a  living 
child.  Even  with  the  greatness  of  Moscow  the  city  of  Novgorod  was 
able  to  contend,  until  Ivan  the  Terrible,  a  century  after  the  republic 
was  destroyed,  discovered  that  the  citizens  had  again  conspired  with 
Poland  against  the  reigning  dynasty.  He  shut  the  inhabitants  up  in 
their  cit)' and  slaughtered  them  without  mercy;  some  say  that  30,000, 
others  that  60,000,  people  were  tortured,  drowned  and  butchered,  out  of 
a  population  of  400,000.  A  plague  followed,  and  though  the  people 
devoured  the  carcasses,  the  ravages  of  man  and  disease  were  so  great 
that  the  river  was  choked  and  overflowed  its  banks.  From  these  hor- 
rors Novgorod  never  recovered,  and  when  St.  Petersburg  w^as  built 
her  ruin  was  completed.  Below  the  bridge  of  Novgorod  there  is  to 
this  day  a  strange  disturbance  of  the  waters,  so  that  ice  is  never  formed. 
By  the  Russians  credit  for  the  commotion  is  given  to  the  spirits  of  those 
drowned  here  by  Ivan  the  Terrible,  and  drivers,  peasants  and  beggars, 
as  they  approach  the  chapel  which  is  at  the  entrance  to  the  bridge,  cross 
themselves,  and,  if  possible,  leave  a  penny  or  a  candle  for  the  good  of 
the  church. 

An  offshoot  of  Novgorod  the  Great  was  Nijni-Novgorod,  where 
the  immense  fair  is  held,  so  long  considered  one  of  the  wonders  of 
Russia.  It  may  be  called  a  village  of  sheds,  standing  upon  a  plain 
on  the  northern  bank  of  the  Volga.  The  fair  is  approached  by  dusty  or 
muddy  roads,  and  Armenians,  Turks,  Chinese,  Tartars  and  Muscovites 
are  all  there,  displaying  their  goods,  as  they  have  been  pictured  ;  and  the 
Chinese  houses  are  there  with  their  projecting  roofs  and  yellow  bells  at 
the  corners  ;  but  since  the  railroad  came  to  Russia  the  race  representa- 
tives are  getting  to  be  less  picturesque  and  the  fairs  and  bazaars  of  either 
St.  Petersburg  or  Moscow  have  greater  attractions.  The  fair  in  January 
is  held  on  the  river  and  is  for  the  sale  of  wood.  The  horse  fair  is  in 
July,  and  during  August  and  September  occurs  the  general  exhibition. 
The  sales  sometimes  amount  to  nearly  $100,000,000. 

THE  RUSSIAN  HUNTER. 

The  field  sports  of  Russia  are  no  child's  play.  Hunting  in  Russia 
means  daneer  and  fatig-ue.  No  soldier  who  ever  started  on  an  uncertain 
campaign  takes  life  more  completely  in  his  hands  than  the  hunter  who 
itarts  out  in  winter  to  track  and  fight  the  elk,  the  bear  or  the  wolf. 

The  wolf  ma)'  be  ridden  down  by  men  on  horseback,  or  he  may  be 
drawn  within  gunshot  by  the  sportsmen  who  drag  a  bundle  behind  their 


932  PANORAMA    OF    XATIOXS.' 

sledge,  inducing  a  young  pig,  whicli  they  have  bound,  to  send  forth  the 
most  enticing  squeals.  This  is  safe  enough  sport  unless  a  ravenous  pack 
should  scent  the  bait,  both  porcine  and  human,  when  the  huntsmen  are 
ai)t  to  think  seriously  of  home. 

The  peasants  are  usually  the  winter  huntsmen  after  the  elk  and  the 
bear  —  that  is,  they  find  them  and  acquaint  the  sportsmen  with  the  local- 
ity of  their  haunts.  While  engaged  in  felling  trees  they  come  across  the 
tracks  of  their  prey  and  trace  them  to  cover.  If  it  is  a  bear  they  have 
tracked  they  may  start  for  St.  Petersburg,  or  any  other  city,  a  hundred 
miles  distant,  and  sell  the  information  to  a  party  of  sportsmen,  accom- 
panying them  to  the  spot.  The  place  Is  then  surrounded  by  peasants 
and  hunters  and  the  dogs  are  loosened.  If  they  can  not  dislodge  the 
sluofcrlsh  brute,  the  trunners  themselves  have  to  do  it;  and  this  asjain  is 
a  dangerous  proceeding,  especially  if  the  bear  is  with  cub.  Occasion- 
ally a  hunter  of  real  grit,  or  considerable  recklessness,  ventures  into  the 
woods  alone  and  starts  in  pursuit  of  Bruin.  One  gentleman  who  had  a 
record  to  make  in  this  line,  discovered  a  bear  asleep  under  the  fallen 
trunk  of  a  tree.  In  order  to  approach  the  beast  noiselessly,  he  took  off 
his  shoes  and  stockings,  and,  walking  over  the  snow,  found  that  its  paws 
were  so  nicely  drawn  over  the  head  that  a  decisive  shot  would  be  impos- 
sible. So  he  poked  the  sleeping  animal  with  his  gun  and  obtaining  a 
good  exposure,  shot  it  in  the  head  —  not  a  very  thrilling  hunting  adven- 
ture, but  one  which  might  have  resulted  fatally. 

The  elk  is  never  asleep,  and  therefore  his  capture  is  considered  an 
honor  to  the  hunter.  He  is  timid,  and  although  awkward  shows  tre- 
mendous speed.  He  is  both  a  great  runner  and  a  great  swimmer,  and 
as  he  frequents  swampy  places  in  the  woods- —  for  those  are  his  favorite 
haunts  —  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  capture  him.  If  shot  at  all,  he  must 
be  taken  on  the  fly,  when  dashing  across  a  narrow  opening  in  the  woods. 
The  elk  was  formerly  used  in  Russia  as  a  draught  animal,  but  his  extra- 
ordinary powers  of  speed  and  endurance  were  taken  advantage  of  by 
criminals  when  they  wished  to  escape  justice  or  evade  suspicion,  and  his 
employment  in  this  capacity  is  now  prohibited. 

In  decided  contrast  to  the  lonely,  adventurous  huntsman  is  the  noble 
of  the  west  of  Russia.  Many  of  the  large  landowners,  particularly  in 
the  German  provinces,  organize  parties  among  themselves.  No  one  is 
excluded  from  the  forest  of  another,  and  for  many  days  the  merry  sports- 
men range  over  vast  tracts  of  country  on  horseback,  and  in  sledges  or 
coaches,  accompanied  by  peasants  and  dogs,  and  sometimes  a  band  of 
musicians  —  the  latter  playing  after  the  regular  sports  of  the  day  are 
over.      Bears  and  wolves,  deer,  elk  and  foxes  are  all  objects  of  the  chase,. 


CRIM    TARTARV.  933 

and  the  party  manage  to  add  romance  to  the  occasion  by  taking  their 
meals  in  a  den,  or  some  haunt  which  was  the  scene  of  a  brute's  death. 
Many  of  these  noble  families  are  hunters  throughout  their  lives,  the  boy 
graduating  to  manhood  only  after  he  has  shot  his  first  elk  or  bear,  and 
the  last  l)cast  slain  by  tlie  old  man  being  considered  an  event  worthy  of 
thorough  discussion  when  he  dies. 

CRIM  TARTARY. 

The  Crimea,  although  subject  to  the  Ottoman  Empire  for  three 
centuries,  was  a  Tartar  kingdom  for  two  hundred  years  ;  when  in  the 
eighteenth  century  it  fell  into  the  jaws  of  the  Russian  bear,  the  last  ves- 
tige of  the  power  fell  which  was  felt  so  heavily  from  the  Ural  mountains 
to  the  Black  Sea.  The  Tartars  o\erran  the  peninsula  in  the  thirteenth 
century  when  Genghis  Khan  laid  Southern  Russia  at  his  feet,  and  the 
bulk  of  the  population  still  represents  a  fragment  of  the  great  Mogul 
Empire. 

The  first  people  of  the  Crimea  were  tlie  Cimmerians.  The  Scyth- 
ians invaded  their  country  and  they  were  driven  to  the  mountains  where 
they  were  called  Tauri.  Its  ancient  name  was  therefore  Chersonesus 
Taurica.  The  Greeks  from  Miletus  came  in  the  sixth  century  li.  c.  and 
founded  a  city  which  exists  in  Caffa  (Southeastern  Crimea),  besides 
establishing  other  colonies.  Mitliridates  drove  the  Greeks  from  the 
peninsula  in  the  second  century,  making  Panticapceum  his  capital.  The 
site  of  the  old  city  is  occupied  by  Kertsch,  a  town  on  one  of  the  penin- 
sulas between  the  Sea  of  Azov  and  the  Black  Sea.  A  mound  in  the 
vicinity  is  said  to  be  the  tomb  of  Rome's  barbaric  enemy,  the  great 
Scythian,  the  King  of  Pontus.  The  modern  town  is  chiefly  noted  as  an 
important  point  for  the  exporting  of  salt, which  forms  an  important  product 
of  the  Crimea.  The  Genoese  and  Venetians  were  expelled  by  the  Tar- 
tars, the  Tartars  submitted  to  the  Ottoman  Turks,  although  retaining 
their  own  Khans,  and  in  i  7S4  the  Crimea  was  annexed  to  Russia. 

The  northern  portion  of  the  peninsula  is  occupied  by  nomads  with 
their  cattle,  while  the  southern  and  more  fertile  slopes  contain  marks  of 
the  Grecian,  Genoese,  Tartar  and  Russian  civilization,  and  the  popula- 
tion is  accordingly  divided.  But  although  a  portion  of  the  Russian  gov- 
ernment the  Crimea  is  essentially  Crim  Tartary.  The  old  capital,  Bakt- 
chiserai  is  situated  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  peninsula.  It  is  con- 
cealed in  a  narrow  valley,  terminating  in  a  narrow  gorge.  The  town 
consists  of  a  single  street  built  along  the  side  of  a  ri\-ulet,  hemmed  in  by 
rock)  clifts,  and  a  number  of  houses  built  into  the  hill  sides.      There  are 


934  PANORAMA   OF    NATIONS. 

several  mosques,  with  fountains,  standing-  out  from  the  hne  of  shops, 
bazaars  and  httle  houses.  At  the  extreme  end  of  the  street  is  the  former 
palace  of  the  Khans,  standing  at  the  side  of  a  neglected  court  and  con- 
sisting of  a  rambling  collection  of  brightly-painted  buildings,  with  trellis 
work,  over  which  vines  are  luxuriating,  and  lattice  windows  looking  out 
upon  pretty  gardens;  of  structures  having  wide  verandas  supported  by 
light,  decorated  pillars,  and,  above  all,  a  wooden  tower  of  Chinese  con- 
struction and  decoration.  Near  by  are  a  mosque,  with  two  minarets,  a 
fountain  shaded  by  willows  and  the  mausoleum  of  the  Khans,  covered, 
with  vines  ambitious  to  hide  the  crumbling  walls. 

The  narrow  valley  which  hides  the  old  Tartar  capital  first  contracts 
into  a  gorge  and  then  opens  into  a  glen,  heavily  wooded  with  oak  and 
beech  trees  and  heaped  with  tombstones.  This  is  the  burial  place  of  the 
Karaites,  a  mysterious  sect  of  Jews  who  are  scattered  over  the  Crimea, 
Poland,  Turkey  and  Austria.  They  hold  to  the  strict  letter  of  the  Script- 
ures and  reject  the  Talmud,  tracing  their  descent  from  Shalmaneser's 
time.  But  wherever  they  go  their  aim  is  to  have  their  bones  deposited 
in  this  Valley  of  jehoshaphat.  A  short  distance  beyond  the  vale  a  grand, 
old  fortress  rises  so  naturally  from  a  rugged  height  that  both  seem  one. 
This  was  the  Jewish  stronghold  from  the  earliest  days,  and  although  the 
Tartars  occupied  it  as  their  first  capital,  before  they  removed  to  Bakt- 
chiserai,  the  Karaites  yet  cling  to  it  as  their  Jerusalem.  "  There  are 
only  two  entrances  to  the  fortress  and  the  massive  gates  are  locked 
every  night.  Down  a  long  flight  of  steps,  cut  out  of  the  living  rock,  is 
a  well  of  delicious  water  which  supplies  the  inhabitants,  the  situation  of 
which  would  render  the  impregnable  position  of  the  fort  utterly  valueless 
in  time  of  war." 

When  the  Russians  obtained  the  Crimea  they  found  on  the  south- 
western coast  a  small  Tartar  village  which  had  so  magnificent  a  harbor, 
naturally,  and  was  in  such  a  favorable  locality  from  which  to  watch  Tur- 
key and  Constantinople  that  they  made  Sebastopol  of  it.  But  though 
their  defense  was  heroic,  Sebastopol,  with  the  true  Russian,  is  always 
another  name  for  humiliation,  and  since  the  allies  destroyed  those  great 
docks,  ship-yards  and  arsenals  the  Russian  cheek  has  always  flushed  at 
mention  of  the  year  1S55.  Since  the  war  the  city  and  fortresses  have  been 
rebuilt  and  it  is  again  to  the  empire  what  Cronstadt  is  on  the  Baltic 
Sea. 

Simferopol,  the  capital  of  the  government  of  Taurida,  of  which  the 
Crimea  forms  a  portion,  was  built  by  the  Russians  upon  the  site  of  a  Tar- 
tar town,  which  was  the  second  in  importance  within  the  Mongol  khan- 
ats.     The  Russian  part  of  the  town  is  laid  out  in  wide  streets  and  large 


THE    HUXGARIAXS.  935 

squares  ;  the  Tartar  portion  is  irregular,  the  houses  are  huts  with  parch- 
ment windows,  the  women  occasionally  wear  loose  drawers  which  fall 
over  tiny  yellow  boots  and  the  men  appear  sometimes  in  the  turban  and 
flowing  robe. 

Odessa,  west  of  the  Crimea,  is  modern  in  every  way.  It  is  the 
principal  commercial  port  of  Russia,  and  as  a  wheat  market  is  noted  the 
world  over.  Wool,  tallow  and  timber  are  also  largely  exported.  The 
principal  promenade  is  the  Boulevard.  A  French  emigrant,  Duke  de 
Richelieu,  whom  the  Czar  appointed  governor,  was  the  founder  of  the 
city's  prosperity,  and  in  the  center  of  the  Boulevard  is  a  bronze  statue 
erected  to  his  memory.  He  laid  out  the  streets,  encouraged  the  com- 
merce of  the  port,  and,  at  last,  although  he  might  have  been  a  wealthy 
man,  he  left  Odessa  with  a  portmanteau  containing  his  uniform  and  two 
shirts,  having  disbursed  the  greater  portion  of  his  income  among  the 
needy. 

THE  HUNGARIANS. 

This  much  has  been  settled  —  that  the  Hungarians  are  akin  to  the 
Finns  and  the  Turks  and  not  to  any  of  the  so-called  Indo-European  races. 
A  similarity  in  some  of  the  customs  of  the  Siberian  tribes  with  their  own 
has  been  already  found,  and  their  language  is  decidedly  Tartaric  in 
its  structure.  In  their  language  they  are  called  Magyars,  and  proudly 
claim  descent  from  the  Huns  Though  kindred  to  the  Turks  they  hold 
themselves  above  them,  and  have  resisted  every  effort  at  assimilation. 
The  Magyars  dwelt  for  a  long  time  near  the  Caucasus  mountains,  but 
as  they  became  powerful  commenced  to  migrate  toward  the  west,  and 
during  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries  conquered  their  present  territory. 
During  the  tenth  and  eleventh  centuries  Christianity  was  introduced 
into  Hungary  and  the  country  became  a  nation,  the  clergy  and  nobility 
constituting  the  ruling  classes.  Still  there  were  national  parties  which 
'ipheld  the  people's  rights.  But  though  the  Hungarians  fought  so 
bravely  against  becoming  a  dependency  of  the  German  Empire  and  the 
House  of  Hapsburg,  the  people  were,  for  many  centuries,  slaves  to  the 
ruling  powers  at  home.  Some  of  the  kings  of  Hungary  figure  as  saints 
in  the  Roman  calendar,  and  the  Pope,  feeling  that  he  had  a  certain  claim 
upon  the  country,  disputed  the  right  of  suzerainty  with  the  Emperor 
himself.  In  the  thirteenth  century  Hungary  was  ravaged  by  the  Tar- 
tars. Subsequently  she  extended  her  territory,  but  persecuted  the  Jews 
and  put  heavier  chains  upon  the  peasantry.  Wars  followed  with  the 
Turks,  the  people  repeatedly  arose  in  rebellion  and  the  thrones  of 
Poland  and  Huntrarv  were   united.     The   nobles   fouirht  amone  them- 


936  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

selves,  the  peasantry  rebelled  against  the  nobility,  the  Turks  destroyed 
the  Hungarians  in  battle  and  the  House  of  Hapsburg  and  the  Sultan 
sat  upon  the  ruins  of  the  kingdom.  But  though  defeated,  they  were 
not  subdued,  and  through  every  conllict  of  arms  or  civil  commotion 
they  bore  away  certain  charters  of  libert}-  which  sanctioned  the  rights 
of  the  Protestants  and  of  the  kingdom.  The  fall  of  the  Turks  before 
Vienna  made  the  House  of  Hapsburg  the  sole  object  of  Hungary's 
opposition.  Maria  Theresa,  for  a  time,  allayed  their  bitter  spirit  by 
her  able  and  womanly  reign. 

But  the  real  spirit  of  reform  was  slowly  taking  shape  and  the  nobil- 
ity became  the  champions  of  the  jieople.  The  peasants  and  Jews  were 
to  be  treated  as  men,  and  freedom  of  speech  and  religious  worship  guar- 
anteed. Measures  looking  to  these  ends  were  carried  at  the  national 
diets.  Counts,  barons  and  citizens  kept  the  agitation  alive  which  cul- 
minated in  the  revolution  and  war  in  which  Kossuth  appeared  as  one  of 
the  heroes  of  history.  The  Russians  and  Austrians  together  over- 
whelmed the  Hungarians,  but  complications  with  France  and  Italy  which 
ended  with  Austria's  defeat  at  Magenta  and  Solferino,  gained  the  day 
for  the  patriots  after  their  condition  as  conquered  rebels  threatened  to 
be  more  unbearable  than  ever.  The  Austro-Hungarian  monarchy  was 
formed,  the  constitution  of  Hungary  including  the  reformatory  princi- 
ples for  which  its  best  leaders  had  striven. 

THE  BOHE^HANS. 

The  proper  name  of  this  people  (for  it  is  the  one  they  accept  them- 
selves) is  the  Czechs.  They  claim  to  be  the  oldest  family  of  the  Slavic 
race,  and  the  word  Czech  implies  t)ie  beginninor.  Their  laneuaee  is 
strong,  and  pronounced  by  linguists  the  most  completely  developed  of 
an\-  Slavic  tongue  and  the  one  of  all  European  languages  which  can  best 
render  the  Greek  and  Latin.  John  Huss'  translation  of  the  Bible  did 
for  it  what  Luther  did  for  the  German  ;  it  established  a  literary  standard 
and  orthograph)',  and  his  disciples,  the  Hussites,  continued  to  make  the 
Czech  so  great  a  language  that  at  one  time  it  threatened  to  become  the 
general  Slavic  tongue.  That  of  Prague  was  the  first  of  the  German 
universities  to  be  founded,  and  numbered,  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
fourteenth  century,  30,000  students.  This  great  educational  institute 
was  a  power  in  spreading  the  knowledge  of  the  national  tongue,  until  in 
the  seventeenth  century  the  Bohemians  rebelled  against  the  ruling 
powers  antl  their  literature  and  language  were  abolished.  Books  by  the 
thousands  and  libraries  by  the  hundreds  were  burned  b\-  the  government 


THE    BOHEMIANS.  937 

and  by  the  Jesuits,  until  it  seemed  as  if  the  work  of  John  Huss  and  his 
followers  would  be  annihilated.  l\Ien  were  destroyed  with  the  books. 
The  Bohemian  heretics  were  banished  from  the  country.  The  Swedes 
who  were  expelled  carried  off  willi  them  many  treasures  of  the  Czech 
literature,  which  are  now  in  the  Stockholm  librarx-,  and  books  in  the 
native  ton^i-ue  were  printed  in  Germany  and  Holland,  indicating  that  the 
Bohemian  language  was  not  born  to  die.  The  result  of  the  Thirty 
Years'  War,  the  efforts  of  native  scholars  for  the  past  century  and  the 
liberal  attitude  of  the  central  government,  first  fi\(;d  b\-  Maria  Theresa, 
have  revived  the  former  vitality  of  the  Czech  nationality.  The  univer- 
sity of  Prague  is  mostly  attended  by  Czech  students  and  its  rector  is  a 
member  of  the  Diet ;  the  Diet  elects  delegates  to  the  Austrian  Reichsrath. 
So  that  this  institution  represents,  in  a  way,  the  Bohemian  race,  politi- 
call)-  and  intellectually.  Not  only  is  the  Czech  literature!  a  feature  of 
the  Bohemian  University,  but  since  the  year  of  American  independence 
it  has  had  a  chair  in  the  University  of  Vienna. 

But  the  national  Slavic  spirit  can  not  be  allayed,  even  with  fair 
treatment,  and  the  political  lines  are  determined  by  German  and  Czech 
blood.  The  contests  between  the  two  nationalities  grow,  if  anything, 
more  and  more  intense.  As  early  as  the  tenth  centur)-,  to  protect 
themselves  against  the  Hungarians  the  Bohemians  sought  to  be  incor- 
porated into  the  German  empire,  but  have  never  given  up  their  hope  of 
some  time  establishing  a  great  .Slavic  empire  in  Austria.  They  are  to- 
day the  most  intelligent  and  industrious  of  the  Slavic  tribes.  They  are 
the  manufacturers  of  Austria,  their  glassware  being  noted  the  world 
over,  while  their  cotton,  linen  and  woolen  goods  are  of  a  very  superior 
quality.  Their  iron  works  and  pajier  factories  are  famous.  The\-  are 
not  only  manufacturerr.  and  agriculturists,  but  musicians  and  poets  of 
no  mean  order.  The  Bohemians  even  claim  a  share  in  the  invention  of 
printing,  on  the  ground  that  Gutenberg  was  originally  from  their  coun- 
try, ami  that  the  press  was  freely  developed  in  it  without  the  aid  of  the 
Germans.  So  that,  considering  the  Bohemians  as  Slavs,  they  must  be 
placed  in  the  lead  of  the  tribes  of  that  race. 

The  earliest  occupants  of  their  land  are  supposed  to  have  the  Boii, 
a  Celtic  tribe,  who  were  driven  away  by  the  Germans,  who  in  turn  pre- 
ceded the  Czechs.  Thus  from  the  first  historical  times  we  see  certain 
races  opposed  instinctively  to  each  other,  like  dogs  and  cats,  being  gov- 
erned by  inherited  prejudices  which  centuries  of  war  have  kept  alive, 
and  which  may  have  originated  in  a  single  bitter  quarrel  between  two 
rival,  primitive  animals;  and  this  conflict  between  the  Celtic  Boii,  who 
o-ave  Bohemia  its  name,  and  the  Germanic  Marcomani,  reminds  one  how 


93^ 


PANORAMA    OF    NATION'S. 


Celts  and  Goths — Celts  and  Anglo-Saxons — could  never  live  at  peace 
together.  One  or  the  other  must  give  way,  and  if  an  ocean  bars  the 
avenue  of  escape,  so  bitter  is  the  feud  that  the  weaker  are  forced  to 
seek  a  home  beyond  the  sea.  To  further  illustrate  this  fact  we  shall 
cross  the  German  ocean  to  the  islands,  which  form  its  western  shores, 
and  to  which  the  Celts  were  driven  by  the  Goths. 


THE  ANGLO-SAXONS. 

IOMjVIENCING  with  Herodotus,  down  a  long  line  of  ancient 
historians,  modern  English  writers  have  industriously  collected 
the  evidence  which  goes  to  prove  that  the  Kimmerians,  or  Kelts, 
from  whom  the  ancient  Britons  were  descended,  about  the  sev- 
enteenth century  before  Christ,  were  driven  out  of  Asia  into 
Europe  by  vast  hordes  of  Scythians,  from  whom  in  turn  have 
been  traced  the  Goths,  the  Germans  and  the  ancient  Saxons. 
The  Kelts,  once  in  Europe,  dashed  again  and  again  against 
Greece  and  Rome.  Shadowy  records  of  these  mighty  conflicts 
are  found  in  the  ancient  traditions  of  Wales  and  in  the  songs 
of  her  bards  which  have  come  down  to  us.  In  Caesar's  time  they  had 
almost  ceased  to  e.xist  on  the  continent,  but  had  crossed  from  France 
into  England  and  had  obtained  much  power.  Their  old  enemies,  the 
Scythians,  or  (as  they  became  generally  known  in  Europe)  the  Goths, 
came  pouring  after  them,  and  followed  in  their  footsteps  of  warring 
against  Rome, 

BASIS  OF  THE  ENGLISHMAN. 


One  of  the  tribes  farthest  removed  from  the  scene  of  bloodshed 
were  the  Saxons.  They  dwelt  on  the  sea  coast  from  the  mouths  of  the 
Rhine  to  the  Baltic  Sea,  and  soon  became  a  terror  to  all  the  maritime 
tribes  and  colonies.  The  .Saxons  were  at  the  head  of  a  confederation 
which  was  finally  formed  for  protection  against  Rome,  and  the  brave 
Jutes  and  Angles  were  their  neighbors.  The  Jutes  were  those  who  were 
first  called  to  England  by  the  Britons  to  drive  back  the  wild  tribes  who 
were  threatening  them  from  the  north.  One  race  of  Kelts,  the  Highland 
Scotchmen,  were  about  to  pour  down  upon  the  southern  tribes,  the 
Britons  ;  and  now  came  over  a  tribe  of  their  ancient  enemies,  the 
descendants  of  those  Scythians  who  had  driven  them  out  of  Asia,  to  save 
Kelt  from  Kelt.     Thus  prodigious  are  the  cycles  of  history. 

Angles  and  .Saxons  followed,  and  Danes  also.  These  are  the  tribes 
which  are  the  foundation  of  the  great  island  kingdom.  Every  school- 
boy knows  it.     But  what  manner  of  people  were  these  who  came  to  the 

939 


940  BASIS    OF    THE    ENGLISHMAN. 

island,  partly  by  invitation  and  partly  by  invasion?  Taine,  the  English 
historian,  thus  tells  ns:  "As  you  coast  the  North  Sea  from  the  Scheldt 
to  Jutland,  you  will  mark  in  the  first  place  that  the  characteristic  feature 
is  the  want  of  slope,  marsh,  waste,  shoal ;  the  rivers  hardly  drag  them- 
selves along,  swollen  and  sluggish,  with  long  black-looking  waves;  the 
flooding  stream  oozes  over  the  banks  and  appears  further  on  in  stagnant 
pools.  In  Holland  the  soil  is  but  a  sediment  of  mud;  here  and  there 
only  does  the  earth  cover  it  with  a  crust,  shallow  and  brittle,  the  mere 
alluvium  of  the  river,  ^vhich  the  river  seems  ever  about  to  destroy.  Thick 
clouds  hover  above,  being  fed  by  ceaseless  exhalations.  They  lazily  turn 
their  violet  Hanks,  grow  black,  suddenly  descend  in  heavy  showers ;  the 
vapor,  like  a  furnace  smoke,  crawls  forever  on  the  horizon.  Thus 
watered,  plants  multiply  ;  in  the  angle  between  Jutland  and  the  Conti- 
nent, in  a  fat,  muddy  soil,  the  verdure  is  as  fresh  as  that  of  England. 
Immense  forests  covered  the  land  even  after  the  eleventh  century.  The 
sap  of  this  humid  country,  thick  and  potent,  circulates  in  man  as  in  the 
plants.  Man's  respiration,  nutrition,  sensation  and  habits  affect  also  his 
faculties  and  his  frame." 

"  Over  the  sea,  flat  on  his  face,  lies  the  monstrous,  terrible  north 
wind,  sighing  and  sinking  his  voice  as  in  secret,  like  an  old  grumbler. 
Rain,  wind  and  surge  leave  room  for  naught  but  gloomy  and  melancholy 
thoughts.  The  very  joy  of  the  billows  has  in  it  an  inexplicable  restless- 
ness and  harshness.  From  Holland  to  Jutland,  a  string  of  small,  deluged 
islands  bears  witness  to  their  ravages.  In  winter  a  breastplate  of  ice 
covers  the  streams;  the  sea  drives  back  the  frozen  masses  as  they  de- 
scend ;  they  pile  themselves  with  a  crash  upon  the  sand  banks  and  sway 
to  and  fro ;  now  and  then  you  may  see  a  vessel,  seized  as  in  a  vise,  split 
in  two  beneath  their  violence.  Picture  in  this  foggy  clime,  amid  hoar- 
frost and  storm,  in  these  marshes  and  forests,  half  naked  savages,  a  kind 
of  wild  beasts,  fishers  and  hunters,  but  especially  hunters  of  men  ;  these 
are  they,  Saxons,  Angles,  Jutes,  Frisians;  later  on,  Danes,  who  during 
the  fifth  and  ninth  centuries,  with  their  swords  and  battle-axes  took  and 
kept  the  island  of  Britain.  A  rude  and  foggy  land  like  their  own,  except 
in  the  depth  of  its  sea  and  the  safety  of  its  coasts,  which  one  day  will 
call  up  real  fleets  and  mighty  vessels;  green  England — the  word  rises  to 
the  lips  and  expresses  all." 

W'lien  tlie  Norman  brought  his  softer  wa)-s  to  Great  Britain  he 
found  the  Anglo-.Saxon  "a  magnificent  animal,"  broad-shouldered,  deep- 
chested,  a  tremendous  eater;  hardy,  independent,  even  stubborn;  a 
native  with  a  splendid  p]i\sique  and  a  hard  head  ;  a  lover  of  his  s  iUg 
kingdom  and  his  adopted  home.     The  Anglo-Saxon  was  broadened  in 


THE    LESS    RULING    THE    GREAIEK.  94 1 

his  ideas  by  the  new  comer,  without  being  alienated  from  his  country. 
He  commenced  to  look  beyond  Great  Britain,  and  the  spirit  of  adventure 
and  conquest  which  he  had  as  an  Angle,  as  a  Saxon  antl  as  a  Dane, 
took  possession  of  liini  and  has  never  left  him.  A  healthy  brain  in  a 
healthy  body  has  pushed  his  name  and  power  around  the  globe. 

THE  LESS  RULING  THE  GREATER. 

Great  Britain  presents  one  of  the  most  remarkable  instances  of 
intellectual  achievement,  in  the  matter  of  conquest,  which  the  world  has 
ever  known.  The  Russian  Empire  is  great,  but  the  Russians  are  in  the 
majority,  at  least  three  to  one.  The  Empire  of  Great  Britain  is  greater 
in  square  miles,  its  population  is  nearly  three  times  as  great,  and  yet  the 
people  of  the  dependencies  outnumber  the  inhabitants  of  the  parent 
country  at  least  in  the  ratio  of  five  to  one. 

Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  Australia  and  America  have  seen  the  fleets 
of  England,  and  been  colonized  or  conquered  by  people  from  her  shores. 
The  Englishman  is  the  universal  traveler,  and  there  is  not  a  desert  in 
Africa  or  a  forest  in  Australia,  or  a  field  of  ice  in  the  Arctics,  where  man 
has  gone,  that  his  feet  have  not  trod;  and  in  this  connection  we  mean 
not  only  the  Englishman  of  Great  Britain,  but  that  other  great  repre- 
sentative of  the  race,  the  American  of  the  United  States.  The  telegraph 
and  the  railroad  have,  done  for  Great  Britain  what  could  not  otherwise 
have  been  accomplished  if  every  Englishman  had  been  a  walking  arsenal. 
Submarine  cables  and  trans-continental  telegraphs  and  railroads  not  only 
bind  her  distant  dominions  to  herself,  but  make  each  a  unit  in  itself. 

EXPLORING  THE  THAMES. 

Englishmen  are  the  greatest  though  not  the  most  unbiased  travelers 
in  the  world.  They  will  penetrate  x\frica  and  Australia,  but  one  of  their 
number  makes  the  confession  that  few  have  ever  attempted  to  explore 
the  Thames  to  its  source.  Those  who  have  are  almost  as  much  in  doubt 
whether  they  have  found  it  as  the  African  explorers  were  regarding  the 
source  of  the  Nile.  Two  screams  rise  in  the  Cotswold  Hills,  in  Glou- 
cester, and  the  one  which  has  been  called  the  Thames  runs  more  in  the 
general  direction  of  the  river,  but  its  source  is  not  as  distant  from  the 
mouth  as  the  rivulet  which  is  called  the  Churn.  But  they  forget  their 
differences,  like  sensible  streams,  and  join  for  the  good  of  the  common 
river.  A  few  miles  further  on  two  other  tributaries  are  received  and 
the  Severn's  waters  also  flow  into  the  Thames  through  a  wonderful 
little  canal  which  pierces  the  Cotswold  Hills  by  means  of  a  tunnel.     The 


942  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

river  here  commences  to  earn  its  title  of  the  Broad  Water,  running 
through  a  pleasant,  hilly  country,  with  the  dignit)-  of  a  young  man  who 
has  cast  his  first  vote.  Its  course  is  toward  Oxford  by  wa)' of  the  village 
of  Shifford,  where  King  Alfred  once  held  his  parliament.  Near  by  is  a 
substantial  bridge  thrown  across  the  Thames  six  hundred  years  ago.  It 
is  named  the  New  Bridge  and  is  the  oldest  one  on  the  river.  Numerous 
locks  and  weirs,  with  a  tow  path  on  either  side,  show  the  former  impor- 
tance of  the  river  as  a  navigable  stream,  but  the  line  of  smoke  and  steam 
which  is  frequently  drawn  across  the  neighboring  landscape  and  the 
triumphant  whiz  of  a  train  of  cars  are  sufficient  explanations  of  the  almost 
deserted  appearance  of  the  river. 

It  is  peculiarly  appropriate  to  approach  the  calm,  stately  and  vener- 
able Oxford,  by  way  of  the  slowly-moving  Thames.  The  spires  of  its 
churches  and  the  great  university  buildings  give  the  impression,  from  a 
distance,  that  one  is  approaching  a  large  city.  But  the  university  is  all. 
The  streets  are  narrow  and  crooked,  but  the  noble  colleges  and  churches 
which  go  to  make  up  the  university,  and  the  quaint  old  houses  form  a 
striking  scene.  The  distracting  hum  of  machinery  and  the  vexatious 
smoke  of  manufactories  do  not  disturb  its  serenitv  ;  but  asrainst  the 
coming  of  the  railroad,  and  its  necessary  stir,  the  authorities  of  the 
university  could  not  plant  their  English  feet  and  set  their  square  English 
chins  firmly  enough. 

OXFORD. 

Before  there  was  any  England  there  was  an  Oxford.  When  the 
kings  of  the  Heptarchy  were  fighting  like  crows,  the  university  of  Oxford 
was  a  collection  of  monasteries,  religious  and  secular  schools.  The  teach- 
ers formed  an  association  that  might  settle  questions  of  general  interest, 
and  the  university  was  conceived.  Alfred  the  Great  liked  to  reside  in 
Oxford  and  visit  her  schools,  and  by  the  ninth  century  the  Church  itself 
recognized  it  as  a  seat  of  learning.  Bloody  Queen  Mary  acknowledged 
its  importance,  also,  in  the  persecutions  which  she  waged  against  the 
Protestant  lights  of  both  Cambridge  and  Oxford  universities.  Cranmer, 
Ridley  and  Latimer,  all  fellows  of  Cambridge  University  and  high  in 
favor  with  Henry  VIII.,  were  brought  to  trial  by  the  Catholic  Queen 
and  burned,  opposite  Baliol  College.  As  long  as  the  Church  of  England 
stands,  to  say  the  least,  the  message  of  brave  old  Latimer,  Bishop  of 
Worcester,  will  be  quoted  to  posterity.  Turning  to  Ridley,  his  fellow 
martyr,  he  exclaimed  in  homely  st\le  :  "  Be  of  good  comfort.  Master 
Ridley,  and  play  the  man  ,  we  shall  this  daylight  such  a  candle,  by  God's 
grace,  in  England,  as  I  trust  shall  never  be  put  out."     Master  Ridley, 


FROM  OXFORD  TO  WINDSOR.  943 

the  Bishop  of  Rochester,  was  as  brave  as  he,  and  Archbishop  Cranmer 
of  Canterlniry  died  a  penitent  that  his  mortal  fears  had  swerved  him 
from  the  faith  he  professed.  The  Martyrs'  Memorial,  which  marks  the 
place  of  execution,  is  a  monument  both  to  personal  bravery  and  the 
Church  of  England. 

Of  the  twenty  colleges  which  compose  the  university  of  O.xford,  Ba- 
liol  is  the  most  democratic,  refusing  to  admit  anyone  who  claims  any 
privilege  on  account  of  rank  or  wealth.  Christ  Church  is  the  most  mag- 
nificent and  supports  the  greatest  number  of  students;  it  is  a  cathedral 
as  well  as  a  college,  and  was  founded  by  Henry  VIII.  The  oldest  insti- 
tution is  University  College,  founded  in  the  thirteenth  century  upon  a 
school  which  is  said  to  have  been  established  by  Alfred  the  Great. 

The  governing  bodies  of  the  University  are  the  House  of  Congre- 
gation, consisting  of  heads  of  colleges  and  halls,  masters  of  schools, 
professors,  deans,  etc.,  etc.,  which  grants  the  ordinary  degrees  ;  the 
House  of  Convocation,  composed  of  regents,  which  confers  honorary 
degrees  and  fills  the  university  offices  ;  the  Congregation  of  the  Univer- 
sity, including  the  chancellor,  heads  of  colleges  and  halls,  the  canons  of 
Christ  Church  College,  a  portion  of  the  members  of  the  Convocation, 
etc.,  etc.,  which  body  acts  as  a  sort  of  Upper  House  to  discuss  and 
amend  the  statutes  proposed  by  the  Hebdomadal  Council  ;  the  Heb- 
domadal Council  has  as  its  members  the  chancellor,  vice-chancellor, 
proctors,  and  a  certain  number  elected  from  the  heads  of  colleges  and 
halls  and  from  the  House  of  Convocation.  The  chancellor,  who  is  the 
head  of  the  corporate  body  of  the  University,  is  elected  for  life  by  the 
House  of  Convocation,  the  honor  being  conferred  upon  noblemen.  All 
matters  of  legislation  originate  in  the  Hebdomadal  Council,  pass  to  the 
Congregation  of  the  University,  and  are  adopted  or  rejected  by  the 
House  of  Convocation. 

FROM   OXFORD  TO  WINDSOR. 

Between  the  counties  of  Oxford  and  Berks  the  river  makes  a  bold 
bend,  and  at  the  southern  point  of  the  loop  meets  the  Thames,  a  stream 
from  the  west.  In  controlling  the  course  of  the  Thames  this  was  con- 
sidered quite  a  strategic  point  by  the  old  warriors  of  England,  and  con- 
sequently they  erected  earthworks  at  this  point  which  are  still  visible. 
This  is  the  neighborhood,  also,  of  Roman  camps,  the  head-waters  of  the 
river  flowing  from  the  region  of  quite  a  system  of  Roman  roads  ;  but 
south  of  Oxford  the  spots  of  history  commence  to  touch  more  closely 
the  modern  times.     Amonsj  the  most  interestinof  localities  is  Chalcrrove 

o  o  o 


944  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

Field,  where  Hampden  was  slain.  Soon,  however,  the  beauties  of  the 
landscape  draw  one's  mind  from  brave  men  and  their  brave  ends.  The 
little  islands  covered  with  trees  or  reeds,  the  wooded  or  grassy  banks, 
with  picturesque  cottages  and  inns  creeping  down  to  the  very  edge,  of 
the  sunny  waters  ;  the  mill-dams  over  which  the  bright  waters  foam,  the 
horses  and  plowmen  in  the  fields,  and  the  absorbed  angler  on  the  shore, 
make  the  English  landscape  the  restful  and  yet  animating  influence 
which  it  is. 

It  was  in  this  school  that  many  of  the  English  poets  were  educated, 
and  even  so  bad-humored  a  wit  and  man  as  Pope  could  not  resist  the 
temptation  to  retire  to  the  lovely  banks  of  the  Upper  Thames,  hide 
himself  in  a  mellow  old  castle,  forget  his  deformities  and  write  transla- 
tions and  pretty  verses.  Before  your  boat  reaches  Reading  you  will 
also  pass  a  pleasant  village  to  which  Warren  Hastings  retired  while 
Burke  was  thundering  at  him  for  his  doings  in  the  East.  At  Reading 
the  Kennet  flows  in  from  the  south,  and  upon  its  banks  the  courtly, 
scholarly  and  earnest  Falkland  fell  in  battle,  fighting  for  his  King 
against  the  people.  His  home  was  a  few  miles  from  Oxford  and  he 
died  not  far  from  it. 

The  waters  above  Reading  in  the  estimation  of  Young  England  are 
as  historical  as  any  in  the  world,  for  here  were  rowed  many  of  those 
famous  university  matches,  the  results  of  which  are  flashed  over  the 
Western  world.  It  is  unaccountable  how  those  university  students  for 
so  many  years  could  have  shot  by  the  beauties  lying  along  Henley 
Reach,  looking  only  straight  ahead  to  the  stake  boat.  Above  the  old 
university  course  for  a  dozen  miles  the  scenery  is  even  more  lovely,  the 
chalky  cliffs  bearing  upon  their  seamed  sides  thick  groves  of  beech  trees, 
the  swelling  hills  clothed  in  ricli  verdure  meeting  them  half  way  ;  or 
from  the  low  banks  of  either  shore  great  trees,  tangled  shrubbery  and 
matted  reeds  all  bend  gracefully  forward  in  continual  salutation. 

FROINI  WINDSOR  TO  LONDON. 

As  the  cliffs  and  hills  and  cool  shadows  of  this  charmed  stretch  of  the 
Thames  are  left  behind,  the  towers  of  Windsor  Castle  appear  over  the 
trees.  The  castle,  forest  and  grounds  form  one  of  the  most  magnificent 
royal  domains  in  the  world.  The  buildings,  which  cover  twelve  acres, 
overlook  the  Thames,  and  from  the  tower  twelve  counties  pass  under  the 
eye.  The  great  park  is  nearly  three  sc^uare  miles  in  area  and  the  forest 
west  of  it  is  fifty-six  miles  in  circuit.  The  Saxon  kings  loved  the  beauties 
of  this  locality.  William  the  Conqueror  built  the  castle,  which  has  been 
repeatedly  enlarged  and  several  times  almost  rebuilt.     King  John  dwelt  at 


1-KOM    WINDSOR    TO    LONDON.  945 

Windsor  while  the  barons  were  jjreparing  Magna  Charta  at  Runnymede, 
and  James  of  Scotland  was  a  prisoner  here.  In  the  vaults  of  St.  George's 
chapel  lie  the  bodies  of  kings,  queens  and  dukes.  Prince  Albert  is 
buried  in  the  beautiful  jiark  of  Windsor  where  Queen  Victoria  passed 
many  hours  with  him  during  their  wetUled  life. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  river,  standing  somewhat  back  from  its 
borders,  is  Eton  College,  a  substantial-looking  building  which  from  a 
distance  resembles  a  combined  fortress,  monastery  and  church.  It  was 
founded  by  Henry  VI.  four  centuries  and  a  half  ago,  who  established 
Kine's  College,  Cambridge,  at  the  same  time.  The  royal  plan  of  making 
Eton  a  preparatory  school  to  King's  has  been  followed  to  this  day  and 
provision  is  also  made  at  Oxford  for  two  of  the  graduates  who  are  not 
elected  for  admission  to  Cambridge. 

A  little  nearer  London  and  the  Council  Meadow,  Runn\-mede  is 
reached.  Opposite  is  Magna  Charta  Island,  where  King  John  signed  the 
instrument  w-hich  was  the  basis  of  the  English  constitution.  The  barons 
and  their  followers  camped  upon  the  meadow  within  plain  sight  of  the 
King,  and  a  delegation  carried  the  paper  for  him  to  sign.  King  John 
was  aware  that  this  meant  sign  or  resign,  and  when  the  charter  was  laid 
upon  a  stone  for  his  action  he  did  not  long  hesitate.  A  rock,  which  is 
said  to  be  the  historic  one,  is  preserved  in  the  little  cottage  to  which  many 
curiosity  seekers  repair. 

A  bend  in  the  river  between  Middlesex  and  Surrey,  as  one  descends 
the  stream  toward  Kingston,  is  called  Coway  Stakes.  On  arriving  at 
the  south  bank,  Julius  Caesar  found  that  the  Britons  were  drawn  up  on 
the  opposite  shore,  which  they  had  fortified  by  a  palisade  of  sharpened 
stakes.  There  was  a  similar  fortification  in  the  bed  of  the  river.  But 
Caesar's  legions  dashed  into  the  water,  which  was  up  to  their  necks,  and 
surmounting  all  obstacles,  put  the  enemy  to  flight.  The  Roman  was 
invading  the  territory  of  the  British  general,  Cassivelaunus,  and  this 
was  the  only  point  where  the  Thames  could  be  crossed  on  foot.  Past 
the  house  in  which  Garrick  once  resided,  the  palace  and  gardens  of 
Hampton  Court,  past  villas  and  villages,  the  river  sweeps  which  was 
never  destined  to  be  the  pride  of  a  Southern  race;  past  Kingston, 
where  the  Saxon  monarchs  were  crowned,  the  Thames  washes  the 
estate  which  Pope  adorned  with  temple  and  grotto  and  madt;  so 
famous  that  kings,  statesmen  and  noble  ladies  sought  him  there.  The 
villa  is  eone.  A  few  fragments  of  the  grotto  remain.  The  sensitive, 
diseased  poet  and  wit  is  gone,  and  the  mother  whom  he  cherished  as 
the  only  one  on  earth  he  could  love  without  reserve.  The  Thames 
flows    by    them    all,    and   the   church  at    Twickenham,   which  contains 


946  PAXORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

his  toml),  ma)'  cast  a  shadow  over  its  margin.  The  inscription  on 
his  monument  proclaims  that  he  "  would  not  be  buried  in  Westminster 
Abbey." 

At  this  point  the  Thames  brings  us  near  the  suburban  parks  of 
London  and  the  outlying  villages.  Having  left  the  gracious  parks  around 
the  pretty  suburbs  of  Richmond  and  Brentford,  the  distant  stir  of  the 
mighty  city  is  almost  felt  in  the  air. 

LONDON  AND  "LONDON  CITY." 

By  entering  London  from  the  west  the  mighty  metropolis  is 
approached  from  its  most  favorable  direction  ;  few  Londoners  would 
agree,  however,  as  to  the  limits  of  their  city,  for  the  pcstoffice,  the  par- 
liamentary, the  police  and  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works  districts 
are  all  different.  London  City,  officially,  lies  partly  within  the  limits  of 
the  old  Roman  walls,  which  have  disappeared.  Gates  were  subsequently 
added  to  the  walls,  and,  for  many  years,  Temple  Bar  was  regarded  as 
the  site  of  the  ancient  town's  western  gate,  being  the  official  boundary 
between  the  fashionable  and  magnificent  West  End  and  the  city.  This 
supposition  has  been  dispelled,  but  the  boundary  remains.  Memories  of 
the  old  times  are  kept  green  by  retaining  such  names  as  Newgate  for 
the  oldest  London  prison,  and  London  Wall  for  a  street  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  city.  F"rom  the  east  the  walls  commenced  at  the  Tower  of 
London,  which  has  the  credit,  with  some,  of  being  built  by  Julius  Csesar, 
and  they  were  afterwards  extended  along  the  Thames,  the  western  point 
being  Ludgate,  which  has  long  since  disappeared,  but  Ludgate  Hill 
still  stands.  There  were  seven  gates  when  the  wall  was  carried  around 
the  northern  districts  of  the  city,  as  is  supposed,  by  Constantine  the 
Great. 

London  City  is  governed  by  the  Lord  Mayor  and  the  Corporation, 
its  extreme  eastern  and  western  limits  being  the  Tower  and  the  City  of 
Westmmster,  with  the  River  Thames  as  its  southern  base.  Its  area  is 
less  than  a  square  mile,  of  which  370  acres  are  "within  the  walls." 
Within  this  area  the  metropolitan  police  and  commissioners  of  public 
works  have  no  control,  the  city  sustaining  its  own  departments  and  being 
accountable  to  Parliament.  This  indepf^ndent  corporation,  the  wealthiest 
in  the  world,  has  authority  for  its  existence  in  charters  which  were 
granted  by  William  the  Conqueror  after  the  battle  of  Hastings  and  1)\- 
Henry  I.  in  iioo.  The  chief  magistrate  received  the  official  title  of  Lord 
Mayor  in  i  191. 

But  when  the  registrar   obtains  his  figures   for   the  population   of 


THE    FASHIONAliLE    WEST    END.  947 

London  he  does  not  rest  satisfied  with  the  city  and  its  80,000  people, 
but,  as  stated,  includes  the  territory  subject  to  the  Board  of  Works. 
This  comprises  the  city  of  Westminster  and  Southwark,  a  borough  south 
of  IJKt  River  Thames;  the  Tower  Hamlets  and  (ireenwich,  to  the  east; 
and  a  dozen  northern  ami  western  suburbs,  amont;-  which  may  be  men- 
tioned Marylebone,  Kensington  and  Chelsea.  There  are  many  popu- 
lous parishes  in  the  center  of  London  but  west  of  the  City.  This  is  the 
London  which  contains  5,000,000  people  and  is  the  largest  and  most 
opulent  city  in  the  workl. 

THE   FASHIONABLE  WEST  END. 

In  the  West  End  are  the  fine  squares  and  club-houses  for  which 
London  is  noted,  ami  here  also  is  the  brilliant  Piccadilly  street  in  which 
so  much  of  the  wealth  and  fashion  of  England  is  congregated.  Reoent 
street,  the  handsomest  perhaps  in  London,  where  the  ladies  shop  and 
which  promenaders  of  both  sexes  greatly  frequent,  crosses  Piccadilly. 
Belgravia,  the  southern  portion  of  the  West  End,  is  a  mass  of  great 
squares,  in  which  grow  beautiful  trees,  and  which  are  surrounded  by 
mansions  of  nobles  and  merchant  princes.  The  northern  division  of  the 
West  End  is  known  as  Tyburnia,  professional  men,  artists,  and  the  less 
wealthy  class  of  merchants  having  their  residences  here. 

The  outer  districts  of  the  West  End  are  beautified,  also,  by  the 
grandest  of  London's  royal  parks,  and  in  pleasant  weather  Regent's  and 
Hyde  Parks,  and  Kensington  Gardens,  with  their  museums,  palaces, 
lakes  and  wide  drives,  collect  more  high  breeding,  princely  men  and 
women,  gorgeous  and  elegant  equipages  and  costumes  than  can  be 
shown  elsewhere  in  the  world  within  a  like  space.  On  the  site  of  the 
Crystal  Palace,  in  Hyde  Park,  is  the  splendid  memorial  to  Prince 
Albert.  He  is  represented  as  seated  under  a  canopy,  the  richly-carved 
and  minaret-like  roof  terminating  in  a  cross.  The  main  exposures  of 
the  monument  present  a  multitude  of  marble  portraits  of  illustrious 
Englishmen,  while  at  the  four  corners  of  the  inclosure  Europe,  Asia, 
Africa  and  America  are  symbolized  in  stone.  The  Albert  Hall  is  oppo- 
site the  Memorial,  and  the  Kensington  Museum  buildings  near  by.  In 
Regent's  Park  are  the  lartje  botanical  and  zoologrical  gardens.  East  of 
Kensington  Palace,  one  of  the  Queen's  town  residences  and  where  she 
was  born,  are  the  unrivalled  gardens.  A  bridsje  over  a  charminsf  arti- 
ficial  body  of  water,  called  the  Serpentine,  connects  Kensington  Gardens 
with  those  other  royal  grounds,  Hyde  Park.  East  of  Hyde  Park  is 
Green  Park,  entered  beneath  a  triumphal  arch  surmounted  by  an  eques- 


948 


PANORAMA    OF    NATION'S. 


trian  statue  of  Wellington.  L'pon  the  road  connecting  H\de  Park  with 
St.  James  Park  is  Buckingham  Palace,  witli  a  magnificent  ball-room  and 
throne-room,  but  an  architectural  eye-sore  to  most  of  the  English  mon- 
archs.  The  Queen  seldom  visits  it.  The  royal  receptions  are  usually 
held  in  St.  James  Palace,  fronting  the  park  by  that  name.  The  palace 
is  at  the  end  of  Pall  Mall,  in  wliich  club-house  thoroughfare  is  Marlbor- 
ough House,  the  residence  of  the  Prince  of  Wales. 

thp:  city. 


Trafalgar  Square,  within   easy  walking  distance  of  Charing  Cross 
(the  official  headquarters  of  the  cab  service)  the  Houses  of  Parliament, 

art  galleries,  club 
rooms,  etc.,  besides  the 
imposing  statue  to  Nel- 
son and  other  works  of 
art,  is  a  favorite  resort 
for  pleasure  seekers, 
politicians  and  mer- 
chants passing  back 
and  forth  between  the 
West  End  and  the 
City.  The  Houses  of 
Parliament  consist  of 
a  vast  structure  lying 
between  the  Thames 
and  W^  e  s  t  m  i  n  s  t  e  r 
Abbey  and  having  a 
river  front  of  900  feet. 
Its  central  spire  and 
its  belfry  are  each  300 
feet  in  height.  West- 
minster  hall,  over  100 
feet  in  height,  with  an 
area  in  proportion, occupies  the  hall  of  the  old  royal  palace  where  some  of 
the  first  parliaments  were  held.  The  House  of  Lords  is  finely  propor- 
tioned and  gorgeously  finished, containing  the  Queen's  throne,  the  Prince's 
chair,  tlu;  Lord  Chancellor's  wool-sack  (a  chair  cushioned  with  wool),  and 
statues  of  the  barons  who  brought  the  charter  to  King  John  at  Runny- 
mede  and  compelled  him  to  sign  it.  If  the  Queen  is  to  arrive,  two 
hours  before  her  coming  the  cellars  underneath  the  House  are  carefully 


4- 


m 


/" 


./ 


'ih  i  ':     If    • 


l#f    if 


NOTED  PICTURE  OF  LOT'S  WIFE. 


THE    CITY. 


949 


examined  in  fear  of  anotlier  gunpowder  plot.  Tlie  House  of  Commons 
is  comparatively  plain.  Of  the  other  vast  government  buildings,  .Somer- 
set House  is  perhaps  the  most  noticeable,  it  being  a  quadrangular  struct- 
ure with  a  river  frontage  of  600  feet. 

Soon  after  leaving   Parliament  street  Westminster  Abbey   comes 
into  view,  with  its  square  towers  and  majestic  stretch  of  buttresses  and 


PIECE  OF  STATUARY. 


pinnacles.  Here  the  monarchs  of  England  were  crowned  for  centuries, 
and  many  of  them  buried.  Clustered  around  the  east  end  of  the  Abbey 
are  several  chapels,  those  of  Henry  VH.  and  Edward  the  Confessor 
being  the  most  noticeable.  Edward  was  the  first  monarch  crowned  in 
Westminster,  and  his  shrine  appears  in  the  middle  of  his  chapel.  Queen 
Elizabeth  and   Mary  Stuart  have   their   monuments   in    Henry's  chapel, 


950  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

while  within  calHng  distance  are   the   mortal   parts  of  those  souls  whom 
Enoland  delights  to  honor. 

St.  Paul's  Cathedral  stands  upon  the  highest  ground  in  the  city,  on 
Ludgate  Hill.  The  old  church  was  burned  in  the  great  London  fire, 
the  present  cathedral  being  built  in  1 675-1  710  by  Sir  Christopher  Wren^ 
one  of  the  world's  great  architects.  It  would  not,  in  fact,  be  honoring 
him  too  much  to  call  him  the  builder  of  modern  London,  for  no  one 
else  accomplished  so  much  to  restore  it  after  the  disastrous  conflagra- 
tion of  1666  ;  not  only  was  he  the  architect  of  St.  Paul's,  where  he  is 
buried,  but  of  fifty  other  churches,  of  the  Royal  Exchange,  the  Custom 
House,  the  monument  near  the  foot  of  London  bridge  commemorative 
of  the  fire,  the  Greenwich  Observatory,  and  hospitals,  colleges  and  pal- 
aces, which  make  a  list  fit  for  a  directory.  St.  Paul's  is  built  after  St. 
Peter's,  and  besides  being  a  monument  to  genius  itself,  contains  memorials 
of  Nelson,  Dr.  Johnson,  Wellington,  Napier  and  John  Howard,  and  the 
tombs  of  such   illustrious   persons  as   the  artists  Turner  and  Reynolds. 

At  the  foot  of  Ludgate  Hill  is  Fleet  street,  which  is  the  Newspaper 
Row  of  London,  and  the  London  Times,  with  its  foundries  and  tele- 
graph system,  its  army  of  employes  and  military  precision,  is  printed 
not  far  away  in  Water  lane.  The  western  bounds  of  the  Hill  are  at 
Temple  Bar,  and  beyond  is  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields,  a  great  square  and 
resort  for  the  legal  profession. 

The  British  Museum  dates  from  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century  and  the  great  solid  building,  with  its  columned  porticoes,  from 
the  commencement  of  the  nineteenth.  The  noble  dome,  which  covers  the 
reading  room  of  the  library  is  larger  than  .St.  Peter's  and  only  a  few  feet 
smaller  than  the  Pantheon.  Among  the  other  features  of  the  library 
which  has  made  it  almost  unrivalled — the  national  library  at  Paris  being 
its  competitor — are  the  collection  of  manuscripts  and  the  department  of 
Hebrew  literature.  Of  greatest  value  in  the  department  of  antiquities 
of  the  Museum  are,  perhaps,  the  Egyptian  and  Assyrian  collections. 
The  collection  of  natural  history  is  remarkably  complete,  having  an  only 
rival  in  that  of  the  Museum  of  Paris,  which  institution,  as  a  whole,  is  the 
only  one  in  the  world  which  compares  with  the  British  Museum. 

The  centers  of  the  city's  vast  political,  commercial  and  financial 
activity  are  arouml  the  Bank  of  England,  Threadneedle  street,  the 
Royal  E.xchange,  the  Mansion  House  and  the  Custom  House.  Thames, 
Cornhill,  Cheapside,  Fenchurch,  Leadenhall  and  \"ictoria  streets  are 
solidly  packed  with  pedestrians  antl  \ehicles  for  nine  hours  of  the  day. 
The  Mansion  House,  the  residence  of  the  Lord  Mayor,  is  connected 
with  Blackfriars  Bridge  by  Victoria  street.      Perhaps  the  most  continu- 


THE    CITY, 


Q=;i 


oi..^  the  densest  traffic,  is  between  the  Bank  of  En;^rland  and  the  Man- 
sion House.  It  is  said  to  average  60,000  persons  in  a  day  of  nine 
hours.  A  street  from  Cheapside,  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  leads  lo  the 
Guildhall,  where  many  of  the  societies  of  tradesmen  meet.  The\-  are 
the  oroanized  voters  of  London,  and  as  such  are  intimately  connected 
with  the  Corporation.  The  organiza- 
tion of  some  of  the  guilds  dates  back 
a  thousand  years,  many  of  them  be- 
ing very  wealthy  and  owning  beauti- 
ful halls,  where  they  give  lavish  en- 
tertainments. The  Guildhall  is  used 
by  those  who  have  not  their  own 
place  of  assembly,  and  is  the  cen- 
ter of  as  much  political  life  as 
the  Mansion  House  of  the  Lord 
Mayor. 

The  traffic  over  the  bridges  of 
the  Thames,  particularly  over  Lon- 
don Bridge,  is  tremendous.  The 
river  is  tunneled,  but  the  pressure  of 
travel  is  so  great  that  it  is  hardly 
relieved.  The  south  side  of  the 
Thames  is  bordered  by  a  magnifi- 
cent embankment  called  the  Al- 
bert ;  across  the  river  is  the  Vic- 
toria. The  Albert  embankment  is 
lined  with  stately  residences  and 
other  buildings,  but  terminates 
among  the  manufactories  of  Lam- 
beth. 

The  great  streets  of  London 
generally  follow  the  Thames,  and 
the  embankments,  of  comparatively 
recent  construction,  are  broad 
quays  along  the  river  banks  sim- 
ilar to  those  of  Paris.  The  \'ic- 
toria  embankment  runs  from  Westminster  to  Blackfriars  Bridge, 
with  Waterloo  between.  The  latter  is  over  1,200  feet  in  length, 
one  of  the  finest  structures  of  the  kind  in  existence,  and  was 
opened  to  the  public  upon  the  second  anniversary  of  the  battle 
of   Waterloo. 


952 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

LOXDQX  TOWER   AND  THE   DOCKS. 


One  of  the  most  interestint;'  of  the  man\'  excursions  which  may  be 
talcen  from  London  Cit_\-  in  all  directions,  is  th;it  which  terminates  at  the 

London  and  India 
docks  b\-  wa)'  of 
Tower  Hill.  The 
Fower  I  lamlets, 
east  of  London, and 
other  suburbs  in 
the  vicinity,  are  to 
the  poorer  classes 
what  the  West  End 
is  to  the  aristoc- 
racy ;  the  t  w  o  ex- 
tremes of  London 
life  may  be  studied 
in    the    t w o    e x - 

p  tremcs  of  London. 
Within     sioht 

|a  of  much  oi  the  pov- 
erty of  London  are 

13  the  forests  of  masts 
and  the  huge  bod- 
i  es  of  steamers, 
representing  her 
ceaseless    trade 

M  with  every  quarter 
of  the  globe.  Be- 
t  w  e  e  n    the    great 

^    bridges  are  a  score 

|3  of  steamboat  piers 
for  the  accommo- 
dation of  river  pas- 
sengers. Just  be- 
low London  Bridge 
is  the  Pool  where 
:^  the  coal  ships  or 
ST.  ANDREWS  cHi'KCH,  HcjLBORN.  colliers    uiost    Con- 

gregate. Between  the  Pool  and  Blackwell  is  the  Port  of  London, 
occupied   by  ships  of  greater  burden,  and   for  the  convenience  of  these 


LONDON    Tf)\VER    AND    THE    DOCKS.  953 

giants  have  been  constructed  extensive  docks  and  massi\'e  warehouses. 
Extensions  are  constantly  progressing  and  tunnels  being-  built  to  connect 
the  docks  on  the  northern  bank  of  the  Thames  with  those  on  the  south- 
ern, so  that  eventually  they  will  form  one  vast  system.  Below  the  Tower 
are  St.  Katharine's  docks,  and  also  on  the  northern  shore,  the  London 
docks,  with  their  extensive  wine  vaults,  the  Limestone  docks,  the  West 
Lidia  docks,  the  East  India  docks,  and  the  Victoria  docks;  on  the 
southern  shore  the  grand  Surrey  and  Commercial  docks  are  devoted  to 
the  timber  and  corn  trades.  The  East  India  docks  are  at  Blackwell,  and 
as  the  shores  are  flat  on  either  side  of  the  river  the  greatest  of  English 
merchant  ships  which  lie  there  appear  more  gigantic  than  they  are. 

London  Tower  overlooks  the  most  cosmopolitan,  if  not  the  busiest 
section  of  the  River  Thames.  This  historical  fortress  and  prison  is  an 
inharmonious  mass  of  towers,  forts,  ramparts,  batteries,  barracks,  armories 
and  other  structures,  covering  an  area  of  nearly  goo  feet  square.  North 
west  of  the  Tower  is  the  hill  upon  which  the  scaffold  stood.  Each  of  the 
towers  included  in  the  Tower  has  its  particular  recollections.  Lad)-  Jane 
Gre)',  Raleigh,  Sidney,  Russell,  the  young  sons  of  Edward  IV.,  and 
other  ghosts,  haunt  them.  One  tower  was  built  by  William  the  Con- 
queror, and  on  one  side  of  it  is  a  large  structure  occupied  as  barracks 
and  erected  by  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  who  was  once  Constable  of  the 
Tower. 

Of  late  years  the  authorities  have  made  strenuous  efforts  to  provide 
parks,  or  "lungs,"  for  the  working  people  of  the  east  and  northeast  of 
London.  Victoria  Park,  300  acres  in  extent,  is  one  of  the  greatest  of 
these  blessings. 

We  have  hardly  touched  upon  the  attractions  of  London.  If  one 
should  say  but  a  dozen  words  about  each  of  the  2,000  churches  he  would 
have  written  a  chapter.  He  would  commence  by  saying:  Opposite  St. 
Bartholomew's,  bloody  Queen  Mary  burned  her  victims  at  the  stake  ;  in  St. 
Saviour's,  Soulhwark,  are  buried  Cower,  Beauniont,  Fletcher  and  Mas- 
singer  ;  Temple  Church,  near  the  Bar,  contains  the  body  of  poor  Oliver 
Goldsmith;  the  Duke  of  Wellington  attended  the  fashionable  St. 
George's  Church,  Hanover  Square;  Whitfield's  Chapel  is  where  he  first 
preached  to  a  large  indoor  congregation  ;  Spurgeon's  Tabernacle,  Christ's 
Church  (Rev.  Newman  Hall),  and  the  picturesque  St.  Andrew's,  must  be 
lightly  passed  ;  the  ancient  St.  Giles,  Cripplegate,  is  where  the  majestic 
Milton  is  buried,  etc.,  etc. 

This  also  would  be  the  very  unsatisfactory  wa}-  in  which  one  would 
be  obliged  to  treat  the  great  charities  and  benefactors,  past  and  present ; 
the  hospitals  for  men,  women  and  children,  for  the  insane,  the  lame,  the 


954  TANOKAMA    OF    XATIOXS. 

epileptic  and  confirmed  invalids ;  the  universities,  colleges,  ragged 
schools  and  select  schools,  medical  and  surgical  schools,  libraries, 
museums,  fine  art  galleries  and  underground  railways.  In  one  word,  and 
finally,  there  is  no  civilization  in  any  part  of  the  world  of  which  a  trace 
can  not  be  found  in  London. 

WHERE  PETER  WORKED. 

On  the  south  side  of  the  river,  opposite  the  dock  district,  are 
Deptford,  Greenwich  and  Woolwich.  At  Deptford  was  formerly  the 
great  royal  ship-yard,  in  which  Peter  the  Great  worked  at  his  trade. 
This  is  now  removed  to  Chatham,  thirty  miles  southeast  of  London. 
Adjoining  the  deserted  yard  at  Deptford  are  the  victualing  establish- 
ments of  the  royal  navy,  consisting  of  cattle  pens,  slaughter  houses, 
bakeries,  a  brewery,  etc.,  etc.,  and  which  partially  cover  the  former 
grounds  of  the  mansion  in  which  Peter  resided  while  working  for  his 
empire. 

WOOLWICH  AND  GREENWICH. 

Woolwich  really  lies  on  both  sides  of  the  River  Thames,  but  the 
arsenal  and  grounds  where  the  ordnance  of  the  army  and  navy  is  proved 
are  on  the  south  side.  Until  twenty  years  ago  the  royal  dock-yard  was 
located  here,  where  it  had  been  established  for  three  centuries.  The 
foundries  and  magazines,  with  other  buildings  connected  with  the 
arsenal,  cover  over  one  hundred  acres  of  ground,  and  the  famous  range 
where  ordnance  and  new  guns  are  tried  is  three  miles  in  length.  Con- 
veniently situated  to  get  the  advantage  of  every  experiment  and  a 
thorough,  practical  education  is  the  military  academy  for  artillery 
officers  and  engineers.  At  North  Woolwich  are  turned  out  hundreds  of 
miles  of  telegraph  cables. 

Greenwich  is  five  miles  from  .St.  Paul's,  and  three  from  London 
bridge.  Since  the  seventeenth  century  the  Greenwich  observatory  has 
been  fixing  the  longitude  for  a  great  portion  of  the  world.  Greenwich 
time  is  also  standard  throughout  England.  It  is  a  manufacturing  town, 
having  large  )'ards  for  the  building  of  iron  steamboats;  but  Greenwich 
has  another  attraction  besides  its  observatory,  of  which  there  is  no  pro- 
totype in  Great  Britain.  The  hospital  for  seamen  is  a  large,  quadrangu- 
lar building,  containing  libraries  and  a  hall  adorned  with  portraits  of 
naval  heroes  and  representations  of  naval  victories,  besides  the  regular 
offices  and  apartments.  This  institution  supports  thousands  of  Pritish 
seamen,  many  of   those  who  were  formerly  inmates,   but  not  seriously 


CANTERBURY    AND    THOMAS    A    BECKET,  955 

incapacitated  being  now  allowed  a  choice  of  residence.  At  present  it  con- 
tains a  few  hundred  bed-ridden  pensioners,  but  the  bulk  of  the  hospital  is 
reserved  for  use  in  case  of  war.  I'he  site  of  the  building  was  at  one 
time  occupied  by  the  royal  palace  in  which  Oueen  Elizabeth,  Queen 
Mary  and  Henry  VIII.  were  born. 

Gravesend  is  the  limit  of  the  port  of  London.  It  has  ship-)ards  and  a 
church  where  Pocahontas  is  buried.  Ships  leaving  port  get  their  outfits, 
provisions  and  clothing  at  Gravesend,  and  the  Custom  House  officers 
examine  vessels  when  they  are  about  to  enter. 

Chatham,  where  the  royal  ship-yards  are,  is  beyond  Gravesend, 
toward  the  sea,  and  Canterbury  is  still  east  of  Chatham.  It  is  a  good 
point  from  which  to  sweep  the  whole  of  England,  south  of  the  Thames. 

CANTERBURY  AND  THOMAS  A  BECKET. 

From  the  time  of  St.  Augustine,  who  received  Ethelbert  and  his 
whole  kingdom  of  Kent  into  the  Church,  Canterbury  has  been  the  seat 
of  the  highest  ecclesiastic  of  EuCTJand.  From  the  rising  to  the  settings 
of  a  single  sun,  ten  thousand  Saxons  were  baptized  in  the  river  Stour, 
which  flows  through  Canterbury.  This  was  the  first  formal  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  power  of  the  Christian  religion  in  Great  Britain,  and  it  was 
upon  this  occasion  that  the  old  Saxon  priest  smote  the  images  of  his 
gods  to  see  if  there  was  really  any  virtue  in  them.  He  had  served  them 
long,  he  said;  they  had  brought  nothing  but  misery  to  him,  and  he  was 
a  willing  convert  to  the  new  faith.  Though  the  great  cathedral  at  Can- 
terbury has  suffered  several  times  by  fire,  and  has  been  beautified  during 
the  present  century,  it  is  in  substantially  the  same  condition  as  it  was 
when  completed  in  the  twelfth  centur)-.  Henry  I\'.  and  the  Black  Prince 
have  monuments  in  the  cathedral.  The  city  contains  other  interesting 
memorials  of  the  introduction  of  Christianity  into  England.  The  immense 
Augustinian  monastery,  so  long  used  as  a  brewery,  is  now  a  missionary 
college,  having  been  restored  to  something  of  its  former  appearance. 

It  was  before  the  hicrh  altar  of  the  masjnificent  cathedral  at  Canter- 
bury,  that  Thomas  a  Becket,  the  Primate  of  England,  was  murdered 
because  he  pronounced  the  Church  greater  than  the  King  ;  for  which  deed 
King  Henry  II.  did  penance  by  allowing  the  monks  to  lay  the  lashes  upon 
his  own  bare  back,  besides  erectinfr  several  castles  throughout  the  kingf- 
dom  and  doing  other  useless  things.  Now,  beyond  Dover,  near  the  coast, 
is  a  little  old  town,  with  middle-century  churches  and  houses.  Once  it 
was  an  important  sea-port  and  furnished  the  king  with  many  a  vessel  for 
defense  of  England.      There  is  now  quite  a  tract  of  land  between  it  and 


956  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

the  sea.  Hythe  was,  furthermore,  a  smugglers'  port,  and  one  of  their 
picturesque  lighthouses,  with  a  blunt,  square  tower,  rises  innocently  from 
the  middle  of  the  town,  a  legitimate  store  underneath,  and  an  honest 
family  of  Kent  for  inmates.  It  was  about  a  mile  from  this  town  that  the 
Knights  met  who  stabbed  Thomas  a  Becket  before  the  high  altar  of 
Canterbury.  Saltwood  Castle,  where  the  conspirators  agreed  upon  their 
villainy,  was  claimed  as  Church  property  by  Thomas  a  Becket.  Only  a 
portion  of  the  structure,  looking  from  such  a  romantic  situation 
u\)on  the  Channel  ami  the  coast  of  F"rance,  is  left  to  tell  of  its 
former  strength  and  magnificence.  Its  deep  windows,  groined  roofs 
and  rich  carvings  are  built  into  a  farm  house,  some  of  its  large 
upper  room  being  occupied  by  laborers. 

DOVER  AND  HASTINGS. 

The  road  from  Chatham  to  Canterbury  is  delightful,  and  passes  on 
to  a  pleasant  little  town,  which  once  had  a  good  harbor,  and  was,  with 
Hythe,  one  of  the  powerful  so  called  "Cinque  Ports,"  or  those  lying 
opposite  France  which  were  accorded  particular  privileges  in  return  for 
which  they  furnished  whole  fleets  of  ships  to  humble  the  people  just 
across  the  way.  .Sandwich's  harbor,  however,  commenced  to  fill  up 
with  sand  and  in  an  unlucky  day  a  vessel  sunk  at  its  entrance  and  com- 
pleted the  blockade. 

Dover  is  the  next  Cinque  Port,  going  down  the  coast,  and  it  still 
enjovs  that  distinction,  it  being  only  twenty  miles  from  France  and 
the  most  convenient  port  of  landing  from  the  continent.  Both  Normans 
and  French  have  laid  violent  hands  upon  it,  and  Caesar  would  have 
landed  his  invaders  there,  but  the  shore  was  too  abrupt,  and  he  entered 
England  from  a  point  a  little  further  west.  The  Saxons  looked  upon  it 
as  the  key  to  Kent  and  the  Englishmen  as  the  key  to  the  kingdom. 
The  Castle  of  Dover,  posted  upon  a  great  chalk  cliff  guarding  the  town, 
contains  a  Roman  watchtower,  which  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  pieces 
of  military  work  in  Great  Britain,  and  exhibits  also  both  Saxon  and 
Norman  styles  of  architecture. 

Upon  the  borders  of  what  was  then  a  forest,  not  far  from  Dover, 
another  adventurer  in  arms  landed  from  the  I""rench  coast,  nearly  a 
thousand  years  from  C:esar's  time.  The  battle  which  gave  ICngland  to 
the  Normans,  however,  was  not  fought  at  Hastings,  but  six  miles  west 
of  the  port.  Two  years  afterwards  William  the  Conqueror  founded 
15attle  Abbey,  which  yet  stands,  a  rugged  stone  structure  with  four 
central  towers  and  two  unequal  wings. 


THE    CHALKY    CLIFFS    AND    ULD    FORESTS.  957 

THE  CHALKY  CLIFFS  AND  OLD  FORESTS. 

The  physical  peculiarity  of  these  extreme  southeastern  districts 
of  the  country  is  the  chalky  formation  of  the  land,  which  throws  it  into 
two  pleasing  series  of  undulations  called  the  North  and  the  South 
Downs,  which  extend  to  the  coast,  the  former  beyond  Canterbury  to 
North  Foreland  (the  extremity  of  Southeastern  England)  and  the  latter 
to  Beachy  Head,  the  grandest  of  the  southern  chalk  cliffs.  The  Downs 
inclose  the  Weald,  a  rough  plain  from  which  geologists  have  drawn  val- 
uable specimens  of  sea  monsters,  amphibians  and  ferns.  Ironstone  was 
also  found,  and  Briton,  Roman  and  Saxon  are  believed  to  have  worked 
in  it.  In  the  middle  ages  iron  manufacturing  prospered  in  the  Weald, 
or  forest,  and  the  Sussex  iron  works  were  called  upon  not  only  by 
neighboring  hamlets  and  villas,  but  by  London  itself.  Cinder  Hill, 
Furnace  Place,  Hammer  Ponds,  with  the  forest  gone  and  the  manufac- 
tories transferred  to  such  coal  districts  as  Birmingham,  tell  of  past 
industry  and  the  cause  of  its  decadence.  A  ridge  rims  througli  the 
center  of  the  Weald,  from  which  its  fertile  and  flowery  surface,  roughly 
broken  and  with  a  fir  tree  left  here  and  there,  may  be  viewed  as  far  as 
the  Downs  on  either  side.  In  a  little  town  on  the  northern  edfje  of  the 
Weald,  Richard  Cobden,  the  free-trader,  was  born,  and  Sir  Charles 
Lyell,  the  geologist,  passed  his  early  days  there.  Farther  west  is  Leith 
Hill,  the  highest  point  of  land  in  Southeastern  England,  from  whose 
summit  can  be  indistinctly  traced  a  varied  and  charming  landscape  200 
miles  in  extent.  A  ramble  through  the  Surrey  hills  would  be  well 
repaid  by  the  charming  countr\-  residences  which  peep  out  so  unexpect- 
edly from  groves  of  beech  and  oak  trees.  Then  there  are  cool  dales, 
bright  hills,  and  pleasant  lanes  and  villages  to  enjoy.  If  a  ridge  or  an 
elevation  has  such  a  queer  name  as  the  Hog's  Back  it  must  be  walked, 
for  such  brands  were  placed  there  by  the  early  Saxons,  and  their  homely 
words  are  stamped  upon  many  hills  and  vales  of  this  region. 

EPSOM  SALTS  AND  RACES. 

The  Weald  and  Surrey  hills  also  bring  one  within  about  twenty 
miles  of  London,  and  upon  the  northern  edge  of  this  varied  landscape 
is  a  representative  town  of  England  —  old  and  yet  new;  for  although 
the  Epsom  salts  were  known  two  centuries  ago,  the  race-course  is  less 
than  half  of  that  age.  Epsom  is  on  the  edge  of  the  North  Downs  and 
it  is  on  the  Downs  themselves  that  the  great  race-course  is  located.  The 
races  for  the  Derby  stakes  are  the  most  exciting  which  take  place  in 
England.     Epsom   seemed   once  destined  to  become  a   famous  health 


95^  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

resort,  the  salts  which  were  obtained  from  evaporating  the  waters  of  her 
mineral  springs  becoming  so  famous  that  the  name  Epsom  salt  is  now 
applied  to  a  like  mineral  obtained  from  the  sea,  from  quarries  in  France, 
the  Mammoth  Cave  in  this  country,  and  many  other  localities.  But 
the  races  overshadowed  the  salts  and  during  the  week  succeeding 
Whitsuntide  a  hundred  thousand  people  pour  out  of  London  and  gather 
from  the  surrounding  country  to  see  the  famous  English  runners. 

THE  FOREST  OF  DEATH. 

Just  be)'ond  the  South  Downs  is  the  New  Forest,  in  whose  dense 
shades  a  few  timid  deer  still  wander,  and  wild  ponies  and  swine  find  their 
homes  there.  It  is  the  largest  and  most  picturesque  tract  of  wooded 
land  in  England,  the  noblest  vantage  ground  being  a  knoll  upon  which 
is  a  country  house  marking  the  site  of  the  keep  from  which  the  Red  King 
■went  forth  to  hunt  for  the  last  time  ;  from  this  point  cool  avenues  stretch 
over  vast  reaches  of  the  forest,  and  open  to  view  the  refreshing  waters 
of  the  Channel  and  the  distant  Isle  of  Wight.  The  spot  where  Rufus 
was  found  pierced  with  arrows  is  marked  by  a  stone  appropriately 
inscribed  and  protected  by  an  iron  casing.  Beeches  and  oak  predomi- 
nate among  the  monarchs  of  the  forest,  and  in  the  oldest  portion  of  it 
two  of  the  "  twelve  apostles" — gigantic  trees  —  still  stand.  In  the  very 
center  of  this  primeval  scene  is  a  little  town,  from  which  many  excursions 
are  made.  Groves  whose  gnarled  sentries  and  massive  groups  make 
one  dream  of  the  Druids  and  their  sacrifices  are  separated  by  fertile  strips 
and  great  farms.  Elegant  mansions  and  pretty  villages  are  both  scat- 
tered through  the  Forest  and  stand  around  its  edges  as  if  enjoying  its 
great  repose  and  varied  aspects. 

The  New  Forest  was  one  of  the  si.xty-eight  rojal  domains  enjoyed 
by  William  the  Conqueror  and  his  court,  and  when  he  burned  the  peo- 
ple's churches  and  drove  the  worshipers  awa\',  the  country  was  well  set- 
tled. The  persecuted  peasants  and  foresters  looked  grimly  on  while 
one  son  was  gored  to  death  by  a  royal  stag  ;  another  son,  the  Red  King, 
mysteriously  met  his  fate,  and  a  grandson  was  accidentally  shot  to  death 
by  an  arrow 

THE  ISLE  OF  WIGHT. 

The  tourist  can  not  do  better,  if  he  comes  to  England  to  see 
insi)iring  sights  and  breathe  invigorating  air,  than  to  follow  one  of  those 
avenues  through  the  New  Forest  which  lead  toward  Southampton 
Water  and  the  English  Channel.  It  is  a  short  sail  to  the  shores  of  the 
Isle  of  Wight,  with  its  bold  cliffs  of  chalk,  its  dark  sea  caves,  its  beauti- 


TO    EDDYSTONE    LIGHTHOUSE.  959 

ful  waves  of  land,  its  sheltered  vales  and  soft  inland  breezes,  and  the 
resort  of  literary  men  with  temperaments  ranging  from  Tennyson  to 
Hugo.  The  yachts  are  more  apt  to  frequent  the  Solent,  the  strait 
between  the  foresiand  the  island.  The  Palace  of  Osborne  rises  serenely 
from  a  gradual  elevation,  a  graceful  stretch  of  wooded  land  coming  down 
to  the  water's  edge,  like  the  royal  deer  themselves  whose  sleek  forms  adorn 
the  grassy  slopes.  Thousands  of  British  subjects  hover  around  the  beau 
tiful  place  as  around  the  memory  of  Prince  Albert.  In  the  vicinity  of  Os- 
borne House,  at  East  Cowles,  Dr.  Arnold  of  Rugby  was  born,  and  this 
might  beaquestion  hard  toanswcr:  Do  more  Englishmen  worshipatthe 
shrine  of  the  late  Prince  Consort  than  at  the  shrine  of  Dr.  Arnold  of  Rugby  ? 

A  stroll  through  the  interior  of  the  island  develops  many  localities  of 
interest.  In  the  downs  have  been  found  subterranean  burial  passages 
and  regular  Saxon  grounds.  Near  Newport  is  a  ruined  fortress  called 
Carisbrooke  castle,  where  Charles  I.  was  imprisoned  after  his  flight  from 
Hampton  Court,  and  near  the  castle  is  a  Roman  villa  and  the  remains 
of  a  costly  pavement.  The  children  of  the  king  were  also  imprisoned 
there  the  Princess  Elizabeth  dying  in  the  castle  and  being  buried  at 
Newport  church. 

The  chalk  downs  which  make  the  backbone  of  the  Isle  of  Wight 
■extend  from  Culver  Cliffs  in  the  east  to  the  Needles  in  the  west.  Cu'ver 
Cliffs  terminate  in  a  stupendous  headland  of  chalk  called  the  White 
Dove,  while  the  Needles  might  have  once  been  as  massive,  but  are  now 
Avorn  away,  so  that  they  appear  as  pillars  of  chalk.  A  second  and  a  higher 
range  of  chalk  hills  is  formed  in  the  southern  part  of  the  island  and  ex- 
pands into  a  broad  promontory,  whose  scarred,  furrowed  and  stern  face 
is  the  Undercliff.  For  several  mileL"  it  is  evident  that  immense  slides  of 
land  once  fell  at  the  base  of  the  exposed  cliff,  having  been  loosened  by 
the  many  springs  ;  these  gradually  subsided  into  a  series  of  terraces, 
which  now  appear  as  a  long  rock  garden,  in  which  grow  clumps  of  trees 
and  a  profusion  of  wild  flowers,  and  whose  coast  line  is  sometimes  broken 
by  sunny  bays  and  valleys.  This  district  of  the  island  is  a  favorite  resort 
for  invalids,  and  notwithstanding  that  many  go  there  in  the  last  stages 
•of  consumption  the  figures  of  the  registrar-general  prove  that  its  death  rate 
is  actually  the  lowest  in  the  kingdom.  Railway  communication  has  been 
opened  between  the  various  health  resorts,  Newton,  the  capital,  and  other 
towns. 

TO  EDDYSTONE  LIGHTHOUSE. 

In  skirting  along  the  sea  shore,  from  opposite  the  Isle  of  Wight,  the 
first  point  of   interest  is  old    Portsmouth,  with  a  great  royal  dock-yard 


960  PANORAMA    OF     NATIONS. 

and  fortifications.  Even  as  early  as  Alfred's  time  vessels  sailed  from 
this  port  to  defeat  the  Sea  Kings.  Then  we  visit  Exeter,  the  ancient 
capital  of  the  West  Saxons,  and  once  strongly  fortified,  but  taken  by 
Dane  and  Norman.  Before  the  Saxons  came  it  is  believed  to  have  been 
a  Briton  town.  Northeast  of  the  city,  on  a  hill,  is  the  castle  in  which 
ihe  West  Saxon  kings  resided,  and  within  it  are  large  squares,  a  Nor- 
man cathedral  of  rich  and  massive  appearance,  and  numerous  educational 
institutes.  The  city  is  on  the  River  Exe,  a  few  miles  from  the  Channel. 
And  beyond  is  Plymouth,  thriving  and  handsome,  with  a  naval  dock- 
yard, arsenal  and  productive  fisheries,  receiving  its  water  supply  from 
the  moor  of  the  River  Dart,  thirty  miles  distant.  That  dreary  tract  of 
swamps  and  rocks,  and  granite  hills,  and  Druidical  altars,  should  be 
approached  from  the  north  in  order  to  thoroughly  saturate  the  traveler 
with  gloom,  and  a  detour  will  therefore  be  made  from  the  Channel  by 
way  of  Bristol. 

A  few  miles  south  of  the  entrance  to  Plymouth  Sound  is  the  Edd}'- 
stone  lighthouse,  on  a  reef,  which  has  been  photographed  and  described 
more  often  than  any  other  similar  structure  in  the  world  ;  but  that  we 
may  entertain,  like  the  father  who  tells  the  same  story  time  and  time 
again  to  an  ever-attentive  audience,  we  will  remark  that  the  building  of  the 
last  Eddystone  lighthouse  might  form  material  for  a  romance,  and  that 
the  waves  of  the  channel  have  several  times  broken  the  thick  plate-glass 
HI  its  lantern,  nearly  seventy  feet  above  the  average  sea  level. 

FROM  THE  NEW  FOREST,  INLAND. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  remains  of  antiquity  in  the  v/orld  are 
those  imperfect  circles  of  huge  monoliths,  but  still  traceable,  which  for 
many  years  have  drawn  thousands  of  antiquarians  to  Stonehenge,  in 
Salisbury  Plain,  Southern  Wiltshire,  north  of  the  New  Forest.  Even 
though  the  temple  has  been  restored  beyond  reasonable  doubt,  it  is  still 
uncertain  whether  it  was  erected  by  the  Druids,  was  a  Temple  of  the  Sun 
or  a  monument  in  honor  of  the  dead.  One  legend  ascribes  it  to  the  last 
of  the  British  kings,  who,  with  the  assistance  of  the  magician  Merlin, 
built  it  in  memory  of  460  Britons  who  were  murdered  by  Hengist  the 
Saxon. 

Northwest  of  the  New  Forest,  in  the  same  count)  of  Wilts,  is 
Savernake  Forest,  said  to  be  the  only  one  in  England  belonging  to  a 
subject.  "It  is  especially  remarkable  for  its  avenues  of  trees.  One,  of 
magnificent  beeches,  is  nearly  four  miles  in  length,  and  is  intersected  at 
one  point  of  its  course  by  three  separate   walks,  or  forest  vistas,  placed 


ALONG     BRISTOL   CHANNEL.  96 1 

at  such  angles  as,  with  the  avenue  itself,  to  command  eight  points  of 
the  compass.  The  effect  is  unique  and  beautiful,  the  artificial  character 
of  the  arrangement  being  amply  compensated  by  the  exceeding  luxuri- 
ance of  thickset  trees  and  the  soft  loveliness  of  the  verdant  flowery 
glades  which  they  inclose.  The  smooth,  bright  foliage  of  the  beech  is 
interspersed  with  the  darker  shade  of  the  fir,  while  towering  elms  and 
wide-spreading  oaks  diversify  the  line  of  view  in  endless,  beautiful 
variety.  At  one  point  a  clump  of  trees  will  be  reached  —  the  veterans 
of  the  forest,  with  moss-clad  trunks  and  gnarled,  half-leafless  branches  — 
the  chief  being  known  as  the  King  Oak,  Iiut  sometimes  called  the 
Duke's,  from  the  Lord  Protector  Somerset,  with  whom  this  tree  was  a 
favorite." 

ALONG  BRISTOL  CHANNEL. 

Bath  and  Bristol  are  in  our  way  beyond  the  forests  of  Wiltshire,  but 
it  is  the  orderly  way  to  first  visit  the  picturesque  spots  in  Somersetshire, 
which  command  Bristol  Channel  and  the  south  of  Wales,  and  which 
gradually  merge  into  the  vast  moors  of  Devonshire,  the  wilds  of  Corn- 
wall, the  adamant  cliffs  of  Land's  End,  and  finally  the  very  prom- 
ontory itself,  which  lies  prone  at  their  feet,  defying  the  incessant  shock 
of  two  seas.  The  little  village  of  Cheddar  is  not  far  from  Bristol,  and  in 
its  neighborhood  is  much  of  the  most  striking  of  that  transition  scenery 
which  connects  the  southern  and  the  southwestern  sections  of  England. 
The  Mendips  is  a  fantastic  ridge  of  rocks,  massive  at  the  base  and  broken 
into  graceful  shapes  above,  the  scant  soil  which  it  bears  giving  life  to 
every  creeping  thing  (in  the  vegetable  world),  and  to  radiant  wild  roses 
and  other  flowers.  The  caves  are  numerous  and  mysterious,  some  of 
the  passages  extending  for  long  distances  underground.  We  are  now 
in  the  region  of  John  Locke's  birthplace  and  of  the  philanthropic  labors 
of  Mrs.  Hannah  More,  while  farther  to  the  southwest  is  the  marshy, 
woodv  country  where  King  Alfred  bided  his  time  to  drive  the  Danes 
from  the  land.  The  site  of  the  neatherd's  cottage,  where  the  King  let 
the  cakes  burn,  while  sorrowing  and  scheming,  is  approximated  by  a 
small  stone  pillar. 

KING  ARTHUR'S  LAND. 

On  the  shores  of  Cornwall  and  from  Channel  to  Channel  the  legends 
of  good  King  Arthur  are  thick  as  the  great  rocks  which  stand  out  to  sea. 
The  slaty  and  granite  cliffs  oppose  themselves  to  the  growing  fury  of  the 
sea  and  form  a  fitting  bulwark  to  the  country  which  constituted  the  last 
stronghold  of  the  Celts  of  England.     In  Cornwall,  tradition  places  the 


962  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

last  great  battle  in  wnich  he  fought,  which  also  represents  him  as  being 
borne  from  the  battle-field  mortally  wounded  and  being  buried  at  Glas- 
tonbury. It  is  further  reported  that  by  order  of  Henry  II.  his  tomb  was 
opened  and  the  bones  and  good  sword  of  the  monarch  were  found. 
Arthur's  Court  is  placed  on  the  Riv^er  Usk,  in  Southern  Wales,  where  he 
lived  with  his  beautiful  wife.  The  scenes  of  his  doubtful  conflicts  cover 
England  from  Lancaster,  Bath  and  Portsmouth  almost  to  Land's  End. 

South  of  the  Mendip  Hills,  on  the  River  Brue,  is  Glastonbury  Abbey 
reputed  to  have  been  founded  by  Joseph  of  Arimathaea,  and  the  scene  of 
the  labors  of  St.  Patrick  and  St.  Augustine.  Of  the  ereat  church  and  its 
five  chapels  there  yet  remain  three  large  crypts  where  Arthur,  the  early 
kings  of  England  and  founders  of  the  English  Church,  were  buried.  A 
little  westward  from  the  ruin  stands  the  beautiful  chapel  of  St.  Joseph 
of  Arimathaea.  Glastonbury  was  the  reputed  scene  of  St.  Dunstan's 
conflict  with  the  Devil,  in  which  the  Evil  One,  who  came  to  tempt  him 
from  his  forge  and  his  cell,  was  seized  by  the  nose  with  a  pair  of  red-hot 
pincers. 

A  LITERARY   LAND. 

In  the  charming  Ouantock  Hills,  not  far  away,  are  treasured  mem- 
ories of  the  home  life  of  Sidney  Smith,  Coleridge  and  Wordsworth. 
Toward  the  west  and  Bristol  Channel,  stretch  a  o'reater  rangre  than  the 
Quantocks,  and  if  one  ascends  their  heights  the  Welsh  mountains  may 
be  dimly  seen  across  the  waters,  while  the  land  view  is  as  majestic  as  any 
in  the  west  of  England.  Famous  watering  places  along  this  coast  are  a 
continual  invitation  to  rest  and  not  to  make  sight-seeing  so  tiresome  a 
business.  There  are  also  many  modest  ones,  not  the  less  charming  for 
being  so.  "Westward  Ho  !"  is  one  of  the  bold  kind,  receiving  its  name 
from  one  of  Charles  Kingsle)'s  novels — the  one  which  Humboldt  admired 
for  its  sublime  description  of  South  American  forests  which  he  had  seen 
but  Kingsley  had  not.  A  few  miles  of  an  appetizing  walk  finds  one  before 
a  quaint  village,  buried  in  a  wooded  hillside — just  throwing  out  a 
hesitating  stone  pier  into  a  small  bay,  to  let  the  world  know  that  it  is 
there.  This  is  Clovelly,  Kingsley's  early  home,  and  his  first  and  last  love. 
A  little  farther  on  is  Hartland  Point,  a  small  grassy  head  of  land,  a  few 
feet  across,  which  is  said  to  have  an  exact  counterpart  on  the  Welsh 
coast  directly  opposite. 

DREARY  DARTMOOR. 

A  direct  and  depressing  contrast  to  the  hills  and  downs  of  Southern 
England  and  the  Isle  of  Wight,  to  diversified  wealds  and  forests,  are 


ROCKS    AND    FLOWERS.  963 

the  dreary,  grim  moors  of  Southern  Devonshire.  The  mossy,  soggy 
moors  are  broken  into  many  jagged  outlines  by  great  masses  of  granite, 
and  numerous  streams  descend  from  the  heights  to  the  River  Dart, 
which  flows  into  the  Channel.  In  its  upper  regions  Dartmoor  is  so  deso- 
late that  when  ore  first  enters  its  solitudes  his  imagination  might  well 
delude  him  into  the  belief  thatsome  unfriendly  power  had  placed  him  in 
some  of  the  rocky  deserts  of  Southwestern  Africa,  hundreds  of  miles 
from  the  coasts  ;  but  as  he  follows  a  stream  through  the  moor,  and  down 
its  sloping  borders  toward  the  lowlands  and  the  valley  of  the  Dart,  the 
sweet  woods  and  dales  and  sunlit  villages  which  greet  his  tired  eyes, 
refresh  his  nature  and  bring  back  the  bright  side  of  life. 

ROCKS  AND  FLOWERS. 

The  change  from  Devon  to  Cornwall  may  be  over  a  great  railway 
viaduct  which  spans  the  River  Tamar,  A  more  impressive  approach  is 
from  the  sea  by  way  of  Plymouth  Sound.  Here  the  Tamar  presents  a 
majestic  appearance,  and  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that  it  has  its  rise  only 
sixty  miles  away.  But  whether  you  enter  Cornwall  by  rail,  on  foot  or 
by  water,  a  great  difference  is  at  once  noticed  in  the  character  of  the 
country  from  that  of  Devon.  With  the  exception  of  the  moor  country 
Devonshire  is  a  softly  outlined,  fertile  region,  but  suddenly  as  England 
gets  ready  for  a  final  contest  with  the  Western  seas,  she  throws  off  her 
pleasing  drapery  and  opposes  to  the  elements  a  stern  front  —  mostly 
ponderous  granite  and  steely  slate.  The  trees  so  nearly  disappear 
that  the  natives  of  Devon  say  that  the  Cornish  people  have  not  enough 
timber  to  make  a  coffin.  On  some  of  the  steep  hills  are  a  few  stunted 
oaks,  but,  to  draw  a  parallel  in  order  to  save  a  geological  explanation, 
Cornwall  is  where  England's  backbone  of  hills  runs  down  into  the  tail 
and  therefore  the  appendage  was  not  clad  in  rich  moldy  soil,  or  the  flesh 
of  the  land.  The  valleys  which  lie  between  the  black  heights  of  Corn- 
wall are,  however,  clothed  with  as  green  a  verdure  as  can  be  found  in 
England,  and  the  orchards,  gardens  and  farms  thus  sheltered  seem,  from 
their  surroundings,  more  beautiful  and  more  fruitful  than  they  really 
are.  "  In  various  parts  of  the  country,  but  always  near  the  sea  shore, 
we  are  astonished  at  finding  in  the  front  gardens  of  the  houses  ornamen- 
tal plants,  which  remain  out  of  doors  all  the  year  and  do  not  belong  at 
all  to  the  general  flora  of  England.  Myrtles,  laurels,  fuchsias  and  pom- 
egranates attain  a  remarkable  size,  flourish  bravely  in  the  open  air  and 
form  hedges,  clumps  and  fragrant  screens  which  elegantly  adorn  the 
windows  and  walls." 


964  PANORAMA    m-    XATIOXS. 

The  effect  of  the  Gulf  Stream  upon  the  western  coasts  of  Cornwall 
is  to  make  the  seasons  in  this  extremity  of  the  island  more  forward  than 
in  any  other  locality.  So  that  while  frost  is  king  in  other  parts  of  Eng 
land,  at  the  holiday  season,  the  warmed  and  sheltered  spots  of  Cornwall 
are  bringing  forth  flowers,  vegetables,  bees  and  birds.  Vegetation  has 
been  found  more  advanced  in  Southwestern  Cornwall  than  in  Northern 
Italy,  so  that  this  locality  has  been  called  the  winter  kitchen  garden  of 
London.  Many  of  the  early  vegetables  which  reach  the  markets  of  the 
Metropolis  come  from  Cornwall,  and  in  nearly  every  town  there  is  a  cot- 
tage gardening  society  for  the  encouragement  of  this  branch  of  agricul- 
ture. 

HOUSES  AND  MINES. 

Returning  again  to  the  stern  side  of  Cornwall  (and  that,  after  all, 
is  the  one  which  is  forced  upon  the  world — it  has  to  look  for  the 
flowers)  the  architecture  of  the  old  towns  is  massive  and  rugged.  Cot- 
tages and  even  pig  pens  are  built  of  blocks  of  granite,  of  which  a  castle 
might  be  proud.  Often  the  stone  is  left  in  the  rough,  so  that  the  beau- 
tiful colors  and  sparkling  crystals  make  a  diversified  and  striking  picture. 
Frequently,  however,  their  picturesqueness  is  spoiled  by  common  coats 
of  whitewash.  The  interior  of  one  of  these  cottages  is  described  thus : 
"A  single  ground-floor  room  serves  at  once  as  kitchen,  dining  and  draw- 
ing-room. A  wide  open  chimney,  without  a  grate,  proves  that  it  was  not 
originally  intended  to  burn  coals.  The  combustible  formerly  in  use  was 
roots,  prickly  furze  and  dried  turf,  which  when  raised  in  slabs  forms  a 
species  of  peat.  A  wooden  or  stone  bench  placed  in  the  interior  of  the 
chimney  serves  as  the  family  seat  during  the  cold  winter  evenings. 
The  laborers  frequently  obtain  from  the  farmer  their  supply  of  gorse 
and  dry  grass,  on  condition  of  returning  him  the  ashes.  A  deal  table 
without  a  cloth,  but  carefully  scrubbed,  receives  the  coarse  and  substan- 
tial dishes  which  have  been  cooked  in  front  of  the  fire  on  a  hot  plate  of 
iron.  The  whole  family  sit  around  this  table  on  massive  benches  gen- 
erally fastened  to  the  wall."  Other  cottages  are  more  comfortably  fur- 
nished and,  even  in  secluded  places  near  the  tin  and  copper  mines,  will 
sometimes  be  seen  quite  elaborate  stone  structures,  or  houses  of  modest 
proportions,  supplied  with  all  the  interior  decorations  which  prosperous 
proprietors  could  wish  to  enjoy. 

The  mines  are  not  radically  different  from  those  worked  in  this 
country,  except  that  the  machinery  is  often  more  crude  and  there  are 
many  chambers  which  run  under  the  sea.  The  most  famous  subterra- 
nean mine  is  the  Botallack,  some  of  its  galleries  running  more  than  half  a 


HOUSES    AM)    MINES.  '  9^5 

rnilu  under  the  storin>-  waves  and  at  .places  approaching.so  near  the  bed 
of  the  sea  that  the  heavy  rocks  can  be  heard  rolling  and  grinding  above. 
Near  Penzance  a  mine  was  worked  lor  man)- years  whose  mouth  was  not 
in  the  dark  cliffs  or  moors  of  the  coast,  but  in  a  deep  ocean  bay.  The 
upper  part  of  the  shaft  was  a  caisson,  which  rose  a  dozen  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea,  and  the  water  which  trickled  from  the  ocean  into  the 
mine  was  pumped  out  by  an  engine  which  stood  on  the  shore  over  700 
feet  away.  Pipes  which  were  carried  along  a  platform  connected  the 
mine  with  the  engine,  but  the  connection  was  severed  by  a  storm-driven 
vessel,  and,  on  account  of  the  heavy  expense  already  incurred,  the  bold 
enterprise  was  abandoned. 

'Phe  mines  of  Cornwall  are,  some  of  them,  located  amid  green 
valleys  and  farms  ;  others  have  bare  hills  and  moors  for  their  surround- 
ings, and  great  rocks,  in  mysterious  forms,  lie  near  them.  If  there  is 
any  specially  remarkable  or  weird  formation,  there  are  two  explanations 
open — the  wonder  may  be  attributed  to  the  Druids,  to  the  FJevil,  or  to 
the-  Archangel  Michael,  who  (the  latter)  is  the  patron  of  the  coast.  The 
headcjuarters  of  the  Archangel  is  supposed  to  be  the  rocky  St.  Michael's 
Mount,  which  lies  adjacent  to  the  Land's  End  district,  and,  like  its  mate 
off  the  coast  of  Normandy,  is  peninsula  or  island,  according  to  the  tide. 
It  is  well  worth  climbing  for  the  magnificent  view  of  sea  and  land 
obtained  from  its  summit.  Historically,  it  is  supposed  to  be  one  of  the 
islands  to  which  the  ancient  Britons  bore  the  tin  in  their  boats,  at  high 
water,  and  in  their  chariots,  at  low  water,  the  Phcenician  ships  carry- 
ing the  precious  metal  to  Tyre  and  Sidon,  from  whence  it  may  have 
gone  into  the  bronzes  of  Assyria  and  Egypt.  On  the  mainland  tin 
mines  have  been  discovered,  wdiich  are  little  more  than  burrows  — 
those   presumabl)-  worked  by  the  Britons. 

Nearly  midway  between  the  eastern  bounds  of  Cornwall  and  Land's 
End  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  districts  of  England  for  the  quarry- 
ing of  the  kaolin,  or  fine  clay,  from  which  the  w^onderful  porcelain  ware 
of  the  country  is  made.  The  deposits  result  from  the  decomposition  of 
feldspar,  thus  giving  the  clay  a  peculiarly  pure  and  white  appearance.  In 
some  cases  the  substance  has  to  be  dug  out  and  disintegrated  by  the 
action  of  running  water.  Then  by  being  received  into  a  series  of  tanks 
the  liner  particles  are  at  length  deposited.  After  the  water  has  evapor- 
ated or  been  drawn  off,  the  pure  white  deposit  soon  hardens  so  that  it 
can  be  cut  with  a  spade  into  cakes  and  carried  off  to  sheds,  or  the  sur- 
rounding hills  to  further  harden.  This  is  often  the  work  of  women  who 
appear  in  white  costumes,  bonnets,  wide  sleeves  and  aprons,  and  bear 
away  the  gleaming  porcelain  substance  which  is  white  as  snow.     There 


966 


I'ANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


are  harder  deposits  of  kaolin  which  are  blasted  like  stone,  the  bulk  of 
the  product  being  conveyed  in  carts  to  the  nearest  port  and  shipped  to 
Staffordshire,  which  is  in  Central  England  and  also  the  center  of  the 
pottery  manufactures. 

AMONG  MINERS  AND  FISHERMEN. 

A  miner  seldom  appears  to  notice  either  the  beauty  or  the  barren- 
ness of  his  surroundings.  The  life  is  essentially  a  sad  and  an  anxious 
one,  the  world  over,  and  the  Cornish  native  seems  naturally  of  a  more 
sombre,  but  not  desponding  disposition,  than  any  other  nationality ;  the 
Cornish  giant  who  works  in  the  mines  is  intelligent  and  proud,  but  not 


FISH  SALE  ]N  CORNWALL. 

boorish.  When  at  home  he  cultivates  his  flowers  and  vegetables  in 
summer  and,  if  he  lives  on  the  coast,  ventures  out  upon  the  sea  to  catch 
his  winter  supply  of  fish  with  as  much  confidence  as  though  the  wate  , 
not  the  land,  were  his  element. 

Although    girls   and  women    are    not  employed    in   the  mines   as 

frefjUL-ntly  as  in   former  years  the  practice  is  still   common   in  Cornwall. 

Their  work   is  to  break  and  prepare  the    mineral,   and  although   their 

labors  have  a  tendency  to  make  them  far  too  masculine,  their  figures  are 

often   perfectly  developed  and  thev  are  noble  specimens  of  womanhood 


A    DEAD    LANGUAGE.  967 

and  girlhood.  Both  they  and  the  daughters  of  the  sea  arc  fond  of  rib- 
bons, pretty  veils  and  lockets,  and  although  the  granite  Cornish  men 
protest,  they  know  in  their  rough  hearts  that  they  love  to  see  the  bright 
flowers  among  the   rocks.      On   Sunday  the  flowers  appear   particularly 

fresh. 

Yet  Sunday  in  Cornwallis  as  John  Wesley  would  wisii  it  to  be.  Old 
and  young  are  dressed  in  their  cleanest,  and  their  best  includes  silks  and 
laces.  But  whether  by  miners  or  fishermen,  Sunday  is  ol)served  as  a 
holy  day,  and  some  of  them  w^ill  e.xiiibit,  as  an  evidence  that  they  had 
need  to  reform,  various  circles  and  groups  of  stones  which  were  once 
ball-playing  men  and  dancing  girls.  Traces  of  the  first  Methodist  revi- 
val which  Wesley  led  among  the  manufacturing  and  mining;  districts  of 
Enfdand  are  yet  observed  in  Cornwall,  where  he  met  with'  the  greatest 
success.  Thousands  of  the  Cornish  miners  were  both  converted  and  re- 
formed. The  work  did  not  end  there,  but  to  this  day,  the  Wesleyans 
and  the  Methodists  are  the  strong  sects  of  the  country. 

The  actual  toilers  of  the  sea  are  seen  in  their  most  characteristic  at- 
tires when  the  boats  have  returned  to  port  laden  \vith  their  precious 
freio-hts.  The  wives  are  there  to  meet  their  husbands  and  usually  several 
hawkers  are  on  hand,  as  soon  as  anybody,  to  purchase  for  the  markets. 
One  of  their  most  common  vehicles  is  a  truck,  to  which  is  fastened  an 
immense  basket.  If  the  place  is  a  considerable  village  there  is  a  long 
line  of  trucks  along  the  beach,  and  the  buyers  stand  on  rocks  or  jetties, 
with  whips  in  hand,  examine  the  contents  of  the  boats,  which  are  drawn 
up  along  the  pier,  and,  in  a  stentorian  voice,  shout  out  their  "highest 
fiCTure."  "  Women  with  bent  backs  loaded  with  a  dorser  called  a  cowl, 
doubtless  because  some  resemblance  was  found  between  it  and  a  monk's 
cowl,  bear  the  enormous  loads  of  fish  from  the  boats  to  the  beach.  All 
the  people  push  and  elbow  each  other,  with  an  immense  quantity  of  talk- 
ing, performed  in  that  singing  voice  peculiar  to  Cornwall." 

A  DEAD  LANGUAGE. 

The  voice  is  peculiar,  and  some  of  the  long  faces,  black  hair  and 
large  noses  and  mouths  are  not  E:nglish  ;  the  language,  however,  is  get- 
ting to  be  almost  identical  with  the  English,  although  the  majority  of 
the  Cornish  people  were  once  Celts.  Until  the  close  of  the  seventeenth 
century  they  spoke  their  primitive  language,  those  who  lived  nearest 
Land's  End  clinging  to  the  dear  old  dialect  with  tbe  grimmest  determina- 
tion. There  is  something  almost  as  pathetic  in  the  struggle  of  a  people 
to  keep  their  native  language  in  the  world  as  of  a  dying  race  to  struggle 


g6S  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

against  extermination.  A  Cornish  clergyman  who  taught  the  Word  not 
more  than  fifty  miles  from  Land's  End  preached  the  last  sermon  in  Cel- 
tic at  about  1687.  As  a  spoken  language  the  Cornish  may  be  considered 
devoured  by  the  English.  Many  rocks  and  promontories  retain  their 
ancient  names,  and  a  phrase  or  a  few  words  will  occasionally  crop  out 
in  familiar  discourse  between  Cornish  miners  and  fishermen  ;  but  as  the 
English  have  so  crowded  their  way  into  Cornwall  that  there  is  little  pure 
Celtic  blood,  so  it  is  likely  that  the  Celtic  dialect  of  Cornwall  is  dead 
beyond  resurrection.  The  most  important  written  remains  of  the  tongue 
are  deposited  in  the  Cottonian  library  of  the  British  Museum.  Sir 
Robert  Cotton,  an  English  antiquarian,  made  a  valuable  collection  of 
ancient  manuscripts  during  the  early  portion  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
obtaining  among  other  curiosities  a  vocabulary  of  the  Cornish-Celtic 
which  is  still  preserved. 

Returning  toward  Bristol  and  Bath  by  way  of  the  northern  coast  of 
Southwestern  England,  the  formations  of  the  cliffs  are  generally  of  a 
slaty  texture.  After  leaving  these  two  cities,  up  the  River  Severn 
we  pass  into  an  imaginary  division  of  the  empire  called  Educational 
and  Ecclesiastical  England.  The  Thames  bounds  it  on  the  south 
and  Shakespeare's  Avon,  extended  to  the  North  Sea,  is  its  northern 
boundary. 

BRISTOL  AND  BATH. 

These  were  Roman  stations  on  the  great  military  road  from  London 
to  Wales.  Both  cities  were  towns  of  the  Britons  before  the  Romans 
invaded  the  island.  At  Bath  coins,  vases  and  baths,  and  remains  of  a 
temple  have  been  found,  but  within  modern  times  the  hot  springs  have 
made  it  famous.  Bristol,  on  the  contrary,  at  the  head  of  the  Channel  by 
that  name,  stood  next  to  London  for  many  years.  But  the  metropolis 
built  the  West  India  docks,  and  drew  the  monoply  of  the  trade  from 
Bristol,  and  Liverpool,  from  its  position  nearer  the  best  coal  and  iron 
fiekls,  usurped  her  supremacy  as  one  of  the  most  important  manufactur- 
ing centers  of  England.     Yet  Bristol  remains  a  great  city. 

SHAKESPEARE'S  AVON. 

Bristol  and  Bath  are  on  the  Avon,  but  it  is  not  Shakespeare's 
stream.  That  river  branches  off  at  Tewkesbury,  where  the  party  of  the 
Red  Roses  triumphed  over  the  White,  and  flows  gently  toward  the  cas- 
tle of  the  gigantic  Earl  of  Warwick,  who  fell  in  battle  a  few  weeks 
previous  to  the  final  defeat  of  his  army. 

The  River  Avon  is  a  branch  of  the  Severn,  and  where  it  first  enters 


SHAKESPEARE'S    AVON.  969 

Warwickshire,  the  quiet  country  town  of  Stratford  rests  upon  its  banks. 
The  house  where  Shakespeare  was  born  is  a  two-story  stone  buildinsj;,  with 
antique-looking  gables  fronting  the  street.  In  the  room  where  he  is  said 
to  have  been  born  is  one  of  the  many  portraits  of  the  poet,  and  the  walls 
and  window  panes  bear  traces  of  Scott's  and  Wordsworth's  admiration, 
while  the  visitors'  book,  which  has  been  removed  from  the  house,  is  filled 
with  sentiments  and  autographs  of  statesmen,  poets  and  novelists.  Back 
of  the  house  is  a  srarden  once  crowded  with  old  Ens^lish  flowers.  About  a 
mile  away  is  the  cottage  of  Anne  Hathaway;  a  long,  straggling,  simple 
cottage,  with  an  irregular  roof  and  rough  doors  and  windows.  Man  and 
wife,  genius  and  common  clay,  are  buried  in  the  Gothic  church  approached 
through  such  a  majestic  avenue  of  limes.  The  Avon  runs  but  a  short 
distance  from  the  walls.  Up  the  river  a  few  miles  are  Kenilworth  and 
Warwick  castles.  Kenilworth  Castle  is  a  grand  ruin,  covered  with  ivy 
and  banked  in  foliage.  Tradition  connects  it  with  the  romances  of 
King  Arthur,  and  histor)-  with  the  gallantries  of  the  Earl  of  Leicester  t.o 
Queen  Elizabeth,  his  sovereign  having  presented  the  castle  to  him.  For 
seventeen  days  tilts  and  tournaments,  dramatic  representations,  ban- 
quets, songs  and  dances  succeeded  each  other,  during  the  most  famous 
of  his  entertainments  in  honor  of  the  Queen.  But  now  the  walls  are 
broken  and  little  birds  flit  and  chirp  among  the  weeds,  vines  and  rocks 
wiuiin  the  grand  banqueting  hall. 

Warwick  Castle,  on  the  contrary,  is  well  preserved  for  an  old  country 
seat.  It  is  the  principal  residence  of  the  Earls  of  Warwick,  situated  on 
the  banks  of  the  Avon.  The  approach  is  a  winding  road  cut  through 
the  solid  rock,  and  the  castle  itself  is  on  a  rocky  elevation  forty  feet 
high.  The  pictures,  specimens  of  armor,  tapestries,  inlaid  furniture,  and 
interior  decorations  are  interesting  and  elegant,  and  the  gardens  without 
are  magnificent.  The  trees  are  of  most  stately  proportions,  some  of 
them  being  from  Lebanon.  The  visitor  who  comes  to  the  castle  will  be 
expected  to*  receive — at  least  with  an  open  mind — all  the  stories  about  the 
mighty  Guy,  Earl  of  Warwick,  who  slew  so  many  people  that  he  retired 
with  .the  blues  to  a  dismal  cave.  There  he  lived  for  thirty  years,  and 
Guy's  Clif?  can  be  shown  to  prove  it !  The  giant's  porridge  pot,  which 
holds  120  gallons,  is  on  exhibition  at  the  castle,  as  well  as  the  rib  of  a 
mighty  cow  which  the  Earl  killed  on  Dunsmore  Heath. 

While  speaking  of  celebrated  localities,  it  should  be  remembered 
that  Rugby  Grammar  School  is  fifteen  miles  above  Warwick  Castle,  on 
the  Avon.  Foot-ball  and  cricket  are  still  being  played,  and  the  same 
manly  discipline  is  maintained  as  when  thousands  of  American  youth 
were  devouring  "  School  Days  at  Rugby."  The  chapel  of  the  school  con- 


9/0  PANORAMA    UK    NATIONS. 

tains  a  monument   to  Dr.   Arnold,  the  revered  head-master.     But  we 
must  hurry  eastward,  beyond  the  Avon. 

A  SECOND  HOLLAND. 

Much  of  the  country  which  lies  between  Cambridge  and  the  Wash  — 
the  arm  of  the  North  Sea  which  comes  over  the  great  hump  of  South- 
eastern England  —  was  once  a  land  of  swamps.  Most  of  the  land  has  been 
reclaimed  and  drained,  but  it  is  still  a  dreary  region  covered  with  rank 
grass  and  reeds,  intersected  with  ditches,  canals  and  streams,  and  boast- 
ing, in  places,  a  farm  house  or  struggling  village.  Game  is  still  abun- 
dant, despite  the  disappearance  of  so  much  favorite  water,  and  between 
sportsmen  in  summer  and  merry  skaters  in  winter  the  land  is  the  most 
dreary  looking  of  the  two  elements.  In  the  days  when  the  flat  grass 
and  reed  lands  were  the  bottoms  of  lakes  and  marshes  and  the  elevated 
points,  the  islands,  great  abbeys  were  built  upon  these  beautiful,  secluded 
spots.  Their  ruins  of  walls,  towers  and  gigantic  arches  are  the  most 
interesting  features  of  the  country.  Some  of  them  go  back  to  early 
Saxon  times,  the  Crowland  Abbe)'  having  been  devastated  by  the  Danes 
and  nearly  all  the  inmates  massacred. 

"All  the  islands  in  the  great  inland  sea  appear  to  have  been  settled 
by  recluses.  They  had  nothing  to  look  out  upon  hut  '  a  sea  in  winter 
without  waves,  and  in  summer  a  dreary  mud  swamp.'  Each  island  had 
its  duck  decoys  and  the  wild  fowl  abounded  to  such  an  extent  that  3,000 
ducks  have  been  taken  by  one  of  these  in  a  day.  |  An  English  duck 
story.]  Stilts  were  used  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  Fens,  as  they  are 
now  in  the  low  lands  of  Brittany  and  Normandy,  to  spy  out  game  ;  and 
the  Fenlanders  were,  as  might  be  expected,  subject  to  all  kinds  of  low 
fevers  and  ague.  Chatteris,  .Soham,  St.  Ives  and  other  places  that  are 
now  considerable  country  towns,  appear  as  little  islands  in  the  sea  where 
all  now  is  rich  farming  land." 

The  former  extent  of  this  old  inland  sea,  or  marsh,  was  about  two 
thousand  square  miles.  The  Romans  had  attempted  to  save  the  country, 
and  their  dikes  along  the  sea  coast,  or  the  Wash,  are  traceable  in  some 
sections.  The  early  English  tried  to  drain  the  country  and  finally 
called  in  the  aid  of  the  Dutch.  James  1.  employed  Sir  Cornelius  Ver- 
muyden,  who  brought  Dutch  workmen  with  him,  and  his  countrymen 
did  most  of  the  work.  The  channels  of  the  rivers  which  (lowed  through 
the  country  were  deepened  and  their  mouths  cleared  so  that  there 
would  be  a  free  passage  and  a  good  current  to  the  sea.  When  the 
English  Admiral  Blake  defeated  the  Dutch,  some  of  the  prisoners  were 


CATHEUKAL    CITIES.  97I 

set  to  work  draining  the  fens.  Other  Hollanders  continued  in  the 
same  course,  and  some  of  them  became  settlers.  The  result  is  that 
many  words  and  faces  which  are  found  in  the  Fen  country  are  unmistak- 
ably Dutch. 

CATHEDRAL  CITIES. 

The  old  religious  edifices  are  not  all  in  ruins,  however.  On  the 
reclaimed  sea,  called  Bedford  Level,  is  the  old  city  of  Ely  with  a  very 
ancient  cathedral.  The  cathedral  at  Peterborough  was  founded  by  the 
King  of  Mercia  in  the  se\enth  centur)- and  grandl)' combines  the  Norman 
and  the  early  English  in  its  architecture;  for  the  first  church  was  des- 
troyed by  the  Danes.  Catharine  of  Aragon,  wife  of  Henry  YIII.,  is 
buried  here  ;.and  so  once  was  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  but  her  bones  were 
removed  to  Westminster  Abbey.  Lincoln  is  also  a  town  hoary  with 
age  but  alive  with  manufactories  and  contains  one  of  the  finest  cathedrals 
in  the  kingdom,  with  three  towers  and  that  hearty  old  bell,  the  Great 
Tom  of  Lincoln.  There  is  furthermore  the  splendid  structure  at  Norwich 
which  was  founded  in  the  eleventh  century.  The  town  flourished  in  the 
time  of  Edward  the  Confessor.  Fragments  of  its  ancient  wall  still  sur- 
round it.  Norwich  gave  the  lansfuao-e  also  a  common  noun.  The 
Flemings  who  early  settled  in  it  used  to  send  to  the  village  of  Worsted, 
a  few  miles  distant,  for  a  kind  of  yarn  spun  from  long  wool.  These 
manufacturers  of  Norwich  called  it  worsted.  Harriet  Martineau  was 
born  in  Norwich,  her  parents  being  French  refugees. 

CAMBRIDGE. 


Cambridge  is  also  in  the  reclaimed  country  of  Southeastern  England. 
It  was  a  famous  seat  of  learning  as  early  as  Oxford,  but,  if  anything,  has 
shown  a  greater  leaning  towards  aristocracy.  The  students  are  at  the 
present  tinif;  divided  into  classes  according  to  their  social  rank  and  the 
amount  of  tuition  they  pay.  The  noblemen  pay  ^^50  caution  money, 
and  are  the  highest,  while  the  poorest  class  of  students,  the  sizars,  con- 
tribute but  /,io.  Formerly  the  position  of  the  sizars  was  humiliating, 
but  of  late  years  there  has  been  a  great  reform  in  this  particular.  No 
one  who  is  not  a  member  of  the  Church  of  Euirland  can  take  the  degree 
of  B.  A.  The  most  famous  of  the  colleges  which  form  the  university  is 
Trinity,  with  which  the  names  of  Newton  and  Milton  are  intimately 
associated.  The  library  contains  manuscripts  in  both  the  handwritings 
of  these  diverse  geniuses.  Connected  with  the  university  are  botanical 
gardens  and  museums,  and  a  fine  observatory.  Every  institution  has  a 
superb  building,  the  appliances  being  on  a  scale  which  could  direct  the 


972 


PAXURA.MA    OK    NATIONS. 


minds  of  such  scholars  as  Chaucer,  Bacon,  Harvey,  Spenser,  Milton, 
Dryden,  Newton  and  Pitt.  Of  the  architectural  poems  the  Gothic 
chapel  of  King's  College  is  the  grandest  and  most  l:)eautiful.  Of  the 
buildings  Queen's  College  is  the  most  venerable  in  appearance,  as  it  has 
not  been  rebuilt  witliin  modern  times.  In  its  i)rinci])al  court  may  still 
be  seen  the  sun-dial  made  by  Isaac  Newton. 

The  town  has  a  much  more  ancient  appearance  than  ().\ford,  the 
houses  having  queer  gables  and  antiquated  chimneys,  while  the  very 
wagons  and  farmers,  appearing  on  market  day,  seem  to  belong  to  the 
middle  ages.     The   Cam,  a  stream  which  passes  through  the  college 


OLD  ENGLISH  DOORWAY. 

grounds,  often  bears  along,  almost  under  the  windows  of  some  of  the 
university  buildings,  the  coal,  wood  and  grain  destined  for  neiehboring- 
towns.  It  carries  one  through  the  fenny  district  to  Ely,  to  which  point 
many  of  the  nobles  fled  to  escape  the  cruelty  of  William  the  Conqueror 
after  the  battle  of  Hastings  An  authentic  picture  has  hvx-n  drawn  of 
earls  and  knights  capturing  wild  duck,  eels  and  pike,  and  feasting  with 
the  monks  of  Ely,  their  lances  standing  against  the  wall  ready  for  use 
should  the  Normans  seek  and  find  them  in  their  marsh\'  stronghold 
William  finally  found  these  flowers  of  Saxon  knighthood,  ami,  to  crush 
them,  built  a  road  twelve  miles  o\  rr  the  marsli  to  l-^ly.  Init  tiie  road 
was  poorly  constructed  and  sunk  iuan\- ambitious  Normans  to  their  slimy 


HUXVAN,    COWi'EK,    AM)    VKKULAM.  973 

graves.  The  next  attempt  made  would  have  been  successful,  had  not 
the  leader  of  the  Saxon  force  disgfuised  himself  as  one  of  the  army  of 
laborers  which  was  collectinof  brushwood  for  a  solid  roadway  and  set  fire 
to  the  enormous  pile  before  it  could  be  used.  But  the  King  confiscated 
the  lands  of  the  abbey,  and  one  day,  when  the  Saxons  were  away  looking 
for  provisions,  the  monks  paid  the  Norman  King  a  certain  sum  to  get 
back  their  property  besides  giving  the  foreign  soldiers  entrance  to  the 
stronghold.      Both  Danes  and  Normans  ravaged  the  Fen  country. 

BUNYAN,  COWPER  AND  VERULAM. 

B(jfore  leaving  this  portion  of  tlie  kingdom  for  iht;  country  north  of 
the  Avon,  there  are  two  shires  above  Middlesex,  in  which  London  is 
situated,  which  deserve  more  than  a  brief  notice.  The  Ouse,  a  stream 
which  meanders  through  them,  waters  the  home  ground  of  Cowper  and 
Bunyan.  The  author  of  Pilgrim's  Progress  was  born  near  the  town 
of  Bedford  and  was  wont  to  visit  the  locality  where,  in  prison,  he  spent 
twelve  years  of  his  life.  The  monument  to  the  great  and  conscientious 
man  which  is  erected  in  Bedford  represents  him  as  a  preacher. 

In  Hertfordshire  was  born  the  insanely  sensitive  poet.  The  rectory 
of  Great  Berkhamstead  where  he  first  saw  the  uncertain  light  still  stands, 
and  the  house  at  Olney  where  he  enjoyed,  so  many  years,  the  friend- 
ship of  Mrs.  Unwin.  Although  Cowper's  father  was  a  royal  chaplain, 
the  son  is  buried  in  a  church  in  Dereham,  Norfolk,  while  the  son  of  the 
tinker  died  and  was  buried  in  London.  Due  east  of  Cowper's  birthplace 
is  St.  Albans,  that  famous  borough  near  which  two  great  battles  were 
fought  in  the  War  of  the  Roses.  It  is  near  the  site  of  an  ancient  town 
called  Verulam.  From  this  circumstance  Lord  Bacon's  royal  title  was 
of  a  double  nature — Baron  Verulam  and  Viscount  of  St.  Albans — and 
there  is  a  monument  to  the  great  thinker  in  the  borough. 

YARMOUTH   FLATS. 

Any  admirer  of  England's  most  genial,  if  not  her  greatest  novelist 
will  not  fail  to  travel  a  little  nearer  the  North  Sea — in  fact,  to  reach  its 
very  coasts  and  stroll  around  the  quaint,  flat  Yarmouth,  with  its  ship- 
yards and  great  quays  and  smell  of  herrings.  It  is  in  just  such  a  place 
as  one  would  expect  to  find  Peggotty,  and  Em'ly,  and  Uncle  Dan,  and 
Mrs.  Gummidge,  and  all  the  others.  Yarmouth  was  not  reclaimed  from 
the  river  until  the  eleventh  century,  and  although  its  mouth  has  been 
diverted  several  miles  to  the  south,  the  Flats  still  seem  a  fair  invitation 
to  the  sea  to  come  in  and  cover  them,  as  of  old. 

And  although  we  have  left  London,  the  mind  can  not  but  revert  to 


974  PA^'ORA^tA   ok   \Ariii.N> 

the  old-fashioned,  comfortable  home  of  the  handsome,  Impulsive,  im- 
pressible and  not  altogether  unlovable  Steerforth,  in  Highgate,  within 
sight  of  the  cit\'.  The  few  glimpses  which  Dickens  has  given  of  the 
stately  Mrs.  Steerforth  are  indescribably  tender.  The  picture  of  her 
dignified  figure  bending  and  her  hair  whitening  under  the  weight  of  her 
son's  disgrace,  and  that  other  scene  of  stony  and  passionate  grief  after 


AN  OLD  ENGLISH  L.\DV. 

the  body  of  Em'ly's  unprincipled  lover  had  been  cast  by  that  fearful  sea 
upon  Yarmouth  flats,  are  both  associated  with  this  portion  of  the  Eng- 
lish coast.      In  years  to  come  we  imagine  some  such  face  as  that  above. 

A  FAMOUS  BATTLE-FIKLD. 

Leicester,  Nottingham,  Derby,  Lincoln  and  York  form  a  compact 
group  of  shires,  in  which  may  be  found  matters  of  absorbing  interest. 


BACK    TO    NOTTINGHAM.  975 

especially  to  Americans ;  but,  boy-like,  we  reserve  the  best  for  the  last. 
Leicestershire  is  famous  in  English  history  as  the  scene  of  the  final  battle 
between  the  Red  and  White  Roses,  where  Richard  III.  was  slain 
and  the  line  of  the  Plantagenets  disappeared  from  history.  Henry,  Earl 
of  Richmond,  came  from  France  to  try  conclusions  with  him,  only  a 
few  weeks  previous,  collecting  an  army  as  he  advanced  from  Wales 
straight  across  country  to  Leicester.  Among  other  places  he  stopped 
over  night  at  .Shrewsbury  —  separated  by  one  shire  from  Bosworth 
Field  —  and  tlie  house  at  which  he  slept  is  still  perfect,  being  at  the 
present  time  occupied  by  two  shops.  Another  one  of  the  Earl's  sleep- 
ing places,  after  he  had  heard  that  Richard  was  at  Leicester,  was  the 
inn  of  the  Three  Tuns,  at  wiiich  man  and  beast  may  still  be  enter- 
tained. In  the  meantime  Richard  III.  had  been  advancing  from  Notting- 
ham. This  was  one  of  his  favorite  court  residences,  the  view  from  his 
castle  being  grand  indeed.  He  marshaled  liis  forces  in  the  market-place 
and  lead  them  toward  Leicester,  following  the  first  column  of  his  troops 
on  a  white  horse  and  wearing  the  imperial  crown.  The  King  rested  at 
the  "  Blue  Boar  Inn,"  which  has  been  pulled  down,  and  on  the  fourth  day 
thereafter  the  armies  came  in  sight  of  each  other  on  an  uneven  marshy 
field,  in  the  western  part  of  Leicestershire.  The  immortal  Bard  of  Avon 
is  considered  the  most  precise  historian  of  the  battle  which  rung  out  the 
Plantagenets  and  rung  in  the  Tudors.  Richard's  crown,  which  was  found 
near  a  hawthorn  bush,  after  the  fight,  was  placed  upon  the  Earl's  head, 
and  therefore  upon  King  Henry's  monument  at  Westminster  Abbey 
there  appears  a  crown  in  a  bush.  The  center  of  Bosworth  Field  is 
marked  by  a  spring,  over  which  is  a  small  stone  structure  of  pyramidal 
shape.  Even  the  well  shares  the  ignominy  of  the  fallen  king ;  it  has 
never  been  called  King  Richard's  well,  but  King  Dick's  well.  From  the 
field  have  been  dug  artistic  crossbows,  and  spurs  of  steel,  and  gigantic 
spear  heads,  some  of  which  are  deposited  in  the  Bosworth  church  and 
in  the  Liverpool  Museum ;  that  bloody  ground  placed  a  red  seal  upon  a 
thirty  years'  civil  war  and  the  slaughter  of  one  hundred  thousand  Eng- 
lishmen. 

BACK  TO  NOTTINGHAM. 

From  Bosworth  Field  to  Nottingham,  with  quaint  country  inns  all 
along  the  way,  is  suggestive  of  Richard's  triumphal  march  in  the  other 
direction.  Though  these  interior  hostelries  retain  their  picturesque  and 
antiquated  appearance  and  their  homely  names,  as  a  rule  they  furnish 
good  fare  and  comfortable  beds  and  keep  pace  with  the  times.  In 
England,  as  in  this  country,  however,  the  tourist  or  summer  guest  has  3 


97^  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

few  complaints  to  make  about  that  magician,  the  commercial  traveler, 
who  aKva\'s  gets  the  very  best  the  inns  afford.  A  stop  at  Leicester 
.should  not  be  neglected,  for  its  castle,  of  which  a  few  traces  only  remain, 
was  once  a  ro\al  residence,  and  in  the  Abbey  of  St.  Mary  Pre,  also  in 
ruins,  died  the  princely  and  too  ambitious  Cardinal  Wolsey. 

Nottingham  is  getting  to  be  quite  a  modern  town,  with  a  great 
market-place  surrounded  by  lofty  buildings,  and  numerous  manufactories 
are  in  brisk  operation.  Richard's  old  castle  has  long  ago  given  place  to 
the  present  structure — but  perhaps  young  and  old  would  like  to  be 
acquainted  with  the  fact  that  Nottingham  is  noted  for  being  near 
Gotham,  where  originated  the  story  of  the  Seven  Wise  Men  who  went 
to  sea  in  a  bowl. 

The  inhabitants  were  Saxons,  and  so  hated  King  John  that  they 
felled  trees  across  the  road  which  he  was  to  take,  to  make  a  visit  of  state 
to  the  town.  This  so  enraged  him  that  he  sent  a  sheriff  to  cut  off  their 
noses.  But  the  citizens  had  deliberated,  and  when  the  officer  returned 
he  bore  word  to  the  King  that  they  were  all  a  set  of  fools  and  not 
accountable  for  their  actions.  From  that  day  until  the  true  story  came 
out,  the  Wise  Men  of  Gotham  was  said  in  derision. 

BYRON  AND  ROBIN   HOOD. 

It  is  a  short  ride  by  rail  to  Mansfield,  and  a  walk  from  that  venera- 
ble town  leads  one  to  Newstead  .Abbey,  a  most  picturesque  ruin  founded 
by  the  Henry  through  whose  thoughtlessness,  at  least,  Thomas  a  Becket 
was  murdered.  It  was  built  as  a  propitiatory  offering  and  became  the  home 
of  Lord  Byron.  The  rooms  of  the  poet,  it  is  said,  remain  as  he  left 
them  ;  his  bedstead,  with  gilded  coronets,  his  pictures,  portraits  of 
friends,  writing  table  and  all.  The  abbey  forms  a  portion  of  the  old 
forest  of  Sherwood,  the  haunt  of  Robin  Hood  and  his  band.  The 
new  growth  of  the  forest  is  fine  and  the  ferns  are  seemingly  exhaustless; 
but  the  old  oaks  are  the  most  interesting.  Parliament  oak  boasts  of 
a  green  old  age,  for,  although  it  still  bears  leaves,  one  of  the  kings  held 
his  parliament  under  it  in  the  thirteenth  century.  Another  veteran  is 
pointed  out  which  is  supposed  to  be  seven  hundred  years  old.  These 
pioneers  of  the  forest  are  twisted,  and  gnarled,  and  rifted,  and  most  of 
them  have  local  tales  attached  to  them  as  well  as  timber  braces  and 
crutches,  to  keep  them  from  caving  in  or  falling  to  the  ground.  There 
is  the  same  pride  shown  in  keeping  them  above  ground  as  if  they 
were  very  aged  people  who  had  passed  through  many  memorable 
scenes. 


A    CASTLE    AM)    C(JUXTKV     I.VxNS. 


977 


A  CASTLE  AND  COUNTRY  IXXS. 


The  still  noble  ruins  of  Ashl)\-  Castle;  are  reached  l)y  takiny  a 
short  trip  from  Leicester  northwest  to  near  the  border  line  of  Derby- 
shire. This  was  in  Richard's  time  upon  the  i;rand  estate  of  the  unfor- 
tunate Lord  Hastings,  murdered  l)y  tliat  king  through  the  executioner. 
Around  the  castle,  which  was  one  of  the-  grandest  in  England,  was  a 
stately  park  five  square  miles  in  extent.  Oliver  Cromwell  besieged 
it,  reduced  it  and  impriscned  several  noble  dukes  and  earls  in  it,  who 
supported  the  royal  cause.  Afterwards,  when  the  army  of  the  Lord 
Protector  triumpht;d  throughout  England,  a  committee  of  Parliament  de- 
termined what  castles  should  stand 
and  wliich  be  destro)ed.  Ashby 
was  too  dangerous  to  be  passed 
over  and  it  was  accordingly  un- 
p      '    4      -^^i^ ..gj^^^-  -^^  ;^-F-  _  C?''*"i3f  derminetl  and  brought  to  its  pres- 

I  ^■^-'SL~~Z^-J^-  f.|i^   ent  condition. 

«  In   the  town    of    Ashbv  the 

^  >  •' 

"J  same  quaint  old  inns  aj)pear  — 
i^i  the  Queen's  Head,  the  Bull's 
~  Head,  etc.,  etc.  These  inns  ex- 
hibit their  noble  proclivities  in 
various  ways,  the  latter  flying 
the  Hastings  coat  of  arms  as  a  sign  and  symbol.  Throughout  Derby, 
also,  it  is  inn  upon  inn,  and  every  one  is  an  added  charm  to  the  beau- 
tiful country. 

AMERICA  IN  ENGLAND. 


A  DERBYSHIRE  INN. 


East  of  Nottinghamshire,  beyond  the  River  Trent,  there  is  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  Pen  country,  whose  general  features  have  been  already 
described.  In  its  midst,  near  the  sea,  at  the  mouth  of  a  river,  is  Boston, 
England,  the  parent  of  Boston,  U.  S.  A.  Rev.  John  Cotton,  one  of  our 
Boston's  first  clergymen,  preached  there  for  many  years.  From  him 
have  descended  such  families  as  Everett,  Grant,  Hale,  Jackson,  P"roth- 
ingham,  Lee,  Mather,  Thayer,  Tracy,  Whiting,  etc.  Residents  of 
the  United  States  have  erected  a  chapel  to  his  memory  near  St. 
Botolph's  church,  in  which  he  preached  for  twenty  years,  the  Latin 
inscription  being  by  the  Hon.  Edward  Everett.  This  beautiful  church, 
with  its  tower  nearly  300  feet  in  height,  is  580  years  old,  and  retains  the 
original  name  from  which  Boston  w^as  corrupted.      "  St.  Botolph  was  a 

Saxon  saint  who  lived  in  the  seventh  century,  and  was  almost  contem- 

62 


9/8  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

poraneoLis  with  the  more  celebrated  St.  Cuthbert.  The  common  pro- 
nunciation in  the  eastern  countries  is  St.  Bottle;  so  the  transition  from 
Bottlestown  to  Boston  is  comprehensible."     Boston  is  like  a  Dutch  town 

—  h('r  warehouses,  wharfs,  vessels  and  buildings  remind  one  of  Holland 

—  and  in  the  matter  of  contests  with  the  sea  she  had  the  experience  of 
her  neighbors  on  the  other  shore  of  the  North  Sea.  In  the  days  of 
King  John,  Boston  mercliants  were  taxed  according  to  their  wealth. 
London  yielded  ;/^836  to  the  King  and  Boston  was  second  with  ^780. 
Her  population  may  now  be  20,000.  At  about  the  time  her  great  church 
was  built  she  was  of  such  power  and  wealth  that  her  vessels  comprised 
the  bulk  of  the  nav\-  which  carried  the  troops  of  Edward  to  the  battle 
of  Crecy,  France.      Cromwell  made  Boston  his  headquarters  for  a  time. 

Iin[)rovements  in  the  channel  of  the  river  are  restoring  its  trade  to 
some  t;xtent,  but  the  chief  interest  attaching  to  it  is  its  connection  with 
American  history  ;  for  Cotton's  friends  named  new  Boston.  From 
Hartford  another  English  clergyman  went  to  America  to  found  a  church, 
and  gave  the  American  city  a  name.  In  fact,  the  Fen  country  of  East- 
ern and  Southeastern  England  became  the  stronghold  of  the  English 
Puritans  as  it  was  that  of  the  .Saxons  against  the  Normans,  and  much  of 
the  best  blood  of  New  England  tlowed  from  that  marshy,  foggy,  plague- 
stricken  and  unattractive  country.  The  county  of  Lincoln,  in  which  is 
Boston,  was  the  native  place  of  john  Wesley,  founder  of  Methodism. 

Yorkshire  adjoins  Lincolnshire  on  the  north  and  from  this  land  of 
moors  and  wolds  came  forth  such  families  as  Washington,  Penn  and 
Winthrop.  The  Washington  family  tied  from  Cromwell  because  it  was 
a  champion  of  Charles  II.  and  the  Stuart  d)'nasty.  John  Washington 
and  his  brother  Lawrence  escaped  to  America. 

A  few  miles  from  the  railway  which  runs  between  Hull  and  York  is 
a  massive  structure,  surrounded  by  a  pleasant  park  in  which  elms  pre- 
dominate. In  a  corner  of  the  park  is  a  venerable  little  church.  "Of 
course,  a  private  path  leads  into  the  chancel  where  the  family  pews  are. 
There  is  a  fine  collection  of  paintings  here,  one  of  President  Washing- 
ton, on  which  a  great  value  is  set.  The  little  church  has  the  dignity  of 
being  a  parish  one,  and  possessing  a  rector,  and  here  the  parish  records 
are  kept.  Unhappily,  they  are  very  imperfect  ;  those  relating  to  Wash- 
ington's great-grandfather,  John  Washington,  are  not  to  be  found  and 
there  are  others  of  later  dates  which  are  very  puzzling." 

THE  ENGLISH  YORK. 

Both  the  city  of  York  and  the  county  of  York  are  among  the  most 
interesting  and  picturesque  districts  of   England.      The   capital   is   near 


THE    ENGLISH    YORK.  979 

the  center  of  Great  Britain,  and  liy  Britons,  Romans,  Saxons,  Danes  and 
Normans  was  considered  the  key  to  a  successful  invasion  from  the  north. 
From  the  earhest  times  it  was  a  chief  town  of  the  Northern  Britons. 
Then  it  was  a  Roman  station  and  the  chief  city  of  the  imperial  power  in 
the  north.  Fortresses,  temples  ami  palaces  arose,  ruins  of  which  exist, 
and  late  excavations,  which  have  been  made  near  the  railway  station, 
have  unearthed  rich  jewels  of  silver  and  gold,  delicate  jars  and  lamps  of 
glass,  cameos  and  statuettes  of  bronze  and  ivory,  great  squares  of  intri- 
■cate  pavements  of  Mosaic  \\ori-:  ami  other  e\'idences  of  the  magnificence 
which  reigned  when  the'  Kmperors  Hadrian  and  Severus  lived  in  York. 
Here  Severus  died,  as  well  as  the  father  of  Constantinc  the  Great,  and 
many  believe  that  Constantine  himself  was  born  in  York.  At  the  time 
of  his  fathers  death  Constantine  was  in  the  city,  and  in  York  the  Sixth 
Legion  proclaimed  him  Emperor. 

Britons  and  Picts  fought  for  the  possession  of  the  great  northern 
capital,  and  the  savage  tribes  from  beyond  Hadrian's  wall  overran  and 
destroyed  it.  The  Saxons  re-established  its  importance  and  it  became 
the  capital  of  the  powerful  kingdom  of  Northumbria,  out  of  which  York 
was  finally  carved.  The  first  King  of  all  England  held  his  W'itenage- 
mot,  or  popular  parliament,  in  York  ;  and  three  weeks  before  the  battle 
of  Hastings,  Harold,  the  last  of  the  Saxon  monarchs,  defeated  a  united 
force  of  Danes  and  Norwegians  only  a  few  miles  from  the  capital.  The 
Danes  captured  the  city,  after  it  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Nor- 
mans, and  put  the  garrison  to  the  sword,  and  then  the  Normans  laid 
waste  the  countr)-  for  miles  around  and  butchered  one  hundred  thousand 
people. 

The  first  English  parliament  was  held  at  York,  and  for  five  cen- 
turies thereafter  it  met  there,  occasionally.  The  highest  courts  of  the 
kingdom  even  had  their  seasons  of  sitting  at  York.  But  when  Plantag- 
enet  went  down  at  Bosworth  P'ield,  York  declined  and  fell.  It  became 
one  of  the  greatest  ecclesiastical  centers  of  England.  The  first  metro- 
politan  church  was  built  there.  In  the  eighth  century  the  magnificent 
Anglo-Saxon  church  was  built  which  was  enlarged  into  York  Minster. 
This  ranks  as  one  of  the  largest  and  finest  specimens  of  Gothic  architec- 
ture in  the  world,  being  longer  than  St.  Paul's  Cathedral.  Some  portions 
of  St.  Mary's  Abbey,  completed  in  the  Conqueror's  time  for  the  Bene- 
dictine monks,  stand  in  the  midst  of  stately  gardens  shaded  by  a  belt  of 
ehns,  wonderfully  graceful  in  their  old  age. 

Within  these  gardens  is  also  the  "  King's  Manor  House,"  built  from 
the  walls  of  St.  Mary's  Abbey  and  the  residence  of  the  Stuarts.  It  is  a  rough 
stone   building,  two  stories  in  height,  with  many  gables  and  chimneys 


9  So 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


and  covered  \vith  \"inc,s  from  its  foundation  to  the  peaks  of  its  dormer 
windows.  The  arms  of  the  Earl  of  Strafford  are  emblazoned  over  the 
door,  for  when  he  was  made  Lord  President  of  the  North  he  took  up  his 
residence  in  King's  Manor.  The  building  is  now  occupied  by  the  York- 
shire School  f(5r  the  Blind,  dedicated  to  William  W'ilberforce. 

But  York   lies   mostly  in   the  past.      It  is  the  most  ancient-looking 

city  in  Knoland.  The 
streets  are  narrow, 
the  houses  are  high, 
with  very  pointed 
roofs,  and  on  market 
day  when  the  farmers 
appear  with  their 
broad-wheeled  carts, 
their  gailj-decorated 
blouses  and  their 
broad  Yorkshire  dia- 
lect, modern  times 
are  forgotten.  Some 
of  the  houses  are 
massive  piles,  with 
only  a  few  windows 
in  front,  the  upper 
two  stories  not  only 
bulging  out  over  the 
lower,  but  the  third 
being  higher  than  the 
second  and  project- 
ing farther  over  the 
street.  In  one  of  the 
most  ancient  streets 
are  the  remains  of 
the  parliament  house, 
a  n  d  near  by  the 
coach-house,  which  is  at  least  four  hundred  years  old. 

The  many  Jewish  faces  seen  in  York  remind  one  of  poor  Isaac  and 
his  Rebecca,  in  Ivanhoe.  Until  comparatively  of  recent  date  the 
princijial  ([uarters  of  that  i)eople  were  called  Jubbargate  and  jewbury. 
When  York  was  great,  they  were  as  powerful  as  Scott  represented 
them,  antl  in  the  royal  city  they  were  often  attacked  by  armed  mobs 
andsomtaimes  murdered.      It  was  their  custom,  at  one  time,  to   keep  a 


OLD  ENGLISH  GATEWAY. 


MANCHESTER.  gSl 

record  of  their  loans  in  the  York  Minster,  but  they  discontinued  the 
practice  after  the  populace  had  broken  into  the  cathedral  and  burned  the 
documents. 

MANCHESTER. 

It  is  the  county  of  Lancaster,  York's  old  rival,  which  is  now  at  the 
height  of  prosperity  ;  and  we  need  merely  mention  Manchester  and  Liv- 
erpool to  make  the  contrast  forcible.  Manchester  is  only  about  twenty 
miles  west  of  the  romantic  Peak  District,  which  will  be  hereafter  noticed. 
It  is  the  most  important  manufacturing  cit\'  of  (ireat  Britain,  its  cotton 
works  leading  the  world.  The  city  has  been  noted  for  the  excellence  of 
this  line  for  centuries.  It  is  the  center  of  a  great  canal  system,  and 
many  canals  intersect  its  streets.  It  was  the  home  of  many  famous 
inventors,  but  has  acquired  the  most  prominence,  perhaps,  as  being  the 
rallying  point  of  the  free-traders  of  England.  Cobden  and  Bright  and 
the  "  Manchester  School  "  are  known  wherever  industrial  questions  are 
discussed.  Statues  of  these  leaders,  with  their  convert  Sir  Robert  Peel, 
and  the  inventor  Watt,  adorn  the  public  parks.  The  present  free-trade 
hall,  erected  on  the  site  of  the  old  one,  is  unattractive  but  holds  five 
thousand  people,  and  is  already  marked  as  an  historical  building. 

LIVERPOOL. 

Liverpool  from  its  long  dealings  with  this  country,  as  the  greatest 
cotton  market  of  the  world  and  one  of  the  largest  grain  centers,  has 
imbibed  the  true  American  spirit  of  pluck,  perseverance  and  push. 
Nearly  all   the  emio-rants  who  leave  Great   Britain    and    one  half  her 

w  o 

exports  pass  through  Liverpool.  She  is  rapidly  capturing  the  wool 
trade  of  Australia,  and  with  all  her  strides  in  cosmopolitan  trade  the  city 
lias  fountl  time  to  improve  her  ajjpearance  and  consider  the  health  of  her 
citizens.  The  sewerage  system  is  being  extended  and  improved,  and 
the  water  supply  perfected,  so  that,  although  the  most  densely  populated 
city  in  England,  she  is  rapidly  leaving  behind  her  former  record  of  being 
one  of  the  most  unhealthy.  Liverpool  has  thirty  miles  of  dockage,  the 
yards  within  the  city  and  the  ones  which  the  Corporation  owns  in  Bir- 
kenhead havinof  a  world-wide  fame  for  their  massive  character.  The 
shipping  in  the  docks  is  protected  by  a  sea  wall  five  miles  in  length,  and 
forty  feet  in  height,  entrance  being  effected  through  numerous  gates, 
some  of  which  open  a  passage  loo  feet  wide.  Liverpool  is  almost  as 
great  a  railway  center  as  London.  The  first  line  in  England  run  from 
Liverpool  to  Manchester  and  was  opened  eight  years  before  the  London 
railwa)-. 


982  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

The  center  of  commercial  activity  in  Liverpool  is  the  town  square, 
the  hall  being  upon  one  side,  and  the  American  and  Liverpool  chambers 
of  commerce,  cotton  sales  rooms,  and  mercantile  offices  upon  the 
remaining"  three  sides. 

GLADSTONE  AND   HIS  ESTATE. 

It  is  appropriate  that  Gladstone  should  have  been  born  in  Liver- 
pool, not  far  from  free-trade  Manchester.  His  father  was  first  a -wealthy 
merchant  in  the  West  India  trade  and  afterwards  a  baronet.  Gladstone 
is  manly  Manchester  and  liberal  Liverpool  in  himself,  just  as  the  more 
meteoric  Disraeli  was,  in  one,  radical  and  conservative  London,  where  he 
enjo^-ed  his  triumphs  of  literature  and  politics. 

The  peninsula  upon  which  Birkenhead  is  situated  divides  the  Mer- 
sey from  the  River  Dee.  On  the  left  bank  of  the  latter  stream  runs  a 
good  highway  overlooking  a  beautiful  country  and  the  estuaries  of  both. 
the  rivers.  A  few  minutes'  walk  from  the  main  road  brings  one  to  the 
country  town  of  Hawarden,  and  fronting  on  the  main  street  are  the 
gates  (if  the  castle  which  lie  in  the  broad  Gladstone  estate.  The  village 
also  runs  along  the  walls  of  the  jiark  for  a  long  distance,  so  that  when 
the  Prime  Minister  retires  to  his  estate  to  chop  trees  and  superintend 
improvements — to  rest  by  plunging  into  another  grade  of  work  —  he 
may  be  in  the  world  and  yet  not  of  it.  The  estate  has  descended  to 
Mr.  Gladstone's  wife  from  William  I.,  through  a  long  line  of  nobles  and 
Sergeant  Glynne  of  Cromwell's  army.  Mrs.  Gladstone's  maiden  name 
was  Gh'nne.  Before  reaching  her  from  William  it  twice  reverted  to 
the  Crown.  The  original  castle  in  bare  outline  has  been  uncovered,  and 
from  its  lofty  tower  the  beautiful  Hawarden  jjark  and  the  rich  features 
of  the  surrounding  countr\',  which  are  spread  out  like  a  feast,  cause  the 
■wonder  to  increase  more  and  more  that  the  venerable  statesman  can 
ever  tear  himself  away  and  return  to  the  turmoil  of  public  life. 

MAXl'EACTURIXG   AND   MECHANICAL  ENGLAND. 

Erom  the  Cheshire  hills,  which  are  further  inland  than  Hawarden, 
the  view  of  ri\ers,  villages,  castles,  parks  and  gladsome  stretches  of 
landscape  can  not  be  surpassed.  There  are  scores  of  old  towns  in  this 
region  worth  visiting,  but  in  the  midst  of  everything  romantic,  historical, 
pictures(|ue  and  charming,  figuratively  speaking,  one  stumbles  into  the 
greatest  salt  mines  of  England.  The  center  of  the  tlistrict  is  the  old 
town  of  Northwich  on  the  River  Weaver,  which  comes  from  the  Mer- 
sey.     Along  the  entire  valley  of  the   stream,  huge   deposits  of  rock  salt 


PEVERIL    OK    THE    PEAK.  983 

are  found  and  quarried,  and  such  is  the  recklessness  of  the  money-makers 
in  the  old  town  itself  that  its  foundations  are  being  carried  away,  and  its 
buildings  are  sinking  so  that  they  incline  to  every  degree  of  the  circle. 
And  thus  it  is  from  Central  to  Northern  England — from  Birmingham  to 
NeWcastle-on-Tyne — the  English  delve  and  reap,  with  history  and 
poetry  scattered  in  the  hills  around  them  and  worked  into  nearly  every 
village  and  hamlet  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land. 
Verily  the  Englishman  is  insular,  and  well  he  may  be  with  so  much  to 
bind  him  to  the  soil. 

The  manufacturing  towns  of  Central  and  Xorthern  England,  the  iron 
and  coal  districts  naturally  are  where  the  inventors  flourished.  There  was 
Watt,  a  Scotchman,  but  he  manufactured  his  improved  steam  engines 
near  Birmingham.  He  also  first  invented  steam  apparatus  for  heating, 
houses. 

Then,  later,  came  George  Stephenson,  the  Northumberland  collier, 
who  became  engineer  of  a  mine,  and  made  such  ingenious  inventions  as 
constructing  inclines  by  which  loaded  wagons  descending  to  the  vessels 
drew  up  the  empty  ones.  When  he  was  thirty-three  he  constructed  the 
first  smooth-wheeled  locomotive  ever  built,  and  the  next  )'ear  invented  a 
miner's  lamp  which  is  still  used  in  the  collieries.  Ten  years  afterwards 
he  established  a  manufactory  for  locomotives  at  Newcastle-on-Tyne  and 
was  appointed  the  engineer  of  the  Liverpool  &  Manchester  Railway. 
Upon  this  line  he  placed  the  Rocket  and  seven  other  locomotives,  not- 
withstanding that  wise  engineers  recommended  the  use  of  stationary 
engines  which  should  drag  the  trains  by  ropes.  It  is  from  Birmingham 
to  Newcastle,  principally  on  either  side  of  the  Pennine  chain  of  hills  and 
mountains,  which  runs  down  into  Cornwall  as  the  backbone  of  England, 
that  the  mineral  and  manufacturing  tlistricts  lie. 

PEVERIL  OF  THE   PEAK. 

Between  Sheffield  and  Birmingham  is  the  Peak  District  of  Derby- 
shire and  Staffordshire,  a  tract  of  country  inatle  up  of  sandstone  and 
limestone  hills,  olens,  waterfalls,  and  streams,  where  Walton  and  Cotton 
often  fished  together.  Impartially  distributed  through  such  a  romantic 
region,  which  Sir  Walter  Scott  has  especially  favored  in  the  "  Peveril  of 
the  Peak,"  are  the  great  manufacturing  centers  of  Leeds,  Sheffield  and 
Birmingham.  You  should  bu}'  your  clothing  at  Leeds,  your  cutlery  at 
Sheffield,  and  anything  in  the  world  which  comes  in  metal  at  Birming- 
ham. Manufacturing  cities  are  of  a  stamp,  everywhere,  the  peculiarity 
of  those  of  Great  Britain  being  that  the  surrounding  country  is  incom- 
parable. 


9-H 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


Near  Castleton  in  the  upper  portion  of  the  Peak  Region  is  Peveril's 
Castle  and  The  Peak.      The  former  is,  of  course,  a  sombre  ruin.      But 
Chatsworth,    or   the  Palace   of  the   Peak,   arises,    stately  and  beautiful, 
with  a  solid  background  of  rocks  and  dense  foliage.      The  grand  conser- 
vatory, three  hun- 
dred feet  in  length, 
and  extensive  ear- 
amonor 


dens  are 
the  most  famous  in 
England.  The  es- 
tate has  descended 
from  William  the 
Conqueror,  who 
gave  it  to  Will- 
iam Pevcril,  his 
natural  son.  The 
principal  builchng 
was  nearly  com- 
pleted in  the  sev- 
enteenth century, 
being  nearly  i8o 
feet  square.  Draw- 
ings and  paintings 
by  Titian,  Rem- 
brandt, Murillo 
and  Landseer  and 
pieces  of  sculpture 
by  Thorwaldsen, 
Canova  and  other 
masters  make  the 
rooms  of  state  val- 
uable storehouses 
Mary  Stuart  was  a  prisoner 


"    *  fiJ^^         t.       K>.        •^-    ■- 


EXOLISH  POTTERY. 

of  art  as   well    as    intrinsically  beaulitul. 
at  Chatsworth  for  thirteen  years. 

THE   POTTERY  SHIRE. 

Litchfield  is  a  few  miles  east  of  the  southern  portion  of  the  district, 
in  the  county  of  Stafford.  It  is  an  old  manufacturing  town,  with  a  cathe- 
<lral  which  sends  up  three  great  spires,  whose  foundations  were  laid 
seven  centuries  ago.  Litchfield  was  made  an  Episcopal  see  in  the 
jseventli  centurv,  but  visitors  go  to  the  hantlsome   old  town  to  see  the 


THE    BORDER    LAND.  985 

house  where  ornff,  practical,  uncouth  Dr.  Johnson  was  horn;  that  rugged 
thinker  who  went  to  one  root  of  things  and  could  not  understand  how 
idealists  even  could  find  any  other.  The  house  is  there  on  one  side  of 
the  market  square,  and  not  far  away  are  statues  erected  to  his  memory 
and  that  of  Garrick  and  Lady  Montagu. 

The  pottery  manufactories  which  have  made  Staffordshire  the  cen- 
ter of  the  industry  in  England  lii;  in  this  region,  along  the  River  Trent. 
The  manufacture  was  brought  from  Delft,  Holland,  which  had  been 
supplying  Northern  Europe  for  many  )'ears  with  its  famous  household 
ware.  Two  centuries  ago  several  brothers  came  from  the;  Netherlands 
and  established  a  pottery  in  Staffordshire,  but  it  was  not  until  seventy 
years  thereafter  that  the  Wedgwood  family  introduced  not  only  new 
and  superb  decorations  for  old  potter\-,  but  several  new  kinds  of  ware, 
the  best  known  being,  perhaps.  Queen's  ware.  "Wedgewood  was  imi- 
tated and  copied  throughout  Europe.  He  employed  good  artists  to 
make  designs  and  moulds  for  his  works,  among  whom  Flaxman  was 
conspicuous;  he  borrowed  anticpie  gems  in  immense  number  {or  fac- 
similc  reproduction,  and  his  taste  and  skill  were  exercised  in  supplying 
thousands  of  varieties  of  artistic  productions.  The  art  advanced  rapidly 
in  England  and  numerous  potteries  became  famous.  One  immediate 
result  of  Wedgwood's  discoveries  was  the  introduction  of  new  pastes, 
called  stonewares,  which  occupy  a  position  between  pottery  and  porce- 
lain, and  for  which  English  potteries  have  become  especially  known. 
The  division  of  porcelain  into  two  classes,  soft  and  hard  paste,  becomes, 
in  examining  English  wares,  impracticable,  since  the  pastes  are  but  dif- 
ferent classes  of  pottery,  running  up  from  soft  pottery  to  hard  porcelain 
in  one  direction  and  to  opaque  glass  in  another.  The  most  important 
modern  addition  to  these  pastes  is  one  the  invention  of. which  is  claimed 
by  two  great  houses,  Minton  and  Copeland,  known  as  Parian  biscuit." 

THE  BORDER  LAND. 

Above  Lancashire,  pressed  in  between  the  Pennine  chain  and  the 
Irish  Sea  and  extending  to  SoKvay  Firth,  is  the  Lake  Region  of  England, 
and  there  are  few  more  restful,  serene  and  inspiring  havens  on  earth.  It 
is  not  Switzerland.  It  is  not  the  poetry  of  Byron,  but  of  Wordsworth. 
He  was  the  foremost  of  the  school  of  "lake  poets."  Both  Southey  and 
Wordsworth  lived  by  the  lakes  and  were  buried  there.  Scott,  also,  was 
drawn  to  the  beautiful  region,  and  with  Wordsworth  ascended  many  a 
peak  and  breathed  in  the  beauties  of  sky,  lake,  mountain,  valley,  sunrise 
and  sunset. 


986  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

It  is  here  that  we  approach  the  borderland  of  Scotland,  where  the 
conflict  between  Northern  and  Southern  Celt  raged  with  such  stubborn- 
ness. The  course  of  lladrian's  wall,  built  by  Rome  to  keep  back  the 
Celts  of  the  north,  is  from  Carlisle  to  near  Newcastle-on-Tyne,  on  the 
opposite  coast.  The  scenery  along  the  line  is  magnificent,  but  the  north 
and  northwest  of  England  so  teem  with  picturesqueness  that  the  chief 
interest  should  be  centered  in  the  still  perfect  nature  of  these  military 
remains.  There  is  the  wall  proper,  consisting  of  a  ditch,  a  stone  rampart, 
a  space  between  this  and  the  earthworks  for  the  military  road,  and  three 
earthen  ramparts.  Every  few  miles  there  are  fortified  encampments, 
and,  nearer  still,  castles  and  watch-towers.  "  Moreover  there  are  roads 
and  bridges,  traces  of  villas,  gardens  and  burial  places,  making  almost 
every  inch  from  sea  to  sea  classic  ground.  A  stranger  might  suppose 
that  after  the  lapse  of  long  centuries,  all  these  works,  granting  their  ex- 
istence once,  must  have  disappeared.  It  is  not  so;  save  in  the  western 
portion  there  is  scarely  an  acre  without  distinct  traces;  in  many  places 
all  the  lines  sweep  on  together,  parts  in  wondrous  preservation,  while 
many  of  the  recent  e.\cavations  present  structures  several  feet  high,  giv- 
ing one  the  idea  of  works  in  progress,  so  fresh  that  we  are  tempted  to, 
think  ot  the  builders  as  away  for  an  hour,  perhaps  to  the  noonday  meal." 

Carlisle  had  a  part  in  all  the  wars  between  the  Romans  and  Britons 
and  the  Saxons,  Picts  and  Scots.  It  was  a  Roman  station  in  the  early 
days  of  Christianity,  being  the  more  ancient  seat  of  the  kings  of  Cam- 
bria. Around  Carlisle  lie  both  Druidical  and  Roman  remains.  At  Pen- 
rith the  Druid  temple,  formed  of  sixt)'-seven  immense  stones,  is  known  as 
Long  Meg  and  her  Daughters.  The  Druids  early  established  their  altars 
in  this  region,  and  after  the  Romans  defeated  the  Britons  multitudes  of 
the  priests  and  priestesses  gathered  on  the  Isle  of  Man.  The  Romans 
followed  them,  and  put  to  the  sword,  without  mercy,  the  long-haired 
priests  and  the  torch-bearing  priestesses. 

Newcastle-on-Tyne  is  yet  a  thriving  city  which  contains  car  and 
locomotive  works  ;  a  great  establishment  for  the  manufacture  of  the 
Armstrong  gun,  iron  bridges  and  ship  armor,  as  well  as  other  important 
manufactories.  The  bridge  across  the  river,  built  b\-  Stephenson,  has 
both  a  carriageway  and  a  railway  \iaduct,  the  latter  being  1  iS  feet  from 
the  water. 

The  Cheviot  hills  mark  the  boundary  between  PLngland  and  Scot- 
land. Ijeing  the  natural  wall  between  the  two  countries.  Upon  Flodden, 
the  last  of  the  hills  in  N<)rthuml>erland,  England,  the  great  battle  was 
fought  between  James,  the  .Scottish  King,  and  the  Earl  of  Surrey,  in 
which  the  Scotch  were  slain  to  a  man,  the  ro\'al  leader  falline  within  3 


THE  SCOTCH.  987 

few  feet  of  the  noble.  The  ilower  of  Scotland,  nobility,  gentry  and 
clergy,  was  crushed  on  Flodden  Field,  and  to  this  da\-  it  is  her  greatest 
national  grief.  It  was  well  that  her  greatest  romancist  and  heroic  poets, 
should  immortalize  it.  The  battle  was  fought  but  a  few  miles  from  the 
Tweed,  which  is  so  associated  with  Scott  and  his  beloved  Abbotsford. 

THE  SCOTCH. 

The  Highland  Scotch,  those  who  live  in  the  mountainous  regions 
of  the  north,  are  of  the  same  Celtic  stock  as  the  Irish.  Their  language 
is  nearly  identical,  although  the  Lowland  .Scotch  could  no  more  make 
themselves  understood  by  the  primitive  native  of  the  Isle  than  the 
typical  Londoner  could  enter  into  conversation  with  the  Irish  farmer. 
The  division  between  the  Highland  and  the  Lowland  Scotch  is  becom- 
ing less  distinct,  however,  year  by  year,  and  the  former  are  discarding  to 
some  extent  their  plaids  and  petticoats  for  the  dress  of  the  Lowlanders, 
or  the  English.  Their  clans  and  chiefs  have  disappeared,  except  in  the 
records  of  the  family  Bibles,  but  their  former  prowess  is  still  u|)held  by 
the  record  which  their  regiments  have  made  in  the  history  of  the  Eng- 
lish army.  The  Lowlanders  were  as  brave,  but  more  intellectual,  and 
defended  their  liberty  with  all  the  military  ardor  of  the  Highlanders  and 
the  firmness  of  the  Anglo-Saxons. 

The  Picts  were  both  Lowland  and  Highland  Scotchmen.  It  was 
against  the  Picts  that  the  Romans  erected  the  wall  in  Enoland  and  also 
one  in  Southern  Scotland  between  the  friths  of  P'orth  and  Clyde.  After 
they  left  the  country  to  attend  to  troubles  at  home  a  strong  Pictish 
kingdom  was  formed  between  the  two  walls,  by  the  consolidation  of  a 
number  of  tribes.  The  Scots,  a  Celtic  tribe  from  Ireland,  invaded  and 
held  the  western  coasts  during  the  early  part  of  the  sixth  century,  the 
Saxons  having  preceded  them  about  fifty  years  on  the  eastern  coasts, 
where  they  had  seized  the  lowlands  from  the  Picts  and  founded  Edin- 
burgh. The  Pictish  kingdom  had  a  shadowy  existence  for  nearly  four 
centuries,  but  it  was  gradually  absorbed  by  the  stronger  Scots  as  well  as 
the  Saxon  tribes  of  the  east.  The  whole  country  at  length  took  the 
name  of  the  dominant  race.  The  Danes  could  make  no  headwav  against 
them,  and  the  Scottish  kingdom  grew  in  territory  and  power,  even  snatch- 
ing away  some  of  England's  northern  districts. 

The  Malcolms  and  the  Alexanders  are  specially  noted  among  the 
early  kings  of  Scotland,  but  the  difficulties,  with  England  commenced 
seriously  when  a  Malcolm,  who  had  married  the  sister  of  the  legitimate 
Saxon  King,  ravaged  the  north  of  the  country  in  retaliation  for  the  bat- 
tle of    Hastings.      The    kings  of    England  interfered    in  the  disputes 


988  PANURAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

between  claimants  to  the  Scottish  throne.  Wallace  and  Bruce  arose, 
and  the  battle  of  Bannockburn  established  the  independence  of  Scotland 
notwithstanding  Flodden  Field,  long  afterwards.  During  the  same  cen- 
tury the  llrsi;  of  the  House  of  .Stuart  sat  upon  the  throne,  he  being  the 
son  of  the  royal  steward.  For  a  century  the  great  earls  of  Douglas 
defied  the  kings,  though  one  was  stabbed  by  the  royal  hand  and  the 
whole  house  was  finally  driven  into  exile.  After  the  death  of  Queen 
Elizabeth,  James  VI.,  of  .Scotland  who:;e  great-grandmother  was  Mar- 
garet Tudor,  the  daughter  of  Henry  \TI.,  ascended  the  throne  of  Eng- 
land, thus  uniting  the  two  kingdoms.  This  fortunate  circumstance,  in 
connection  with  their  stubborn  resistance  to  English  oppression,  raised 
the  .Scotch  to  an  equality  with  their  more  numerous  and  opulent  neigh- 
bors and  assured  them  political  independence. 

When  James  became  King  of  England  he  attempted  to  force  the 
Established  Church  upon  Scotland,  but  the  Covenanters  bound  them- 
selves to  uphold  Presbyterianism,  and  even  hoped  to  extend  their  relig- 
ious discipline  over  England  and  Ireland.  They  united  with  the  Eng- 
lish Puritans,  and  the  result  was  that  Cromwell  bound  them  in  chains, 
and  the  Presbyterian  Church  did  not  become  established  as  a  State 
institution  until  during  Queen  Anne's  reign,  when  England  and  Scotland 
were  formally  united  into  one  kingdom.  The  name  most  prominent  in  the 
incipient  stages  of  these  fierce  religious  confiicts,  is  that  of  John  Knox, 
who  imbibed  the  spirit  of  the  Reformation  at  Geneva,  and  his  History 
of  the  Scottish  Reformation  is,  perhaps,  the  first  great  prose  work  which 
the  country  produced.  It  is  an  earnest,  rugged  piece  of  English,  and 
speaks  forth  the  national  character.  His  native  town  was  Edinburgh, 
and  in  that  kingly  city,  "  throned  on  crags,"  his  house  stands,  a  grotesque 
building  with  a  gallery  reached  by  a  flight  of  stairs,  and  having  two 
small,  gabled  chambers  on  its  roof. 

EDINBURGH. 

The  city,  which  was  formerl\-  a  single  parish  under  the  pastorate  of 
Knox,  is  principally  built  on  three  parallel  ridges,  the  old  town  running 
along  the  central  one  and  terminating  on  the  west  in  the  great  rock  or  hill 
upon  which  is  Edinburgh  Castle.  At  the  eastern  extremity  is  Holyrood, 
the  palace  of  Mary  Queen  of  Scots.  Upon  the  sides  of  this  ridge  are 
the  most  ancient  houses  many  stories  in  height.  The  different  parts  of 
the  city  are  connected  by  bridges,  hundreds  of  paths  winding  through  the 
valleys  and  over  the  ridges.  Parks  and  gardens,  monuments  and  great 
public  structures  are  iiitchetl  upon  the  rocks  or  almost  buried  in  deep 
ravines.      The  architecture  of  the  cit)-  is  noble  in  thi-  extreme. 


EDINBURGH.  989 

The  great  castle,  which  stands  upon  a  rock  three  hundred  feet  liigh, 
approachable  from  the  city  from  only  one  side,  is  Scotland  symbolized. 
In  it  is  a  small  room,  once  a  portion  of  the  apartments  of  Mary  Oueen 
of  Scots,  where  James  was  born.  Scotland's  national  regalia— the  crown, 
sceptre,  sword  of  state  and  lord  treasurer's  rod  —  is  in  the  crown-room 
of  the  castle.  W  itliin  its  walls  Rol)ert  P)ruce  held  the  parliament  which 
ratified  the  treaty  acknowledging  the  independence  of  Scotland,  and 
James  made  his  prei)arations  here  for  the  disastrous  field  of  Flodden. 
Along  High  street,  which  leads  through  the  most  interesting  parts  of 
this  ancient  Saxon  city,  also  marched  Cromwell's  invincible  Ironsides. 
Descending  from  CastU-  Hill  one  passes  into  Grassmarket  where  many 
of  the  Covenanters  became  martyrs,  and  in  an  old  church\ard,  near  by, 
they  have  a  monument  erected  to  them. 

Queen  Mar)'s  palace  is  a  short  distance  from  Calton  Hill,  from 
which  the  most  imiK)sing  view  of  Edinburgh  and  the  country  around  is 
obtained.  Part  of  the  palace  was  burned  down  in  Cromwell's  time,  and 
what  remains  is  a  plain,  sombre  structure  of  stone,  flanked  by  towers. 
The  room  is  shown  in  which  Rizzio,  Mary's  Italian  favorite,  was  stabbed 
to  death  by  Douglas,  and  the  very  stain  of  his  life  blood  is  pointed  out 
upon  the  floor.  The  palace  contains  a  picture  gallery  of  legendary  and 
historical  kings,  and  back  of  it  are  the  ruins  of  an  abbey  in  which  are  the 
tombs  of  several  Scottish  monarchs. 

The  University  of  Edinburgh  is  a  stately  building  of  modern  con- 
struction, and  a  renowned  institution  of  learning,  especially  as  to  its 
medical  departments.  Crossing  a  bridge  from  the  University,  one  finds 
himself  in  a  metropolitan  street,  with  great  buildings  and  Scott's  mag- 
nificent monument  on  one  side  and  beautiful  gardens  spread  over  a  deep 
ravine  on  the  other.  Across  the  ravine  is  the  massive  IJankof  England. 
Antl  so  the  bewildering  contrast  goes  on,  man  weakly  struggling  to  over- 
take the  sublimity  of  nature.  It  is  strange  not  that  so  many  of  the  great 
men  of  Scotland  have  been  drawn  to  Edinburgh,  but  that  so  many  have 
escaped  her.  To  this  day  the  literary  activity  and  vigor  of  the  Scotch 
find  their  only  effective  outlet  in  Edinburgh,  her  periodicals  taking  rank 
with  the  best  English  journals. 

On  High  street,  one  of  the  noble  thoroughfares  of  the  old  city,  is 
Parliament  Square,  in  one  angle  of  which  is  the  House  with  its  magnifi- 
cent hall  arched  with  dark  oak.  The  gloomy  jail,  known  as  the  "  Heart 
of  Midlothian,"  stood  in  one  corner  of  the  square,  but  was  taken  down 
the  year  previous  to  the  publication  of  Scott's  novel.  "  The  only  memo- 
rial of  its  position  is  a  figure  of  a  heart  let  into  the  pavement  ;  but  its 
massive  door  and  huge  padlock  are  preserved,  with  many  other  relics  of 
old  davs,  at  Abbotsford." 


990  PANORAMA    OK    NATIONS. 

MELROSE  AND    ABBOTSFORD. 

Beyond  the  Cheviot  hills,  from  England,  is  Roxburghshire.  A  fair 
chain  of  hills  passes  through  the  count}-,  and  between  them  and  the 
Tweed  are  Melrose  and  the  ruins  of  its  abbey.  There  are  only  a  few 
fragments  of  the  cloister,  l)ut  the  carved,  sculptured  and  lavishly  decor- 
ated church  is  almost  entire  ;  the  figures  of  which,  from  the  hardness  of 
the  stone,  are  remarkably  clear  in  outline.  But  .Scottish  poets  have 
laid  their  choicest  colors  upon  Melrose  Abbey,  both  without  and  within  ; 
told  also  of  the  kingly  tombs  therein,  and  of  Bruce's  heart  which  is  sup- 
posed to  be  mouldering  in  some  secret  place  within  its  walls.  The  Tweed 
runs  musically  through  a  meadow  and  wooded  country  to  Abbotsford, 
antl  a  few  miles  away  is  Yarrow  Wati.-r,  upon  whose  banks  Wordsworth 
and  Scott  walked  together  a  few  da)'s  before  the  mighty  Scotchman 
sought  the  gentle  climes  of  Italy  as  a  shield  against  death.  But  he 
returned  to  Abbotsford,  for  wliich  he  had  worn  out  his  life,  and  after 
being  wheeled  al)Out  his  beautiful  garden  he  was  taken  to  his  library, 
being  placed  where  he  could  look  upon  the  Tweed.  He  died,  a  few 
days  thereafter,  with  his  children  around  him,  that  gentle  stream  mur- 
muring in  his  ears  which  flows  past  his  tomlj  at  iJryburgh  Abbey. 

BURNS  AND  THE  AYR. 

The  ancient  town  of  Ayr,  near  the  sea,  is  across  Scotland  from  Ab- 
botsford. It  is  a  bright  place,  the  capital  of  the  count)',  and  is  on  the 
peninsula  between  the  Rivers  Ayr  and  Doon.  There  are  castles  near 
by  and  locky  precipices,  but  the  poet  found  his  muse  with  the  birds, 
among  the  trees  and  fields,  along  the  pretty  banks  and  "  among  the 
braes  o'  Ballochmyle."  Ballochmyle  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  por- 
tions of  the  river,  and  Burns  has  not  lavished  his  fragrant  genius  upon 
an  unworthy  subject.  In  the  village  are  the  "  Twa  Brigs"  ;  the  old  one 
is  said  to  have  been  built  six  centuries  ago  by  two  maiden  ladies,  whose 
efifigies  were  carved  on  one  of  the  parapets.  It  is  but  a  step  from 
the  modest  country  of  the  Ayr  to  the  literary  Edinburgh,  which  then, 
as  now,  was  the  center  of  Scotland's  best  thought.  From  gloom  and 
despair  the  rustic  passed  to  fame.  Scott  himself,  then  an  Edinburgh 
boy,  looked  upon  the  lion  and  trembled.  There  is  a  monument  erected 
to  Burns'  memory  at  Dumfries,  the  shire  town  of  the  first  county  over  the 
English  border.  Here  he  died  and,  long  after,  Jean  Armour,  his  wife, 
breathed  her  last  under  the  same  roof.  The  house  was  purchased  by 
one  of  his  sons,  a  colonel  in  the  English  army,  and  with  the  garden  was 


THE    CLYDE  AND  GLASGOW.  99I 

deeded  to  the  local  educational  society,  for  school  purposes,  the  agree- 
ment being  that  the  premises  should  be  always  kept  in  repair. 

In  the  most  dreary  spot  of  this  most  dreary  shire  of  bleak  hills  and 
black  morasses  Thomas  tlarlyle  welded  and  polished  those  splendid 
specimens  of  thought  and  rhetoric  which  made  him  the  foremost  essayist 
of  Great  Britain. 

THE  CLYDE   AND  GLASGOW. 

The  Clyde  rises  in  the  same  chain  of  uplands  from  which  tlie  Ayr 
flows,  but  further  southeast.  "  Gathering  strength  from  romantic  burns 
and  musical  rivulets,  the  river  flows  in  long  curves,  splashing  over  boul- 
ders,- sino-ing  merrily  to  cjuiet  hamlets,  lending  genial  influence  to 
meadows  and  cornfields,  and  taking  into  its  clear  waters  many  a  picture 
of  bosky  hill  and  hazel-clad  bank.  Augmented  in  bulk  by  the  Douglas, 
it  sweeps  onward  to  the  cliffs  and  ledges  which  bn;ak  it  into  a  rapid, 
foaming  torrent."  During  the  upper  portion  of  its  course  it  rushes 
throuoh  chasms  and  between  rocky  precipices  and  breaks  into  thundering 
cascades.  Falls  and  bridges  there  are,  closely  associated  with  the  strug- 
o-les  of  the  Scotch  for  political  and  civil  liberty.  A  tower  rises  near  the 
Falls  of  Clyde,  dedicated  to  Wallace.  Below  is  a  castle,  without  a  roof, 
overlooking  the  river  from  a  steep  bank.  It  is  Bothwell  Castle,  one  of 
the  strongholds  of  the  Earl  of  Bothwell,  in  Queen  Mary's  time  the  most 
powerful  noble  of  Southern  Scotland  and  (by  the  historic  murder  of 
Lord  Darnley  antl  the  divorce  from  his  own  wife)  the  husband  of  the 
Scottish  monarch.  Near  by  is  Bothwell  bridge,  where,  a  century  after 
the  disgraced  Earl's  estates  had  been  confiscated  to  the  crown,  a  bloody 
battle  was  fought  between  the  Scotch  Covenanters  and  the  English,  in 
which  the  former  met  with  a  crushing  defeat.  On  the  opposite  bank  of 
the  river,  upon  a  rock  nearly  hidden  by  trees,  stand  the  ruins  of  a  priory 
which  overlooked  David  Livingstone's  native  village. 

As  it  approaches  Glasgow  the  river  becomes  dark  and  turbid  and 
the  great  ship-yards  of  the  city  give  forth  their  unpoetic  din  ;  yet  this  is 
the  native  soil  of  Thomas  Campbell,  his  home  being  upon  the  banks  of 
the  Cart,  a  small  stream  which  falls  into  the  Clyde. 

GLASGOW. 

Glasgow  is  the  metropolis  of  Scotland,  and  second  to  London  in 
wealth  and  population.  It  presents  a  strong  contrast  to  Edinburgh,  for 
its  site  is  level,  lying  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  and  its  streets  are  broad 
and  regular.     Finely  ornamented  parks,  with  imposing  statues,  theatres, 


99-2 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIOXS. 


museums  and  libraries,  with  immense  manufacturing  establishments  of 
different  cloths,  iron  and  chemical  works,  tell  the  stor\'  of  present  pros- 
perity and  future  greatness.  The  cathedral  of  the  Scotch  Church  is  the 
finest  Gothic  edifice  in  the  countr\-,  and  overlooks  the  city  from  the 
northeast.  For  more  than  four  centuries  and  a  half  the  University  of 
GlasLTOw  has  had  an  existence,  and  is  among  the  leading  colleees  in  Great 
Britain.  The  city's  wonderful  growth.,  however,  comes  from  her  com- 
merce and  manufactures,  which  had  their  origin  in  natural  surrounding's, 
Glasgow  l)ing  in  the  midst  of  a  rich  coal  and  iron  country.  Her  yards 
for  the  building  of  iron  ships  are  famous  the  world  over.  Her  chemical 
works(the  St.  Rollox)are  the  most  extensive  in  the  world,  covering  over 
sixteen  acres,  and  having  a  chimney  more  than  450  feet  in  height. 

The  magnificent  city  grew  around  the  church  founeled  by  St.  Mungo, 
or  St.  Kentigern,  in  the  sixth  century.  It  is  said  he  was  born  of  royal 
blood  on  the  Firth  of  Forth,  but  removed  to  Western  Scotland  and 
established  a  monastery  on  a  hill  sloping  toward  the  River  Clyde.  He 
was  driven  into  Wales  by  a  hostile  Scottish  king,  but  was  recalled  and 
renewed  his  Christian  labors.  St.  Kentigern  was  visited  in  his  beautiful 
resort  by  St.  Columba,  another  noted  Christian  missionary  who  was 
laboring  among  the  savages  of  the  north  and  west.  The  ravages  of  the 
Danes  swept  away  the  church,  but  the  old  l)ishoi)ric  reappeared  after  five 
centuries,  a  chaplain  to  one  of  the  Scottish  kings  was  installed  in  it, 
and  the  ruined  Cathedral  was  repaired  and  beautitied.  Many  other 
changes  followed.  The  see  became  an  archbishopric.  Scottish  reformers 
were  burned  near  the  grand  cathedral.  Theblootl  of  the  Reformation  was 
kindled,  the  Papal  Archbishop  fled  to  France  and  the  Presbyterians  are 
in  possession  of  the  stately  Gothic  edifice,  whose  combined  tower  and 
spire  rises  from  the  center  of  a  lofty  roof. 

To  reach  the  University  one  traverses  streets,  lined  with  royal 
buildings,  and  passes  through  squares  adorned  with  statues  and  monu- 
ments of  great  beauty.  Walter  .Scott,  Robert  Burns,  Lord  Clyde  and 
Sir  John  Moore  (whose  memorial  we  have  noticed  at  Coruiia,  Spain),  all 
have  monuments  in  George's  Square.  Sir  John  was  a  native  of  Glasgow. 
lohn  Knox,  Nelson,  William  of  Orange  and  the  Duke  of  Wellington 
appear  in  stone  and  indicate  the  breadth  of  the  Scotch  admiration.  To 
the  western  suburb  of  the  city  the  walk  is  charming,  the  street  being 
adorned  with  stately  terraces  and  residences,  green  lawns  and  bright 
gardens  and  parks.  Beyond  the  last  park,  over  a  pleasant  stream,  is 
Gilmore  Hill,  from  wliich  rises  the  University. 

Returning  to  the  Chde,  from  the  university,  we  still  pursue  a  north- 
ward course  toward  the  Firth,  passing  churches,  A'illages  and  picturesque 


THE    SCOTTISH    HIGHLANDS.  993 

Stretches  of  lawn  and  meadow,  and  a  striking  range  of  hills  —  the  Kil- 
patrick.  They  mark  the  western  extremity  of  the  Roman  wall,  built 
across  Scotland,  and  a  little  village  at  their  base  is  pointed  out  as  the 
birthplace  of  St.  Patrick. 

Nearer  the  North  Channel  and  the  sea,  as  we  move  toward  the 
more  open  water  of  the  Firth  of  Clyde,  is  the  old  Castle  of  Dumbarton  — 
the  prison  of  the  fated  Wallace,  the  point  where  Mary  Stuart  em- 
barked for  France,  and  the  fortress  of  both  the  soldiers  of  Bruce  and 
Cromwell.  As  one  gets  more  and  more  into  the  open  sea  the  rugged 
highlands  of  Argyle  and  the  gentler  lines  of  the  Isle  of  Bute  —  the  orig- 
inal home  of  the  Stuart  family  —  merge  into  a  single  tract  of  land  which 
combines  them  both  —  the  island  of  Arran.  Rugged  mountain  peaks 
and  shadowy  glens  strike  the  pilgrim  with  profoundest  awe  in  one  direc- 
tion, while  in  another  sunny  bays  and  gentle  beaches,  fertile  slopes  of 
green  and  quiet,  level  moors  produce  a  pleasant  and  soothing  influence 
on  the  spirit.  Within  the  compass  of  a  few  hours'  walk  the  wanderer 
may  see,  in  swift  succession,  the  "  hoar  and  dizzy  cliff,  and  the  fiercely- 
dashing  Cataract,  the  wave-lashed  headland  and  the  far-sounding  shore, 
the  dark  mountain  tarn,  which  ever  seems  to  frown,  and  the  merry,  wind- 
ing streamlet  that  ceaseth  not  to  play."  From  the  highest  mountain  of 
the  island,  which  terminates  in  a  granite  pyramid,  this  diversity  of  beauty 
is  spread  out  as  in  a  romantic  picture,  with  cattle  and  sheep,  neat  cot- 
tages and  hamlets  scattered  over  the  face  of  nature ;  far  beyond 
stretch  the  rugged  coasts  of  Argyle,  with  their  rocky  islands,  while  in 
the  other  direction,  if  the  weather  is  friendly,  the  coasts  of  the  Emerald 
Isle  struggle  dimly  into  view. 

THE  SCOTTISH   HIGHLANDS. 

The  strip  of  country  between  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow,  or,  more 
strictly  speaking,  between  the  Firths  of  Forth  and  Clyde  is  the  border 
land  between  the  Scottish  highlands  and  lowlands.  From  the  Firth  of 
Forth  to  Moray  Firth,  far  to  the  north,  there  are  many  level  tracts,  so 
that  many  Scotchmen  prefer  to  draw  a  more  careful  line  from  Moray 
Firth,  through  the  central  part  of  Northern  Scotland  to  Dumbarton,  on 
the  Clyde,  and  call  the  country  west  of  it,  including  the  Hebrides  Islands, 
the  Highlands.  A  few  words,  now,  regarding  the  debatable  land  east  of 
this  imaginary  line  beyond  which,  until  within  a  comparatively  recent 
day,  were  buttressed  the  purest  specimens  of  the  Celtic  race  in  Scotland. 

Within  this  strip  of  country  between  the  eastern  and  the  western 
Firths,  through  which  the  first  of  the  old  Roman  walls  was  built,  there  are 

63 


994  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

two  specially  interesting  localities.  Sixteen  miles  west  of  Edinburgh  is 
an  old  town  down  in  a  hollow,  which  contains  among  its  other  buildings 
a  beautiful  Gothic  church  and  the  magnificent  remains  of  a  palace.  In 
the  church  it  is  said  that  James  IV.  was  warned  by  an  apparition  not  to 
march  to  Flodden  Field,  and  in  one  of  the  royal  apartments,  whose  ruins 
are  grand  indeed,  was  born  Mary  Stuart.  Sterling  Castle,  rising  from  a 
majestic  rock  is  further  west,  including  another  kingly  palace,  from  which, 
within  the  glorious  range  of  scenery  there  obtained,  the  Gillies  Hills  are 
seen  which  shut  out  a  sight  of  the  battle-field  of  Bannockburn.  On  the 
south  are  steep,  wooded  hills  ;  on  the  east,  beyond  the  town  and  several 
abbey  ruins,  the  Forth  wanders  and  curves  through  a  glorious  country 
of  verdure  to  romantic  Edinburgh.  On  the  northeast  are  grand  hills 
again.  "  But  on  the  north,  northwest  and  west  who  shall  describe  w-hat 
lies  unfolded  to  the  eye;  the  vales  of  the  Allan,  the  Teath  and  the  Upper 
Forth  leading  away  through  expanses  of  the  most  ornate  loveliness  to 
such  scenery  as  that  of  the  Trosachs  and  to  the  combinedly  grandest  and 
most  graceful  forms  of  highland  landscape?  All  the  foreground  and 
the  middle  view  are  of  surpassing  loveliness;  and  all  the  background 
towers  aloft  at  a  great  distance  in  peaks  which  are  clad  in  snow  or 
wreathed  in  clouds  and  which  rest  like  a  vast  blue  rampart  against  the 
sky."  There  is  not  a  square  mile  of  land  between  Stirling  Castle  and 
Moray  Firth  in  which  the  traveler  would  not  grow  subdued  at  the  view 
and  enthusiastic  in  the  description.  There  is  a  mass  of  shattered  towers 
and  walls,  near  the  entrance  to  the  Firth  of  Forth,  which  for  centuries 
was  held  against  the  King  and  the  people  by  the  proud  house  of  Doug- 
las. In  "  Marmion  "  is  a  powerful  description  of  it — ^Tantallon  Castle, 
hanging  over  the  margin  of  the  deep.  In  front  of  it  is  a  gigantic  boulder, 
rising  from  the  water.  It  is  a  mile  in  circumference,  and  is  believed  to 
have  once  been  the  dwelling  place  of  a  disciple  of  St.  Kentigern  who 
watched  and  waited  for  a  favorable  opportunity  to  reach  the  mainland 
and  preach  the  gospel. 

The  promontories  which  here  jut  out  into  the  ocean  before  you 
come  to  Edinburgh  have  more  than  one  ruined  castle  to  make  them  the 
more  portentous,  and  more  than  one  rugged  spot  where  the  English 
troops  spilled  good  Scotch  blood  upon  the  rocks.  Across  the  Firth  are 
enticine  scenes  of  hitrhland  and  lowland  character,  and  in  a  beautiful  in- 
land  sheet  of  water,  diversified  with  mysterious  islands,  there  is  found  a 
fair  reason  for  loitering.  On  one  of  the  islands  is  a  castle  in  which 
Mary  was  imprisoned  by  her  lords,  the  same  piece  of  land,  not  more 
than  two  acres  in  extent,  having  once  been  a  military  station  of  an  early 
Pictish  king.      Nearer  the  coast  again  is  St.  Andrew's,  a  town  placed 


THE    ACTUAL    HIGHLANDS.  995 

upon  a  rocky  shelf  which  hangs  above  a  wide  bay,  but  whose  history 
goes  back  into  tradition.  Perhaps  St.  Andrew's  bones  are  here,  as  the 
people  say,  and  that  a  pious  monk  brought  them  from  Greece,  converted 
the  Pictish  king  who  held  the  land  and  built  a  stone  chapel  and  tower, 
which  are  still  solidly  upon  their  foundations.  The  town  is  the  seat  of  a 
university  in  which  Thomas  Chalmers  was  educated,  and  after  he  had 
made  a  name  he  returned  to  it  as  a  professor. 

The  scenery  toward  Perth  and  far  into  the  country  is  among  the 
most  beautiful  in  Scotland.  From  Loch  Katrine  in  the  south,  whose 
waters  are  beautified,  if  possible,  by  the  "  Lady  of  the  Lake,"  to  the 
masses  of  the  Grampian  hills  all  is  romance;  with  dark  mountains 
towering  around  bright  lakes  and  streams  and  waterfalls  dashing  down 
gorges,  whose  rocks  and  trees  strive  for  the  mastery.  Then  upon  the 
plain  of  the  Tay  is  Perth,  a  fair  city  founded  by  the  Romans,  after  they 
had  returned  from  the  Grampian  hills  and  their  victorious  campaign 
against  the  savage  tribes  of  Caledonia.  When  they  retired  from  the 
island,  Perth  became  the  principal  capital  of  the  Pictish  kings,  and,  under 
Bruce  was  the  center  of  the  Scottish  Government. 

But  we  must  pass  the  highlands  of  Perthshire,  w^ith  their  lordly 
castles  and  dark  passes  in  which  Highlanders  and  Lowlanders  met  in  bat- 
tle ;  just  nod  to  busy  Dundee,  once  the  residence  of  some  of  Scotland's 
noblest  families;  leave  the  bold  masses  of  the  Grampian  hills  behind  and 
approach  the  wild  coast  of  the  German  Ocean  which  lies  below  Aberdeen. 
The  immense  mountain  of  ruins  upon  a  precipitous  rock  which  stands 
so  boldly  out  to  sea  are  the  remains  of  a  castle  where  nearly  two  hun 
dred  Covenanters  were  imprisoned  in  a  muddy  vault,  some  of  them  tor- 
tured and  most  of  them  abused.  The  granite  city  of  Aberdeen  is  a  fit- 
ting incident  of  the  country,  and  a  road  toward  splendid  views  of  the 
Grampians,  along  the  banks  of  the  River  Dee,  leads  to  the  magnificent 
seclusion  of  Balmoral  Castle.  Byron's  bold  genius  has  soared  over  the 
wild  and  majestic  mountains  and  crags  of  this  region,  Aberdeen  being 
his  early  home. 

THE  ACTUAL  HIGHLANDS. 

Much  of  the  country  between  Aberdeen  and  Moray  Firth  is  hilly 
and  bleak  —  a  corn,  grass  and  cattle  district  —  it  being  a  prelude  to  the 
actual  highlands  of  Northern  and  Western  Scotland.  Inverness  is  the 
very  gate  to  the  highlands,  it  being  encompassed  by  gardens,  woods  and 
hills,  while  in  the  distance  are  their  larsre  brothers,  g-ig'antic  mountains. 
Six  miles  away,  upon  a  desolate  moor,  are  several  green  mounds  and  a 
rude  stone  monument.     They  mark  the  battle-field  of  Culloden,  where 


996  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

the  royal  troops  crushed  the  Highland  army  and  buried  the  hopes  of  the 
Stuart  family. 

Inverness  is  not  only  the  gateway  to  the  highlands,  but  is  the  north- 
ern extremity  of  the  Caledonian  Canal,  which  is  a  number  of  lochs  arti- 
ficially connected,  stretching  from  Moray  Pirth,  southwest,  to  the  oppo- 
site coast  of  Scotland.  "  It  may  be  generally  described  as  along,  narrow 
gallery,  having  the  water  for  its  floor,  the  mountain  for  its  walls  and  the 
sky  for  its  roof."  The  western  entrance  to  the  canal  is  guarded  by  a  fort 
built  in  Cromwell's  time,  and  over  fort,  valley,  loch  and  hill  towers  Ben 
Nevis,  Britain's  highest  rrountain.  In  fact,  the  glories  of  highland  and 
lowland,  from  ocean  to  ocean,  lie  before  one  from  the  summit  of  His 
Majesty.  The  route  along  the  Caledonian  Canal  is  furthermore  blessed 
by  the  Fall  of  Foyers,  on  Loch  Ness,  which  lies  near  Inverness.  It  is 
shut  in  by  savage  cliffs  and  precipices  and  pronounced  by  many  the  most 
magnificent  cataract  in  Britain. 

From  Inverness  around  the  opposite  shore  of  the  Firth  an  unbroken 
line  of  precipices  runs  to  a  narrow  bay  which  stretches  quite  a  distance 
toward  the  seemingly  endless  chains  and  masses  of  hills  and  mountains. 
At  the  bay  the  solid  rampart  is  broken.  A  tongue  of  land  projects  into 
it,  and  on  the  other  side  the  promontories  continue  their  stately  course 
as  far  as  the  eye  can  trace  it.  The  town  of  Cromarty  is  built  upon  this 
peninsula — Hugh  Miller's  native  place.  A  noble  river  which  flows  through 
the  mountainous  resrion,  through  gorges  and  over  ledges  of  rocks,  en- 
tering  gloomy  lochs  and  receiving  tributaries  on  its  way,  also  passes  the 
scene  of  Miller's  labors  as  a  stone  mason.  Within  walking  distance 
for  one  as  vigorous  as  he,  were  also  interesting  forts  and  castles,  as  well 
as  mystic  mounds  and  circles  of  stones  whose  construction  is  attributed 
to  the  Druids. 

The  shires  of  Sutherland  and  Caithness,  with  their  dark  forests  and 
hills,  lead  toward  the  Orkney  and  Shetland  islands.  Those  wild,  rocky, 
mountainous  remains  of  the  ocean's  fury  are,  many  of  them,  uninhabita- 
ble. What  few  people  subsist  from  the  stormy  sea,  and  their  scant 
patches  of  land,  on  which  they  raise  cattle  and  ponies,  are  of  the  old 
.Scandinavian  stock.  This  country  of  the  vikings  is  not  included  among 
the  highlands  of  Scotland,  as  the  people  are  not  of  the  Celtic  race. 

The  Hebrides  Islands,  on  the  contrary,  which  is  the  name  given  to 
the  various  groups  lying  along  the  entire  western  coast  of  Scotland, 
were  originally  settled  by  Norwegians,  and  held  by  them  until  the  mid- 
dle of  the  fourteenth  century,  when  the  chief  of  the  Macdonalds  con- 
quered them,  becoming  the  first  Lord  of  the  Isles.  The  Scandinavian 
element  has  almost  disappeared,  Gaelic  being  the  language  generally 


THE    WELSH    AND    SNOWDON.  997 

spoken.  As  a  rule,  the  condition  of  the  people  is  miserable,  agriculture 
being  followed  with  some  success,  however,  in  the  islands  of  the  Firth  of 
Clyde.  The  raising  of  Kyloes,  or  black  cattle,  is  followed  to  some 
extent;  but  cattle,  horses  and  sheep  are  small,  almost  diminutive,  the 
latter  not  weighing  more  than  twenty  pounds.  The  scenery  of  the  Heb- 
rides is  of  a  most  unusual  character.  Off  the  coast  of  Mull,  an  island 
forming  a  portion  of  the  shire  of  Argyle,  is  the  smallest  of  the  Heb- 
rides. It  is  merely  a  dot  on  the  map.  But  Fingal's  Cave,  Nature's 
wonderful  marine  temple,  is  one  of  the  most  picturesque  works  in  the 
world  and  a  portion  of  that  island. 

The  next  isle  south  of  Staffa  is  almost  as  small,  but  is  one  of  the 
hallowed  spots  of  the  world.  On  it  landed  St.  Columba,  the  missionary 
descended  from  an  Irish  king  and  a  Scottish  princess,  having,  with 
twelve  disciples  come  over  from  the  Emerald  Isle  in  a  wicker  boat. 
The  island  had  been  presented  to  him  by  a  British  king,  but,  as  it 
was  the  chief  seat  of  the  Druidical  worship,  his  landing  was  opposed  by 
the  priests,  who  pretended  to  be  Christian  monks  in  rightful  posses- 
sion of  the  land.  But  a  foothold  was  obtained,  a  monastery  founded, 
and  Christianity  introduced  to  the  savage  Picts  and  Scots.  In  the 
thirteenth  century  Rome  drove  out  the  primitive  forms  of  worship,  the 
islands  having  previously  suffered  from  the  piratical  Danes.  From  the 
earliest  days  lona  was  considered  a  sacred  isle,  and  in  an  old  cemetery, 
near  a  Norwegian  chapel,  are  the  tombs  of  Scandinavian,  Irish  and 
Scotch  kings;  the  last  of  the  royal  bodies  deposited  is  said  to  have 
been  that  of  the  historic  Macbeth. 

The  islands  and  mainland  of  Argyleshire  present  some  of  the  most 
impressive  of  the  highland  scenery,  and  it  is  hard  to  realize  that  the 
dark,  columned  caves,  the  granite  mountains,  the  cool,  bright  lochs,  the 
deep,  green  valleys,  and  the  broad  moors  are  the  property  of  half  a 
dozen  great  nobles  of  Scotland.  One  of  the  largest  of  the  land  owners, 
who  are  removing  their  tenants  that  their  sheep  may  have  more  room, 
is  the  Duke  of  Argyle,  whose  eldest  son  is  the  Marquis  of  Lome,  Queen 
Victoria's  son-in-law. 

THE  WELSH  AND  SNOWDON. 

The  natives  of  Wales  do  not  accept  the  term  Welsh  as  applied  to 
themselves.  They  speak  of  themselves  as  the  Cymri  and  their  language 
as  Cymraeg.  The  Cymri  separate  it,  with  great  positiveness,  from  the 
branch  of  the  Celtic  tongue  spoken  in  Ireland,  the  Isle  of  Man  and  the 
Scottish  highlands. 

This  brave  and  hardy  people  who  take  such  pride  in  the  antiquity 


998  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

of  their  race  are  undoubtedly  the  purest  of  the  Celts.  The  original 
three  tribes,  which  also  occupied  the  Isles  of  Man  and  Anglesea,  received 
the  Britons  in  their  mountain  homes,  as  they  were  driven  from  the 
wooded  and  fertile  tracts  of  England  by  both  Romans  and  Saxons. 
They  are  not  given  to  emigration,  and  even  when  they  settle  in  demO' 
cratic  America  prefer  to  intermarry  among  themselves.  The  Welsh 
possess  one  of  the  most  copious  languages  in  the  world.  It  contains  at 
least  eighty  thousand  words,  among  which  are  many  derived  from  the 
Sanskrit.  By  means  of  comparative  philology  some  of  their  scholars 
have  traced  the  home  of  the  Cymri  —  at  least  to  their  own  satisfac- 
tion—  to  Southern  Hindustan.  At  all  events,  the  Welsh  are  as  jealous 
of  the  purity  of  their  blood  as  the  proudest  royal  family,  and  their  clan- 
nishness  is  an  excusable  weakness. 

Their  earliest  literature  goes  back  to  the  first  years  of  the  Christian 
era  and  arose  from  the  bards  of  the  Druids.  Three  was  a  mystic  num- 
ber with  this  religious  sect  whose  human  sacrifices,  fire  worship,  knowl- 
edge of  the  heavenly  bodies,  astrology,  and  divination  from  the  flight  of 
birds  and  the  entrails  of  animals,  bespeak  for  them  an  Eastern  origin. 
They  are  said  to  have  come  into  Europe  with  the  Cimmerians,  or  Celts, 
and  their  bards,  who  composed  one  of  the  three  classes  into  which  they 
were  divided,  pretended  to  pass  down  from  one  generation  to  another 
songs  commemorative  of  their  struggles  with  Rome.  From  Gaul  they 
probably  passed  with  the  Celts  to  England,  Wales,  the  Isle  of  Man, 
Scotland  and  Ireland.  Their  religion  was  conveyed  to  the  people 
orally,  and  to  the  depths  of  the  great  oak  forests  of  England  and  the 
solitudes  of  the  Welsh  mountains  the  youth  resorted  to  the  priests  to  be 
instructed  in  their  lore.  The  most  that  we  know  of  their  dark  rites  and 
the  principles  of  their  religion  and  morality,  which  were  often  of  the 
most  elevated  stamp,  is  gleaned  from  the  Welsh  triads,  a  species  of 
verse,  in  three  limbs,  dwelling  upon  some  historical  or  spiritual  fact,  and 
sung  by  native  bards  until  the  printing  press  snatched  the  verses  from 
theirlips.  The  best  historical  account  which  we  have  of  them  is  from  the 
pen  of  Julius  Cajsar.  He  and  his  successors  saw  that  the  Druids  had 
bound  the  Celts  in  chains  of  steel ;  for  the  priests  were  not  only  their 
religious  teachers,  but  were  their  juclges.  The  Romans,  therefore,  as  a 
long  step  toward  conquering  Britain,  entered  into  a  campaign  of  e.xter- 
mination  against  the  Druids.  The  last  stronghold  of  the  ancient  wor- 
ship was  the  island  of  Anglesea,  on  the  northwest  coast  of  Wales,  in  the 
Irish  Sea.  The  strait  which  separates  it  from  the  mainland  is  spanned 
by  two  fine  bridges,  a  suspension  and  a  railway  tubular  bridge.  Over 
these   triumphs    of  modern   science   the  traveler  passes    to    the    island 


THE    WELSH    AND    SNOWDON.  999 

which  contains  the  remains  of  an  arch-druid's  palace,  surrounded  by  tlie 
colleije  buildinsrs  of  his  subordinates. 

The  Romans  drove  out  the  Druid  priests  and  overran  Wales,  but 
did  not  concjuer  the  people.  Neither  did  they  devote  themselves  en- 
tirely to  war  ;  for  both  in  the  northwestern  and  the  southeastern  districts 
of  the  country  are  galleries  running  into  the  mountains  and  remains 
of  aqueducts,  employed  in  the  digging  and  washing  of  gold.  Beau- 
tiful ornaments  fashioned  from  the  precious  m(>tal  have  also  been 
found. 

Wales  is  rich  in  nearly  all  of  the  minerals.  The  immense  coal  fields 
are  in  the  south,  some  of  the  measures  being  estimated  to  be  two  miles 
thick.  There  are  copper,  lead,  iron,  zinc  and  silver  in  the  north  ;  also 
immense  quarries  of  slate  and  limestone.  Welshmen  are  miners,  colliers, 
quarrymen  and  iron  workers,  almost  to  a  man.  Snowdon,  the  grandest 
and  loftiest  mass  in  Southern  Britain,  is  being  yearly  undermined  for 
roofing  slates. 

Snowdon  is  a  mountainous  region,  the  highest  point  of  which, 
Y  Wyddfa,  is  4,000  feet  above  the  sea.  The  English  called  the  district 
Snowdon  from  its  appearance  in  winter,  but  the  Britons  spoke  of  it  as  Kr^ri 
because  it  was  a  great  eyrie,  or  breeding  place  for  eagles.  Its  lakes, 
groves  and  cataracts  have  witnessed  English  armies  marching  against 
the  irregular  bands  of  Wales  and  marching  away  again  before  Welsh 
arrows,  cold,  rain,  sleet  and  stc^rvation.  Arthur  and  the  Knights  of  the 
Round  Table,  Merlin  and  other  legendary  charactersare  associated  with 
Snowdon  ;  and  it  was  the  stronghold  of  the  patriotic  Llewellyn,  the  last 
native  Prince  of  Wales  who  stood  bravely  for  his  country's  independ- 
ence. The  son  of  the  Edward  to  whom  he  owed  his  death  was  born  in 
Carnarvon  Castle,  a  o;rand  old  structure  which  fronts  the  Isle  of  Ansflesea. 
When  an  infant,  it  is  said,  the  King  "induced  the  Welsh  chieftains  to  ac- 
cept him  as  their  prince  without  seemg,  by  saying  that  the  per- 
son whom  he  proposed  to  be  their  sovereign  was  one  who  was  not 
only  born  in  Wales  but  could  not  speak  a  word  of  the  English 
language." 

The  Wyddfa,  the  pinnacle  of  Snowdon,  is  the  embodiment  of  Wales, 
as  Ben  Nevis  is  of  Scotland.  It  is  about  thirty  feet  in  diameter  and  sur- 
rounded on  three  sides  by  a  low  wall.  On  three  sides  are  dizzy 
precipices.  In  the  hottest  of  weather  the  atmosphere  is  cold  and  brac- 
ing and  the  spirits  are  joyously  carried  over  much  of  the  mountainous 
land  of  Cambria,  across  an  arm  of  the  Irish  Sea  to  the  Lake  Region  of 
Northwestern  England  and  in  the  opposite  direction  to  faint  outlines  on 
the  horizon  —  the  hills  of  Ireland. 


lOOO  PANORAMA    OF     NATIONS. 

THE  IRISH. 

The  Irish,  notwithstanding  their  misfortunes  and  oppressions,  are 
among  the  greatest  races  of  antiquity.  Since  Cromwell's  time,  when  the 
English  first  really  established  their  supremacy  in  arms  over  them,  they 
have  fought  for  the  establishment  of  their  independence  bravely,  though 
not  always  cautiously  and  wisely.  Their  line  of  kings  goes  back  into 
the  dim  ages  when  many  of  the  Celtic  tribes  were  being  driven  out  of 
Asia  by  the  Scythians  —  the  future  Goths  and  Englishmen.  The  resi- 
dence of  these  almost  mythological  monarchs  was  a  spot  called  the 
Hall  of  Tara,  at  Teamor,  County  Meath,  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
island.  Here  the  chief  priests  and  bards  met  triennially  to  form  the  laws 
which  were  to  govern  the  five  principalities,  afterwards  consolidated  into 
one  kingdom.  The  kings  of  Ireland  married  into  the  royal  families  of 
their  race  in  Gaul,  and  were  connected  by  ties  of  blood  with  the  great 
chiefs  of  the  Picts  across  the  water.  Schools  of  astronomy,  philosophy, 
poetry  and  history  were  founded  by  the  Druids  and  protected  by  the 
kings.  Tara  continued  the  center  of  the  educational  and  military  life  of 
the  island,  and  from  the  four  districts  into  which  the  kingdom  was 
divided  a  province  was  formed,  which  surrounded  the  national  capital. 
Later  the  warlike  monarchs  of  Ireland  not  only  joined  the  Picts  in  their 
wars  against  the  Romans,  but  penetrated  into  Gaul,  one  of  their  kings 
being  killed  on  the  banks  of  the  Loire  and  another,  the  last  of  the  pagan 
rulers,  at  the  foot  of  the  Alps. 

In  the  second  century  A.  d.  the  central  portions  of  Ireland  were 
inhabited  by  the  Scoti.  There  is  a  tradition  among  the  Irish  that  they 
emigrated  from  Spain  under  a  great  warrior  named  Mileagh.  At  all 
events,  when  the  Irish  were  at  the  height  of  their  military  power  this 
tribe  and  the  descendants  of  the  hero  predominated  in  power,  the  in- 
habitants were  called  Scoto-Milesians  and  for  many  centuries  the 
kingdom  was  called  Scotland.  When  the  Scots  conquered  the  Picts 
and  gave  a  name  to  the  other  land  the  island  was  called  Ir,  Eri  or  Erin. 
The  Greek  geographers  spoke  of  it  in  ancient  times  as  lerne  and  the 
Romans  as  Hibernia. 

It  was  during  one  of  their  incursions  into  Gaul,  in  the  fifth  century 
■ — so  runs  the  tradition  —  that  the  Irish  warriors  carried  off  as  a  captive 
a  youth  named  Patricius,  or  Patrick.  After  living  a  few  years  in  Ire- 
land as  a  shepherd  he  escaped  to  France,  was  educated  for  the  Church, 
and  his  glorious  work  as  St.  Patrick  is  a  stupendous  fact,  well  authenti- 
cated by  history.  Through  him  and  his  zeal,  his  adopted  country 
became  the  Isle  of  the  Saints,  and  from  this  land,  which  should  ever  be 


IRISH    CITIES    AND    SCENERY.  lOOI 

revered  by  Christians,  went  forth  St.  Cokmiba,  a  century  later,  to  carry 
the  simple  faith  of  the  primitive  Church  to  the  pagans  of  Great  Britain. 

Ireland  escaped  the  Romans,  but  was  invaded  by  the  Anglo-Saxons 
and  the  Scandinavians,  who,  previous  to  the  beginning  of  the  eleventh 
century,  had  done  all  in  their  power,  by  burning  churches,  schools  and 
books  and  killing  the  natives,  to  stamp  out  Christianity.  After  the  ex- 
pulsion of  the  Danes,  the  five  old  kingdoms,  which  in  war  had  been 
united,  fell  to  fighting  each  other.  They  were  disciplined  by  Rome,  and 
the  whole  country,  which  had  been  so  proud  of  independence,  acknowl- 
edged the  Papal  supremacy.  It  is  from  this  period  that  the  religion  of 
Ireland  ceases  to  be  revered  by  Protestants  ;  in  fact,  the  successors  of  St. 
Patrick  and  St.  Columba,  in  Scotland,  suffered  the  most  grievous  per- 
secutions by  the  Church  of  Rome. 

The  quarrels  of  the  petty  kings  of  Ireland  encouraged  the  invasion 
of  some  Norman  adventurers,  and  their  successes  gave  the  English  king 
an  excuse  to  recall  them,  as  persons  exceeding  their  authority,  and  to 
establish  his  protectorate  over  the  country.  From  this  time  on  the  his- 
tory is  one  of  Ireland's  wrongs;  the  story  is  the  old  tale  of  a  cold, 
cautious,  strong  people,  of  poised  mind  and  abundant  resources,  obtain- 
ing the  unenviable  mastery  over  an  impatient,  brilliant,  patriotic  race. 
But  with  the  rise  of  Gladstonian  sympathizers  in  England,  and  of  Par- 
nellite  leaders  in  Ireland,  the  future  days  of  the  Emerald  Isle  have  each 
a  briijhter  sunrise. 

IRISH  CITIES  AND  SCENERY. 

Dublin,  the  successor  of  Tara,  as  the  capital  of  the  country,  is 
somewhat  shorn  of  its  importance  since  the  Bank  of  Ireland  has  occu- 
pied the  former  House  of  Parliament.  But  its  public  buildings  are 
grand,  its  streets  wide  and  its  squares  very  imposing.  The  city  is 
surrounded  by  a  delightful  boulevard,  nine  miles  in  length.  Within 
these  bounds,  perhaps  the  most  imposing  locality  is  Trinity  College, 
standing  in  the  midst  of  an  elegant  park  and  several  squares,  which 
cover  forty  acres  of  ground.  Clinging  to  this  stately  seat  of  learning  is 
so  much  of  the  irresistible  eloquence,  delicious  humor,  keen  wit  and 
searching  sarcasm,  in  which  the  Irish  nature  glories,  that  Trinity  Col- 
lege, or  the  University  of  Dublin,  is  the  embodiment  of  the  genius  of  the 
land ;  Burke,  Grattan  Goldsmith,  Sheridan  and  Swift  form  a  galaxy 
of  stars,  or  rather  a  five-pointed  star,  which  ever  gleams  over  Dublin 
and  Trinity. 

That  picturesque  city,  in  the  center  of  the  valley  of  the  Lee,  with  its 
old  red  sandstone  houses,  approached  through  one  of  the  noblest  har- 


I002 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


bors  in  the  world,  past  great  batteries,  fertile  islands  and  splendid  villas 
along  the  river's  bank  —  this  is  Cork,  so  close  to  the  heart  of  the  true 
Irishman.  Then  there  are  Limerick,  on  the  Shannon,  and,  in  tlie  north, 
the  great  city  and  port  of  Belfast,  which  is  the  Liverpool  of  Ireland  —  a 
rushing  and  bustling,  a  commercial  and  manufacturing  city  of  which 
Great  Britain  is  proud. 

It  is  outside  of  the  cities  of  Ireland  that  the  hard  struggle  for  physical 
and  national  life  is  progressing.  From  the  western  and  northern  coasts, 
which  are  of  Scandinavian  wildness,  to  the  flat,  sandy  coasts  of  the  east, 
one-half  the  surface  is  bog,  water,  rock  and  poor  soil.  The  richest 
farming  country  is  the  broad  belt  from  west  to  east  included  between 
Galway  and  Limerick.  Nearly  one-seventh  of  Ireland  is  covered  with 
peat.     The  equable  and  mild  climate  of  the  country  is,  to  some  extent. 


IN"  THE  EMERALD   ISLE. 


an  offset  to  the  generally  unfavorable  character  of  the  soil.  The  temper- 
ature ranges  only  a  few  degrees  the  year  through,  the  e.xtremes  being 
forty  and  sixty  degrees.  The  prevailing  westerly  winds  come  laden  with 
the  warm  vapors  of  the  Gulf  Stream,  so  that  vegetation  is  always  green, 
and  the  Emerald  Isle  is  not  poetic  license. 

The  spots  of  supreme  freshness  in  Irelandare,  therefore,  very  many. 
The  loveliness  of  Irish  scenery,  so  the  world  has  decided,  is  concentrated 
in  the  Lakes  of  Killarney,  in  the  extreme  southwestern  part  of  the 
island.  The  country  around  them  receives  not  only  the  charm  of  their 
waters  but  the  gentle  influences  from  the  western  ocean,  so  that  the 
wooded   shores   of  the   lakes  and  the  gracious   mountains  beyond   are 


THE    BRITISH    IN    AMERICA.  IOO3 

painted  with  all  the  shades  of  color  from  the  light  green  of  the  arbutus 
to  the  dark  firs  of  the  highlands. 

From  Killarney  lakes  to  the  Giant's  Causeway  is  through  Ireland, 
in  a  diagonal  line,  and  no  two  pictures  could  present  a  stronger  contrast. 
In  place  of  the  rounded  lines  of  the  Killarney  hills  and  the  green  shadows 
which  fall  over  the  lakes  is  a  dreary  coast  piled  thick  with  rocky  col- 
umns, presenting  the  appearance  of  a  stupendous  array  of  piles,  stretch- 
ing out  into  the  sea  in  rows  and  masses.  The  Causeway  proper  is  a 
platform  of  these  rocks  which  extends  between  rugged  mounds  and 
groups  of  pillars  from  a  cliff  down  into  the  sea.  The  name  is  given  to 
it  because  of  the  Celtic  tradition  that  the  walk  was  built  by  giants  as  the 
commencement  of  a  causeway  to  the  opposite  coast  of  Scotland. 

The  remains  of  antiquity  which  are  found  in  every  part  of  Ireland 
make  it  a  most  interesting  country  to  the  curiosity-seeker  and  the  stu- 
dent. They  consist  of  mounds  and  burial  stones,  earthen  ramparts, 
round  towers  and  castles.  Bronze  weapons  and  gold  ornaments  are 
continually  being  turned  up  from  under  the  soil.  Of  later  date  are 
houses  built  of  stone  and  earth,  like  beehives,  and  religious  buildings  of 
various  styles  of  architecture.  The  warlike  spirit  of  the  middle  ages  is 
also  shown  in  many  huge  fortified  castles.  But  from  mysterious,  pict- 
uresque, unfortunate  and  never-despondent  Ireland  we  cross  the  ocean 
to  a  land  which  has  thankfully  received  many  of  her  bright  and  noble 
sons. 

THE  BRITISH   IN  AMERICA. 

The  French  explored  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Great  Lakes,  and 
founded  Montreal  and  Quebec.  The  English  coveted  New  France,  and 
after  the  fortunes  of  war  had  for  many  years  swung  back  and  forth 
before  Quebec,  the  French  concluded  that  the  colony  was  not  worth 
holding,  and  made  it  over  by  treaty  to  their  rival.  This  magnificent 
fortified  city,  guarding  the  entrance  to  the  St.  Lawrence  River  and  the 
Dominion,  contains  fair  memorials  to  the  rallant  Englishman  and  the 
brave  Frenchman  who  lost  their  lives  on  the  lofty  Plains  of  Abraham. 
Where  Wolfe  conquered  and  died  there  is  a  plain,  round  column,  and 
in  the  garden  of  the  fortress  a  monument  stands  to  the  honor  of  both 
Wolfe  and  Montcalm. 

Up  the  broad  river,  hardly  ever  less  than  two  miles  in  width,  the 
passage  to  Montreal  is  one  of  the  most  invigorating  of  fresh  water 
voyages.  This  gray,  growing  city  is  built  upon  an  island,  where  the 
Ottawa  comes  down  to  join  her  more  stately  sister  from  the  handsome 
young  capital  of  the  Dominion  above.      The    metropolis   of   Canada 


/ 

I004  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

Stands  at  the  head  of  navigation  for  the  great  sea  ships,  and  her  massive 
stone  wharfs  extend  through  the  city  to  the  entrance  of  the  Lachine 
Canal,  which  is  the  first  of  those  fine  artificial  works  which  avoid  the 
rapids  and  falls  otherwise  obstructing  the  free  navigation  of  the  lakes 
and  the  river  to  the  ocean.  The  Lachine  and  other  rapids  are  circum- 
vented by  several  canals,  so  that  Montreal  is  in  communication  with 
the  thriving  American  ports  of  the  lakes,  and  by  means  of  the 
Victoria  bridge  (two  miles  in  length),  the  propert)'  of  the  Grand  Trunk 
Railway,  she  holds  commerce  with  New  England  and  the  United 
States. 

A  further  ascent  to  the  headwaters  of  Lake  Ontario  spreads  out 
to  view  as  wonderful  a  panorama  of  fresh  water  scenery  as  the  w^orld 
affords.  The  Thousand  Isles  are  a  thousand  wonders  of  fantastic 
stone  formations  clinging  wealth  of  foliage,  dark  caves,  and  every 
striking  comoination  of  earth,  stone,  water  and  vegetation.  The  vast 
cataract  of  Niagara,  whose  thunders  and  whirlpools  represent  the  power 
of  four  inland  seas  carried  on  to  the  ocean,  is  divided  politically  between 
two  of  the  mightiest  nations  in  the  world ;  but  it  is  as  difficult  to  sepa- 
rate the  Falls  of  Niagara  in  reality,  and  say,  "This belongs  to  England, 
this  to  America,"  as  to  divide  the  Americans  from  the  people  of  Britain. 

The  region  around  the  lakes  is  the  garden  of  Canada,  and  within 
this  term  is  included  the  country  beyond  Superior,  whose  clear,  bracing 
airs  give  a  wonderful  freshness  and  soundness  to  the  wheat  berry.  The 
fisheries  and  fur  companies  of  Newfoundland,  Labrador  and  the  vast 
stretches  of  country  around  Hudson's  Bay,  form  also  rich  mines  of 
wealth.  Manitoba  is  the  chief  agricultural  province  of  Canada,  its  capi- 
tal, Winnepeg,  being  a  flourishing  little  city,  with  water  and  sewerage 
works,  railroads  and  well-graded  streets.  It  is  the  headquarters  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Fur  Company,  and  the  executive  center  of  the  Northwest 
Territories,  or  all  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada  outside  of  the  eastern 
provinces. 


THE  AMERICAN  ANGLO-SAXONS. 

9 

NLIKE  the  Anq-lo-Saxons  of  Great  Britain,  the  Americans 
have  found  their  own  land  to  be  large  enough  and  diversified 
enough  to  engage,  virtually,  their  entire  attention  in  its  develop- 
^^^^'  ment.  Seventeen  hundred  miles  from  north  to  south  and  over 
three  thousand  from  east  to  west ;  with  a  soil  fitted  in  some 
sections  to  nearly  every  known  product  in  the  world  ;  with 
''J\  natural  water-ways,  barring  a  few  miles,  from  its  northeastern 
boundaries  to  its  southern  extremity,  ma  the  Great  Lakes  and 
the  Mississippi  River ;  with  three  splendid  transcontinental 
railways  and  innumerable  minor  lines  spreading  out  from  every 
large  city  like  the  rays  of  a  sun  ;  with  whole  States  of  wheat,  of  corn, 
of  sheep,  of  coal,  of  silver,  of  cotton  ;  with  chained  lightning  flashing 
over  the  telegraph  wires  and  binding  together  a  seething  people  of 
divers  individual  interests,  and  yet  all  working  for  the  nation's  advance- 
ment ;  a  country  with  as  many  literatures  as  there  are  idioms  of  the 
language ;  a  wonderful  digestion  of  Europe,  Asia  and  Africa ;  a  grand 
combination  of  mechanical  and  financial  genius  —  this  is  the  United 
States,  and  these  are  its  people. 

THE  TYPICAL  AMERICAN. 


Periodically,  some  newspaper  or  magazine  starts  the  discussion  and 
invites  the  opinions  of  the  public,  as  to  what  is,  or  will  be,  the  Typical 
American.  No  two  persons  agree,  except  in  saying  that  he  will  com- 
bine those  qualities  of  the  German,  the  Englishman,  the  Frenchman, 
the  Scotchman  and  the  Irishman  which  are  to  endow  him  with  the  most 
powerful  nationality  of  modern  times.  How  long  the  amalgamation 
will  go  on  before  the  immigrant  will  be  fashioned  into  the  native,  and 
all  the  natives  have  a  general  type  of  character  and  physique,  is 
merely  a  speculation.  The  most  that  can  be  done,  under  existing  cir- 
cumstances, is  to  present  some  pictures  of  the  United  States  and  its 
people  as  we  find  them  from  Maine  to  California  and  from  Washington 
Territory  to  Florida. 


1005 


I006  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

MAINE. 

Much  of  the  best  blood  of  Maine  which  can  make  of  it  a  great  State 
has  been  drawn  to  the  West,  Michigan  and  Wisconsin,  with  their  great 
forests  so  similar  to  those  of  the  Pine  Tree  State,  being  especially 
favored.  Two-thirds  of  Maine  is  still  primeval  forest,  and  a  tenth  of  it 
is  ornamented  with  picturesque  inland  lakes.  The  sturdy  lumbermen 
who  spend  half  their  existence  in  her  vast  forests,  and  appear  in  her 
settlements  in  the  spring  with  their  pockets  full  of  money  and  nearly 
blinded  by  the  glistening  snow,  have  seen  more  than  once  a  lonesome 
wigwam  with  the  smoke  struggling  through  the  trees,  or  a  stolid  Indian 
plodding  through  the  snow,  followed  by  a  gaunt-looking  squaw  with  a 
pappoose  upon  her  back. 

ALL  THAT  IS  LEFT  OF  THEM. 

There  w^as  hardly  a  settlement  on  the  shores  of  her  beautiful  lakes 
or  rivers  which  did  not,  until  within  late  years,  receive  a  periodical  visit 
from  a  roving  band  of  Penobscot  Indians,  the  pitiful  remains  of  the  once 
famous  tribe  of  Canibas  who  once  ranged  so  destructively  along  the  New 
England  coast  and  carried  desolation  to  the  settlements  of  Maine. 
There  is  now  at  Norridgewock,  on  the  Kennebec,  a  granite  obelisk, 
erected  by  the  Catholic  Bishop  of  Boston,  in  memory  of  Father  Rale, 
who  was  murdered  at  the  foot  of  his  altar  by  these  savages,  who  also 
burned  his  church.  He  was  the  first  missionary  to  venture  into  their 
domain  The  few  families  w' ho  are  the  sole  representatives  of  the  pow- 
erful Penobscots  have  been  collected  by  the  State  on  an  island  in  the 
river  by  that  name,  just  below  Oldtown.  There  they  have  a  govern- 
ment of  their  own,  at  the  head  of  which  is  a  descendant  of  a  former  Can. 
iba  chief;  they  are  well  educated,  peaceable,  and  conform  to  all  the  best 
customs  of  such  a  staid  place  as  Oldtown.  They  have  left  the  marks  of 
their  former  occupancy  upon  the  rivers,  towns  and  lakes  of  the  State. 
There  are  Lakes  Mooselucmaguntic,  Welokenebacook,  Mollychunka- 
munk,  etc.,  etc. 

MAINE   SCENERY. 

Moosehead  Lake,  the  largest  and  most  picturesque  of  all  the  inland 
waters,  is  a  reminder  of  the  time  when  the  huge  antlered  kings  of  the 
forest  ranged  through  its  forests  of  pine  and  spruce  trees,  or  over  its 
frozen  surface  and  beneath  the  overhanging  cliffs  of  the  great  granite 
hills  which  rise  from  its  shores.  There  are  several  lines  of  approach  to 
the    lake,   but    they  are  all  over  rugged  hills  and  mountains  partially 


THE    SCHOLARLY    DISTRICTS.  lOO/ 

clothed  with  the  everlasting  pine  spruce.  Mount  Katahdin,  the  Squaw 
Mountains  which  appear  blue  and  mysterious  in  the  distance,  still  press 
the  fact  upon  us  that  we  are  treading  on  the  hunting-ground  of  the 
Indian.  Halfway  up  the  lake,  on  a  peninsula,  is  a  great  mass 
of  rock  which  pushes  out  into  the  waters,  and  at  its  base,  separ- 
ated from  it  by  a  fringe  of  forest,  is  a  large  hotel.  This  stamps 
the  present  character  of  Moosehead  Lake.  It  is  one  of  the  famous 
summer  resorts  of  New  England,  and  when  the  substantial  Bos" 
ton  merchant  or  the  industrious  manufacturer  of  Maine  tires  of  his  count- 
ing-room or  his  looms,  he  takes  a  run  up  to  Moosehead  Lake,  and 
breathes  the  spice  of  its  hemlock  forests,  or  views  the  beauties  of  the 
little  wild  waterfalls  of  its  numerous  inlets  ;  or  takes  a  guide  and  goes 
deer  and  moose  hunting  and  fishing. 

The  eastern  coast  of  Maine  is  also  rich  In  attractions  for  seekers 
after  vigor  and  rest.  Mount  Desert,  with  the  caverns  of  the  sea,  and 
the  rocky  islets  of  Passamaquoddy  Bay,  all  swarm  with  tourists,  though 
unfit  for  a  great  settled  population.  As  one  of  the  most  gifted  and 
enthusiastic  of  the  lovers  of  the  locality  has  said,  "  to  come  hither  is  to 
find  in  one  both  Newport  and  the  Catskills."  But  in  and  out,  in  and  out, 
for  twenty-five  hundred  miles  the  coast  line  winds,  and  every  cove  has  its 
schooner  and  every  little  settlement  its  fleet. 

In  Southern  New  England  you  strike  a  new  order  of  old  things. 
The  country'  is  on  a  direct  line  of  travel  with  the  great  interior  of  the 
United  States,  and  it  seemed  to  be  a  foregone  conclusion  that  the  first 
great  courses  of  development  should  be  Massachusetts,  New  York, 
Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Illinois,  and  so  on  to  the  West,  down  the  Atlantic 
coast,  and  up  and  down  the  Mississippi  Valley. 

THE  SCHOLARLY  DISTRICTS. 

It  is  while  traveling  through  the  old,  mellow,  scholarly  districts  of 
New  England  that  the  fact  comes  home  with  force  that  this  section  of 
the  country  is  so  appropriately  named.  You  have  left  Portsmouth 
behind,  on  the  ocean,  and  manufacturing  Manchester  inland,  products 
of  "  New"  Hampshire.  Two  Dovers  and  a  Bath  might  also  have  been 
visited  before  Southern  New  England  would  proclaim  its  English  origin 
in  its  Boston,  Dorchester,  Cambridge,  Plymouth,  Worcester,  Sheffield, 
Yarmouth,  Tewksbury,  Lynn,  Birmingham,  New  Haven,  Norwich,  New 
London  (on  the  Thames),  and  a  host  of  other  cities,  towns  and  suggest- 
ive localities.  Simply  as  a  matter  of  curiosity,  it  would  prove  a  most 
fascinating  work  to  trace  back  the  origin  of  every  New  England  town 


ioo8 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


and  also  to  see  how,  as  a  rule,  the  physical  surroundings  and  locations  of 
its  English  prototypes  are  very  similar.  A  portion  of  the  site  of  Boston 
proper,  or  old  Boston,  was  once  overflowed  by  the  tide.  A  few  years 
after  John  Cotton,  John  Winthrop  and  their  friends  settled  in  the  vicin- 
ity, Cambridge  or  Har- 
vard University  was 
founded,  and  as  to  the 
beauty  of  its  elm-shaded 
grounds,  the  magnificence 
of  its  buildings  and  its 
educational  advantasfes  it 
does  not  shrink  from  a 
comparison  with  either 
Cambridge  or  Oxford, 
England. 

Harvard  is  synony- 
mous with  Lonorfellow 
and  Emerson  —  cultured, 
philosophical,  scholarly 
and  classical,  without 
ponderosity.  They  are 
as  American  in  spirit  as 
Whittier,  yet  broader. 
Wherever  national  litera- 
ture—  American  scholar- 
ship—  is  mentioned,  the 
names  of  Longfellow  and 
Emerson  will  be  pro- 
nounced with  the  same 
breath  ;  wherever  the 
pure,  homelike,  religious, 
moral  and  political  spirit 
of  New  EnHand  is  con- 

O 

sidered  Whittier's  mild, 
earnest  Quaker  face  will 
pass  into  the  mental  vis- 
ion. But  Whittier  was 
not  of  Harvard,  nor  of 
Boston,  although  as  truly  in  its  current  of  thought  before  the  war  as 
any  of  the  Harvard  scholars  or  philosophers.  Everett  and  Evarts, 
Holmes,    Hale,  Channing  and    Parker — they  were    Harvard  students 


EVANGELINE. 


NEW    YORK.  1009 

of  whom  the  land  is  proud.  If  Hoston  and  her  great  university  could 
only  claim  a  Hercules,  whose  sweep  of  patriotism  and  ponderous  blows 
were  self-tauL^ht  and  self-inspired,  it  would  be  glory  enough;  but 
Webster  did  not  come  within  the  shades  of  the  Harvard  elms,  as  a  stu- 
dent, although  his  glory  shines  as  brightly  around  the  Hub  as  the  national 

capital. 

In  Boston,  and  throughout  Massachusetts,  there  are  scores  of  law, 
medical  and  theological  schools,  .\mong  those  which  are  denominational, 
but  also  of  a  general  character,  may  be  mentioned  Amherst  College, 
Williams  and  Tufts.  Unlike  the  college  and  university  towns  of  Eng- 
land, those  of  Massachusetts  and  .America  are  usually  within  walking 
distance  of  stirring  city  or  town  life ;  so  that  even  the  scholar  breathes 
the  vibrating  atmosphere  of  commerce  and  trade. 

After  Harvard  comes  Yale  in  point  of  importance  and  time.  It  is 
the  O.xford  of  .America,  New  Haven,  the  city  of  its  location,  being  set 
tied  by  a  company  of  Englishmen,  principally  from  London.  The  uni- 
versity laws  are  founded  partly  upon  those  of  Harvard  and  partly  upon 
those  of  O.xford,  England.  The  buildings  of  Yale  College  cover  several 
acres  of  ground  near  the  city  park,  or  the  "  green."  This  latter  is  six- 
teen acres  in  extent  and  seems,  from  a  distance,  but  a  solid  forest  of 
stately  elms.  The  king  of  shade  trees  also  stretches  his  arms  over  the 
delightful  avenues  of  the  whole  city,  being  one  of  its  greatest  attractions. 
A  walk  under  the  elms  of  New  Haven  has  cooled  many  a  student's  hot 
brain.  He  is,  furthermore,  in  the  center  and  primary  city  of  the  clock 
and  carriage  manufactures  of  New  England. 

An  invisforatine  dash  over  the  salt  water  is  that  from  New  Haven 
to  New  York  by  steamer  through  Long  Island  Sound.  The  Connecti- 
cut shore  slopes  gently  toward  the  water  and  is  beautified  by  many 
charming  summer  and  country  residences,  the  coast  of  Long  Island 
being  the  broken  base  of  a  line  of  hills  which  extends  almost  through  it. 
Numerous  bays  and  inlets  cut  the  shore  into  the  most  picturesque  forms, 
and  the  boldest  scenes  usually  have  stanch  and  defiant  lighthouses  as 
practical  center-pieces.  During  much  of  the  course  these  features  of 
the  landscape  are  diversified  by  forests  of  pine  which  extend  along  a 
comparatively  level  tract  of  country.  Beyond  the  hills  and  forests  are  the 
fertile  tracts  which  slope  toward  the  ocean  and  toward  the  .sandy  beaches 
which,  in  the  west,  have  become  so  well  known  as  bathing  resorts. 

NEW  YORK. 

Long  Island  was  claimed  by  both  English   and    Dutch,  the  western 

portions  being  .settled  by  the  Hollanders  a  few  years  in  advance  of  their 

64 


lOKl 


PANORAMA    OF    XAllOXS. 


rivals.  The  ]'~nglisli  did  not  crowd  out  all  the  Dutch  names  wlien  they 
destrcjN'cd  tlie  power  of  Holland  on  the  Hudson  River.  Itistrue  that  in 
ai)i)r()achinL;'  the  metropolis,  past  '-oul;  ISranth.  .S;uul\'  Hook  and  the 
New  jersey  coast  we  find  ( 'irav(,;send  at  tlu'  ver\-  entrance  to  New  York 
l)a\,  and  we  remember  that  Gravesend  is  the  official  i^ate  to  the  port  of 
I  .oiulon  ;  1  lut, 
chiiosing'  t  h  (■ 
approach,  1)}' 
wa\'  of  1-ong 
Island  ,Sound, 
tliere  is  Har- 
lem to  remind 
us  of  tile  I  liil- 
land  llats  ami 
.sea.  Harlem 
River  connects 
with  Spinten 
Du\\-el  Creek, 
the  two  sepa- 
ratiui;'  Man- 
hattan Island 
from  the  main- 
land. Brof)klyn,  is  to  New 
York  what  the  West  F.nt 
is  to  Lontlon,  although 
separated  b\-  a  river.  It  is 
even  more  difficult  to  de- 
termine what  should  be  legitimate- 
ly considered  the  population  of 
New  A'ork  than  of  Lontlon,  for 
although  the  bounds  of  the  Anier 
ican  cit)-  are  a  matter  of  lega 
record,  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
people  reside   in    lirookUn,  I>('ng 

Island  City,  Hoboken,  JerseyCity  ^^  ^^^_^^^_^.^^  ^^^^^^,^ 

and    outlying    territor)-    ami     )et 

dei-end  for  their  support  upon  the  melroi)olis.  As  the  suburbs,  towns 
and  cities  are  separated  by  bodies  of  water  and  State  lines  it  wouhl  be 
difhcult  to  cover  this  great  and  populous  territory  ]i\-  any  such  con- 
venient body  as  the  London  r.oard  of  Works  or  Metropolitan  Police  ; 
yet,  short  of    a  common   name,    the   gigantic  settlements  at  the  mouth 


NKW     VOUK.  lOI  I 

of  the  Hudson  arc  connected    by  even-  tie  of    mutual  interest  and  some 
of  the  grandest  mechanical    and  eni^^ineerini;' works  of  tin;  age. 

The  city,  locatetl  on  Manhattan  Island,  is  connectc;d  Avith  the 
main  land  by  a  number  of  magnificent  bridges  for  passenger  and 
raihva)'  traffic  ;  while  the  Brooklyn  I)ridg(;  is  thrown  across  East 
River  for  o\er  a  mile,  Waterloo  and  all  similar  slructm"es  in  l.nndon 
being  cast  into  the  shade  b\-  its  mighty  foundations,  spans  and  towers. 
The  largest  vessel  passes  beneath  it.  Until  this  gigantic  work  was  com- 
pleted the  communication  was  b)'  numerous  steam  ferries,  whose  move- 
ments were  often  impeded  by  fog  and  ice.  On  a  like  scale  of  grandeur 
was  the  remii\al  of  a  mountain  of  rocks,  at  Hell  date,  which  obstructed 
navigation  between  Kast  Ri\er  and  Long  Island  Sound.  The  work  of 
honeycombing  the  rock  progressed  for  man\-  weary  months,  and  at  its 
conclusion  everything  appeared  on  the  surface  as  liefore.  The  touch  of 
an  electric  button  released  a  xolcano;  the  mountain  hea\-eil  at  its  foun- 
dations and  was  pitched  into  the  sea. 

Within  the  city  the  restless  streams  of  people  are  carried  on  the 
ground  and  above  ground  by  the  most  effective  of  known  railway  sys- 
tems, though  still  inadequate  to  reliev(>  the  pressure  of  travel.  The 
Croton  acjueduct,  which  brings  pure  water  to  Harlem  Ri\ crfrom  a  small 
stream  (artificially  formed  into  a  lake),  does  not  compare  witli  those  old 
Roman  monsters  found  in  Italy,  France  and  Spain,  but  it  is  a  great  public 
work  for  this  age  of  the  world.  The  water,  in  iron  pipes,  is  carried 
across  the  river  over  a  massive  granite  bridge,  and  then  the  a<]ueduct 
takes  it  as2;ain  and  brings  it  to  the  Central  Park  reservoir. 

The  public  works  of  New  York  stand  for  the  practical  advancement 
of  the  country,  and  the  European  immigrant  as  he  lands  at  Castle 
Garden  finds  himself,  without  introduction,  in  the  midst  of  the  most 
comple.x  form  of  American  cit}'  life.  New  ^'ork,  in  its  general  charac- 
teristics, is  Paris  and  London  thrown  together.  Paris  is  Celtic  in  its 
lightness  and  brilliancy ;  so  is  New  York,  with  its  Fifth  avenue  and 
other  gorgeous  e.xhibitions  of  wealth — with  its  Irish  Stewarts,  its  German 
Astors,  its  Dutch-American  \"anderljilts,  and  its  tlnglish  and  .\merican 
merchants  bv  the  scores.  There  are  stores,  hotels  and  residences  which 
are  palaces  in  the  old  world.  There  are  districts  which  are  packed  closer 
and  are  more  squalid  than  the  populous  haunts  of  the  poor  classes  in 
East  London.  The  two  extremes  meet.  You  see  the  Charles  O'Con- 
nors on  one  side  of  the  street  autl  the  newest  arrivals  from  the  Irish  bogs 
on  the  other. 

But  a  passing  glim[)se  is  all  that  we  can  take  of  this  most  sidjstau- 
tial  evidence  of  the  republic's  greatness.     With  a  regretful  gaze  up  the 


IOI2  I'ANORAMA     Ul'     XATI.OXS. 

Hudson,  that  we  can  not  enjoy  its  magnificent  mountain  and  liighland 
scenery,  its  rapids,  its  palisades  and  pleasant  banks  and  viliag-es,  we  give 
a  look  of  admiration  at  the  Government  fortresses  on  the  islands  of  the 
harbor  and  at  the  last  of  the  world's  great  works  of  art,  the  Goddess  of 
Liberty  (which  they  are  obliged  to  accompan\),  and  skirting  the  sandy 
shores  of  New  Jersey,  enter  Delaware  Bay. 

PHILADELPHIA. 

\>y  following  the  river,  we  hnd,  in  Philadelphia,  the  same  narrow, 
quaint  and  scrupulously  clean  Dutch  houses,  which  are  washed,  like 
childrens' faces,  in  Holland.  Althouijh  foundeil  b\' the  Enelish  Quaker, 
Penn,  during  the  first  few  years  of  its  establishment  the  Dutch  immi- 
grated to  Philadelphia  in  great  numbers,  being  drawn  to  it,  as  were  the 
German  and  the  English  Quakers,  by  the  principle  of  universal  tolera- 
tion upon  which  tlie  colony  was  founded.  .\t  Kensington,  within  the 
city  limits,  is  a  plain  stone  monument  which  marks  the  site  of  the  elm 
tree  under  which  Penn  made  that  oral  treaty  with  the  Indians  which  he 
never  violated  and  which  is  the  large  white  spot  in  the  history  of  our 
dealings  with  the  natives.  The  most  momentous  of  the  ante-revolu- 
tionary events  circled  around  Philadelphia.  Carpenters'  Hall,  where  was 
held  the  first  Continental  Congress,  is  open  to  visitors  in  substantially 
the  same  condition  it  was  during  the  rebellion  against  England.  Inde- 
pendence Hall,  in  the  old  .State  House,  is  where  the  declaration  of  inde- 
pendence was  adopted.  Its  walls  are  hung  with  the  portraits  of  patriots, 
and  other  historic  relics  placed  there  make  it,  with  Faneuil  Hall,  Boston, 
the  most  precious  structure  in  America.  Within  the  past  century 
Girard  College  has  arisen  to  exhibit  to  the  world  what  has  been  pro- 
nounced the  finest  specimen  of  Grecian  architecture  in  the  world,  and 
also  to  exhibit  in  its  founder  the  combination  of  the  miser  in  private 
and  the  prodigal  philanthropist  in  public. 

Philadelphia  is  unique.  It  is  old  and  wealthy  like  Boston,  but  its 
people  and  its  capital  are  more  intimately  associated  with  the  West.  It 
is  less  an  Eastern  and  more  an  American  city. 

THE   IRON  AND  COAL  REGIONS. 

Many  of  the  Dutch  who  came  to  Pennsylvania,  drawn  thither  by 
tolerant  spirit  of  the  Ouaker  colonist,  settled  in  the  fertile  valleys  of  the 
Alleghany  Mountains,  where  thousands  of  their  mild,  comfortable 
descendants  are  now  located.  The  PInglish,  Welsh  and  Scotch  are  in 
the  coal  and  iron  mines  and  manufacturing  districts.      Both    in  Central 


THE    IK'JS    AM)    COAL    KEiWuNS. 


IOI3 


and  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  the  de[)Osits  of  iron  ore  are  so  rich  that  most 
of  the  blast  furnaces  iqion  the  banks  of  the  rivers  depend  upon  them  for 
their  products.  The  anthracite  coal  beds  are  simply  inexliaustible,  and 
the  entire  range  of  mountains  is  l)eing  honey-combed  b}'  liie  industry 
and  capital  of  the  country.  The  life  of  the  miners  is  such  as  it  is  in 
other  countries.  The  villages  will  generally  be  found  on  the  banks  of 
runs,  as  they  are  called —  small  creeks  coming  down  from  the  moun- 
tains—  and  are  drear\-  enough.  They  look  as  if  they  were  placed  there 
for  a  da)'  only.  Ihc  mining  companies  own  many  of  tlu;  houses,  and 
also  most  of  the  general  stores  at  which  the  miners  tratlc.  Provisions 
and  articles  of 
clothing  are  lu;l( 
tirml)'  to  the  mar- 
ket price,  and  it  is 
not  unusual,  with  a 
large  city  only  a 
few  miles  away,  for 
the  proprietors  to 
^•irtually  force  their 
wares  upon  them 
at  prices  higher 
than  those  quoted 
in  town. 

The  immense 
coal  fields  of  Penn- 
sylvania first  came 
into  general  use 
during  the  Revo- 
lutionary War,  the 
product  being  tak- 
cn      from     near  carved  oak  settle. 

Wilkesbarre,  down  the  Susquehanna,  to  near  the  Government  Arsenal 
at  Carlisle.  Since  then,  mining  for  coal  and  iron  and  boring  for  petro- 
leum, with  the  dependent  industries  of  transporting  and  manufacturing, 
h.a\e  built  up  one  of  the  most  prosperous  States  in  the  Union. 

Pennsylvania  is  a  repetition  of  the  manufacturing  districts  of  Eng- 
and,  with  the  ancient  villages,  ruined  castles  and  Roman  walls  omitted. 
Pennsylvania,  also,  has  the  clear  sky  and  air  which  often  are  not  to 
be  found  around  the  picturesque  manufacturing  centers  of  the  old 
countr\-.  But  from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburgh — especially  in  the 
autimm  —  the  scener\'  is  purely  .American.      The  ponderous  machinery 


10I4  PANORAMA    oK    NATIONS. 

of  the  mines,  gigantic  petroleum  tanks,  square  miles  of  smokiri- -  har- 
coal  houses,  like  large  ant  hills,  thousands  of  tramways  running  out 
from  the  hills  to  the  railroad  track,  whole  cities  covered  with  smoke 
and  the  banks  of  the  great  rivers  flaming  as  if  they  were  afire  \;ith  the 
laliors  of  iron  mills  and  manufactories,  are  a  few  of  the  works  of  man 
which  appear  on  the  surface.  As  if  striving  to  add  to  the  im[jressive- 
ness  of  the  scene,  or  at  least  to  conform  to  its  general  character  entire 
vallej's  and  mountain  chains  are  aflame  with  the  red  and  yello'.v  of  the 
dying  year,  the  oak  trees  and  the  maples  marshaling  their  colors  in  huge 
masses  and  l;)attalions.  Nestling  in  the  valleys  are  also  fertih-  farms 
and  comfortable  houses,  many  of  them  furnished  with  old  and  cjuaintly 
carved  furniture.  In  fact,  in  this  central  and  Ijroadest  portion  of  the 
great  Alleghany,  or  Appalachian  system  of  mountains,  whii  h  extends 
from  the  Upper  .St.  Lawrence  to  the  Tennessee  River,  an  combined 
the  beauties  of  the  granite  hills  of  New  England  and  tin  streams  of 
the  Adirondacks  with  the  rich  treasures  which  they  do  not  lioard. 

THE  CUMBERLAXDS  AXI)  THE   POTOMAC. 

The  Cumberland  range  is  the  next  important  link  in  the  system 
goino-  south,  and  at  its  head  is  the  commencement  of  a  magnificent  coal 
field,  extending  west  to  the  Ohio.  There  are  fewer  fertile  spots  within 
the  Cumberland  region  than  in  the  Alleghanies,  the  scenery  being  most 
severe  ;  but  the  Tennessee  River  and  its  many  tributaries  draining  the 
eastern  slopes  of  the  mountains,  and  finally  cutting  through  to  the  west, 
draws  a  green  ribbon  through  the  rugged  hills  of  the  Cumberland  and 
is  a  sight  never  to  be  forgotten.  For  river  scener\-,  which  is  as  varied  as 
it  is  noble,  the  Potomac  rivals  the  Hudson.  It  possesses  the  additional 
charm  of  being  the  historic  stream  <>[  AmiM"ica,  near  whose  banks  were 
enacted  some  of  the  most  UKimi-ntous  events  of  the  war,  from  first  to 
last.  From  Harper's  Ferry  to  the  Rappahannock,  sweeping  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles  on  either  side,  would  include  ground  not  unlike  that 
lying  along  the  Rhine  between  Prance  and  Germany;  l:iut  tlie  .\merican 
soil  is  consecrated  to  peace,  and  North  and  .South  look  upon  the  clear 
waters  and  the  broad  sweep  of  the  Potomac  with  re\'erence  ami  lo\'e. 
The  headwaters  of  the  ri\er  boil  among  rugged  mountains,  with  little 
<Treen  valle)s  playing  in  their  shadows.  At  Harper's  I'erry  where  the 
Shenandoah  joins  it,  it  breaks  through  the  lUue  Ridge  Mountains  and 
becomes  grand  in  its  character.  The  clifls  ami  rocks  hang  over  it,  as  if 
loth  to  allow  it  to  escape,  and  at  the  feet  of  some  of  the  loftiest  ot  them 
is  the  village  of  Harper's  P~err\-.      This  passage  of  the  ri\er  through  the 


THE    CUMIJKRI.AXnS    AND    Till',    I'OKiMAC.  IOI5 

mountains  Thomas  Jefferson  ])ronounc('(l  "one  of  thr  most  stu])(Mulous 
scenes  in  nature,  and  well  worth  a  voyage  across  the  Atlantic  to  witness." 
and,  as  proof  that  his  atlmiration  was  honest  he  indulged  in  the  romantic 
;uul  i)oyish  occupation  of  carving  his  name  on  one  of  the  grandest  of  the 
rocks. 

The  lower  course  of  the  Potomac  is  tranquil  and  majestic,  and  it  is 
little  wonder  that  Cieorge  Washington  marked  such  scenes  for  life  and 
death.  Mount  Vernon  came  to  him  from  his  elder  brother,  Lawrence, 
and  his  was  merely  one  of  the  fine  old  mansions  and  plantations  which 
still  make  the  Lower  Potomac  the  dearest  s[)ot  oji  earth  to  the  desceiul- 
ants  of  those  grand  old  \'irginia  families  whom  American  history  has 
embalmed.  The  house  is  a  two  stor\'  wooden  building  with  a  welcom- 
ing portico  in  front,  supported  b\-  great  pillars  and  reaching  to  the 
dormer  windows.  Washington's  library  and  bedroom  have  not  been 
tlisturbcd  since  his  death.  The  ground  in  front  of  the  house  slopes  to 
the  river  in  a  rich  lawn  of  several  acres,  the  l)ody  of  the  patriot  being 
laid  within  \iew  of  his  restful  home  and  the  fair  river,  in  a  cool,  wooded 
vlell.  Let  us  here  meiilion,  in  admiration  and  re\'ercMice,  without  fear 
of  being  misunderstood  ir.  these  d;us,  th(>  name  of  Washington's  great- 
est  ilescendant  who  li\ed  and  dii:d  a  Virginian —  Robert  E.  Lee. 

r5eyond  Mount  Vernon  is  Washington,  as  grand  in  its  proportions  as 
St.  Petersburgh,  without  Ijcing  ()|)pressiveh'  stupendous.  The  capitol, 
covering  ncarl\-  lour  acres  ol  ground,  sends  up  its  s[)lendid  dome  nearly 
300  feet,  and  its  statue  ot  Liberty  looks  serenely  toward  Europe  and  the 
rising  sun.  The  great  department  buildings,  the  monument,  the  Gov- 
ernment institutions  —  Stich  as  arsenal  and  navy  )'ards  —  the  magnificent 
boule\-ards  and  palaces  along  them  ;  the  ])ustle,  life  and  ga\'et}'  and  the 
freshness  and  j)ictures(|ueness  of  tlu'  surroumling  countrw  ad\ance 
Wasliington's  claim  to  l)e  the  most  perfect  city  for  national  legislation 
in  the  world.  IJefore  its  geographic  location  is  raised  against  it  seri- 
ously, it  would  be  well  to  see  how  man\'  of  the  capitals  of  the  world 
from  Chiiia  to  Russia  ami  l^nglainl  are  centrally  placed. 

One  is  inclined  to  linger  too  long  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac. 
Virginia  has  hundreds  of  other  natural  attractions.  The  Cundjerland 
Mountains,  in  the  west  of  the  State,  exhibit  a  number  of  wonderful  caves, 
some  being  brilliant  ;md  grotesque  with  stalactite  formations,  and  others 
filled  with  crystal  bodies  of  water.  b^'om  on(>  of  them  a  strong  current 
of  cold  air  issues  during  hot  weather,  and  in  winter  the  outer  air  is  drawn 
into  it  as  through  a  suction  pipe.  Then  there  is  the  natural  Ijridge, 
near  Le.xington,  whose  one  arch  is  one  hundred  and  sixt\- feet  in  height 
and  sixtv  feet  in  width.      A  little   stream    Hows   through  it,  and  <-iijantic 


IOl6  PANORAMA    ill      NATIONS. 

iorcst  trees  grow  underneath,  which  are  nearl\- a  luindred  feet  below  the 
roadway  which  passes  over  the  bridge.  The  manj-  mineral  springs  in 
the  vicinity,  with  their  higli  temperature,  and  the  jjosition  of  the  rock 
strata,  suggest  the  force  which  fashioned  this  gigantic  arch  out  of  the 
flint-like  ridge. 

OHIO   IRON   AND  WOOL. 

Beyond  the  Potomac  River,  the  Cumberland  jMoimtains  and  the 
Ohio  was  considered,  not  man\'  years  ago,  the  far  West.  Just  a  cen- 
tury ago  Dr.  Manasseh  Cutler  located  the  first  colony  at  Marietta,  start- 
ing from  Connecticut.  He  had  a  large  wagon  built  and  covereci  with 
black  canvas,  on  which  were  painted  in  white  letters  the  words  "Ohio, 
for  Marietta  or  the  Muskingum."  The  circumstances  under  which  it 
left  New  England  and  reached  that  then  uncultivated  wilderness  have 
placed  this  exphjring  w^agon  historically  b)-  the  side  of  the  Mayflower. 
This  was  the  basis  of  Ohio  antl  the  frontier  .State  of  the  East.  It  is  not 
now  even  in  the  Middle  West.  It  is  rather  the  connecting  link  between 
the  manufacturing  East  and  the  agricultural  West.  The  coal  deposits 
and  petroleum  wells  of  Eastern  Ohio  rank  with  those  of  Penns)-lvania. 
Iron  is  obtained,  but  her  extensive  manufactories  depend  for  their  sup- 
plies chiefly  upon  the  iron  countr\-  in  Nortliern  Wisconsin  and  Michigan, 
near  the  shores  of  Lake  -Superior.  There  are  entire  ridges  and  ranges 
of  iron,  and  rivers  whose  waters  are  retl  with  their  rust.  Chicago,  Mil- 
waukee and  Clevelantl  have  immense  mills  and  iron  manufactories,  and 
are  also  distriljuting  points  for  quantities  of  ore. 

Although  Ohio  is  second  in  America  as  an  iron-producing  .State,  she 
is  first  as  a  producer  of  wool,  California  standing  almost  shoulder  to  shoul- 
der with  her.  She  pastures  about  a  si.xth  of  the  sheep,  and  sends  to 
market  a  fifth  of  the  wool.  The  oil  ol  her  coal  lands,  which  has  not  run 
into  her  petroleum  wells,  seen-is  to  have  penetratetl  the  land  and  made 
it  rich  and  productixe  to  animal  and  vegetable  life.  That  e.xpression, 
"  the  fat  of  the  land,"  is  particularly  appropriate  to  both  Pennsylvania  and 
Ohio,  whose  oils  are  not  onl)-  collected  in  reserxoirs  and  rarrl<'d  to  dis- 
tant cities  in  pipes,  as  so  much  water,  l)ut  th(_-  land  fields  most  ;d)und- 
antly  to  animal  life  those  elements  which  cover  the  farms  with  plump 
sheep  and  cattle.  Ohio  is  a  great  dairy  country,  the  Western  Reserve, 
in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  .State,  being  the  ])anner  section. 

CINCINNATI. 

Naturalh'  the  growth  of  Ohio's  cities  has  been  rapid,  especially  of 
Cincinnati,  \\'hich  is  one  of  the  great  commercial  centers  of  the  countr\'.* 


THE     flUKEX    OK     THE    LAKES.  IOI7 

Its  locali(jn  is  one  of  grand  beaut)-,  the  plateaux  upon  which  it  is  l)uilt 
lying  a  hundred  feet  above  the  Ohio  River  (which  divides  the  plain),  and 
being  surrounded  by  a  circle  of  hills.  The  hill-sides  are  covered  with 
houses,  and  the  suburbs  of  the  cit)'  are  picturescjue  and  clean.  Cincin- 
nati is  no  exception  to  the  rule  that  all  the  ijopulous  cities  of  the  country, 
lying  on  the  great  lakes  and  rivers  between  Buffalo  and  St.  Louis,  have 
a  very  large  German  element.  The  flood  commenced  to  pour  over  the 
western  country  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution  in  Ciermany  of  1848,  and 
to  this  cause  the  .States  between  the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi  owe  a  vast 
proportion  of  their  unexampled  growth  and  present  prosperit)'.  In  fact, 
with  due  regard  for  the  mental  and  physical  influences  of  other  national- 
ities, the  ethnologist  is  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  the  descendants  of 
the  English  and  Oerman  colonists  of  the  East  and  .South,  with  those  of 
tile  West,  are  the  strongest  and  most  vital  elenu;nts  in  the  American 
type;  and  this  consideration  led  to  the  adoption  of  the  topic  title,  Amer- 
ican Anglo-Saxons,  there  being  little  difference  between  the  I-lnglish 
and  German  types. 

THE  QUEEN  OF  THE   LAKES. 

The  site  of  Chicago  was  not  worse  than  that  of  other  large  cities  of 
the  world,  and  her  geographical  position  in  the  center  of  the  grain  fields 
of  the  Northwest;  at  the  foot  of  a  lake  which  hea\es  at  the  borders  of 
four  States,  and  in  the  direct  line  of  travel  westward  from  the  old  New 
England  States  —  these  advantages  predestined  her  present  standing,  as 
second  to  New  York,  in  commercial  importance.  New  York  is  King,  and 
Chicago  is  not  only  Queen  of  the  Lakes  but  of  America.  If  the  parallel 
is  allowable,  she  is  New  York's  great  middle-man  for  the  staples  of  the 
West  from  the  Ohio  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  She  is  the  general  store- 
keeper for  the  Northwestern  States.'  P'rom  the  time  Chicago  was  a 
garrison,  a  few  families  and  a  canal  town,  to  the. present,  whatever  may 
have  been  the  fortune  of  its  indi\idual  people,  no  one  thought  that 
Chicaofo  would  fail,  lii  the  histor\-  of  cities  there  has  been  no  such 
sublime  confidence  in  the  possibility  of  the  supremest  height  of  achieve- 
ment, as  has  markeil  the  career  of  Chicacro.  A  dozen  Chicago  fires 
could  not  (jueiich  it.  Chicago  is  as  grasping  a  cit\'  as  the  universe 
knows  aintliing  about.  There  is  no  parallel  to  her  generosity  when 
tlanies,  lloods  or  hurricanes  sweep  the  land.  Whatever  wickedness  can 
be  found  in  any  city,  is  in  Chicago  ;  but  her  charities  cover  it.  Her  busi- 
ness houses,  commercial  and  financial  structures  and  public  buildings  are 
vast.      Her  hotels  ri\al  those  of  New  York,  and  there  is  now  in  course  of 


loiS 


I'AXOKAMA    (i|-    NATIONS. 


construction  a  square  block  of  architectural  statcliness  for  the  use,  prim- 
arily, of  national  conventions,  which  is  one  of  the  most  magnificent  works 
of  the  century.  The  continual  sound  of  the  saw  and  the  hammer 
is  luard  not  onl\'  in  the  centers  of  population,  but  the  reverberation  is 
carried  along  from  building  to  building,  until  the  seeming  echo  dies  in 
the;  distance.  For  a  dozen  miles  north  and  south  there  are  charming, 
po]>ulous  and  growing  suburlw  which  will  e\-entually  be  a  part  of  the 
city.  .South  of  Chicago  are  her  great  iron  districts,  and  this  outlying- 
territor\'  is  growing  so  rapidly  around  the  foot  of  the  lake,  that  the  time 
may  not  be  far  in  th(^  future  when  the  city  will  have  no  important  body 
of  water  lietween  it  autl  the  Eastern  sea-board. 

No  one  who  has  taken    the  trouble  to  inxestigate  will  be  misleil  by 
the  trite   remark  that  Chicago  is    merely  wheat  and  [lork ;    a  city  whose 


S(  ULl'TOR-S  HOMK. 

wholt;  existence  is  in   track-.      Iter  litcratcurs,  painters  and  sculptors  are 
leiiion,  man\'  of  ihnn  with  national  reioutations. 

Yet  as  U)ng  as  Illinois,  Iowa.  Minnesota,  Wisconsin,  Dakota, 
Nebraska  and  Kansas  continue  to  raise  wheat  and  cattle,  the  Queen  will 
li\c.  In  years  past  MiKvaid<ee,  fiu'ther  north  on  the  western  shore  of 
the  lake,  rixaled  Chicago  as  a  primary  wheat  market,  and  .St.  I'aid  and 
Minneapolis  ha\i'  drawn  Irom  much  of  the  far  northwestern  lerritor)'. 
rhe\-  arc/  bcautihil,  prospi-rous  cities,  but  ol  late  \'ears  have  concentratetl 
tlu-ir  energies  uijon  \'arious  lines  ol  manufactures. 


WIIKAT    IIAKVKSTKRS.  IOI9 

WHEAT    H.\R\i:STERS. 

On  tlic  oreat  prairies  of  the  States  of  the  Northwest  h'iiiL,^  alonj^^  the 
Mississippi  and  Missonri  vaHexs  are  conchicted  the  most  extensive  agri- 
cultural operations  in  the  world.  Here  machinery  takes  the  place  of 
manual  labor  almost  entirely  ;  for  the  soil  is  so  soft  and  free  from  stones 
that  not  only  can  the  land  be  plowed  for  miles  at  a  stretch  without  ni(;et- 
in<''  a  foreign  substance,  but  tlu^  grain  may  be  reaped  and  threshed  by 
horse  and  steam  power  without  the  possibility  of  anything  being  caught 
up  which  could  injure  the  most  delicate  machine.  When  the  harvest  is 
ready  for  the  reapers  the  wheat-tleltls  of  Iowa,  Illinois,  Minnesota.Wiscon- 
sin  and  Dakota,  resemble  so  many  encampments,  and  the  systematic  w-ay 
in  which  the  armies  of  laborers  prtqjare  for  the  campaign  adds  stn^ngth 
to  the  impression.  When  operations  commence  the  very  machines  seem 
to  have  life.  The  grain  falls  in  wide  swaths  before  the  sharp  teeth  of 
the  mower,  and  is  laid  nicel)-  upon  the  platform  behind  from  which  it  is 
either  raked  and  gathered  into  bundles  by  the  harvesters,  or  cut  and 
bound  into  sheaves  by  the  machine  itself.  The  wonders  of  wood,  steel 
and  iron  do  not  end  with  this.  At  times  the  driver  will  mount  his  little 
iron  seat,  give  his  steeds  the  word,  and  the  grain  will  not  only  fall  before 
him,  but  will  be  threshed  at  the  same  time. 

Usually,  how(-ver,  the  threshing  is  an  after-work,  and  steam-power 
is  called  into  pla\-.  At  this  stage  of  the  operations  the  scpiare  miles  of 
land  which  have  been  shorn  of  their  waving  wealth  are  transformed  into 
a  species  of  outdoor  manufactory.  The  rattle  and  clangor  of  the 
machines  fill  the  air.  Thousands  of  tons  of  refuse  go  u[>on  a  moving, 
inclined  plane  and  disappear.  The  buzz,  rattle  and  clangor  progress, 
the  refuse  falls  into  a  sort  of  revolving  drum  and  a  moment  later  a 
confused  mass  of  straw  and  wheat  falls  upon  a  rack  below.  The  straw 
is  carried  ofT  by  an  endless  platform  and  carefully  placed  in  a  mow  or 
rack,  the  grain  sifting  througli  into  an  apartment  where  it  is  winnowed 
by  a  strong  air  blast,  which,  strange  to  say,  is  already  there  to  xlo  its 
work.  With  all  this  improved  machinery,  which  accomplishes  the  labor 
of  armies  of  men,  the  wheat  harvesters  of  the  Northwest  are  not  only 
drawn  from  the  immediate  country,  but  man)-  of  them  are  wanderers  over 
the  face  of  the  land  who,  from  the  south,  follow  the  line  of  verdure  and 
the  harvests  of  the  country  through  the  Mississippi  .States  into  the  wheat 
districts  of  British  America. 

LIFE  ON   THE   PLAINS. 

Life  on  the  plains,  such  as  adventurous  boys  used  to  dream  about, 
is  a  tiling  of  the  past  since  the  Pacific  roads  have  gone  beyond  the  Mis- 


I020  I'ANUKA.MA    l)F    NATIONS. 

sissippi,  and  the  Missouri,  and  the  Platte,  and  Salt  Lake,  and  the  Colorado 
to  the  Pacific  coast.  By  stretching  a  point  and  going  down  into  Indian 
Territory,  Texas  or  New  Mexico,  a  taste  of  the  old  excitement  may  be 
obtained,  but  the  life  upon  the  plains  of  Nebraska  and  Kansas  is  of 
another  kind  in  our  day.  It  is  the  same  existence  as  thepioneers  of  Illi- 
nois enjoyed  fifty  years  ago.  Along  the  banks  of  the  Missouri  River, 
which  forms  the  eastern  boundary  to  Nebraska  and  a  portion  of  Kansas, 
arc  the  most  enterprising  of  the  manufacturing  and  receiving  points  for 
much  of  the  grain  and  cattle  of  the  plains.  They  also  make  the  cars,  the 
engines,  and  even  the  bridges  of  the  old  and  new  roads  which  connect 
the  States  beyond  the  Missouri  River  and  the  cities,  towns  and  hamlets 
of  this  newest  West.  Life  on  the  plains  is  now  what  the  railroads  make 
it.  They  plat  a  town  and  build  a  station  on  the  plain  with  not  a  farm- 
house in  sight;  but  their  agents  are  at  New  York,  Chicago,  Milwaukee 
and  .St.  Paul,  antl  by  and  by  there  comes  along  a  train  loaded  with  burly 
Russian  farmers,  red-faced  .Sw(;des  or  heavy-browed  Germans.  The 
immigrants  get  out  at  the  little  wooden  house  on  the  plains,  with  their 
rope-bound  trunks,  their  wives  and  children,  and  proceed  to  occupy  the 
rough  houses  which  have  been  erected  for  them.  When  the  train  returns, 
evervbod\-  is  housed  in  some  sort  of  shape,  and  the  heads  of  families 
have  selected  their  farms  under  the  guidance  of  the  railroad  agent,  or 
one  of  those  sharp,  omnipresent  land  agents,  who  was  already  on  the 
ground,  having  scented  his  prey  from  afar. 

Many  of  the  towns  which  are  blessed  with  fifteen  years  or -more  of 
life  contain  substantial  manufactories — principall}-  flour-mills  —  large 
public  buildings  and  blocks  of  stores,  and  as  polished  and  warm  a  grade 
of  societ\-  as  is  met  with  in  the  countrv.  The  o^reat  ambition  of  the  new 
places  is  to  get  to  be  either  the  county  seat,  or  a  section  town.  In  the 
latter  case  machine  shops  are  established,  the  town  becomes  the  head- 
quarters of  many  railroad  employes  and  officials,  good  hotel  accommo- 
dations are  required,  additional  stores  start  up.  commercial  travelers 
abound,  and  the  place  becomes  that  most  desirable  of  all  things  to  a  child 
of  the  West  —  "a  live  town."  Of  course  such  cities  as  Kansas  Cit\', 
Topeka,  Lincoln  and  (!)maha  ha\e  graduated  into  the  metropolitan  class, 
showing  an  enterprise  and  exhibiting  magnificent  business  and  public 
structures  as  an  evidence  of  their  permanent  prosperity.  Kansas  City 
is  rapidlv  gaining  the  position  of  the  most  important  commercial  point 
between  Chicago  and  the  Pacific  coast.  Her  railroad  connections  are 
masterly,  Kansas  being  not  only  tributar\-  to  her,  l^ut  large  portions  of 
Missouri,  Texas,  Colorado  and  New  Mexico;  and  yet  Kansas  Cit)' is 
built  upon  rocks  and  sand,  as  Chicago  originally  rested  upon  a  bed  of  mud. 


THE    WESTERN     MIXINc;    (OUNTKV.  I02I 

THE  WESTERN   MEXLXG  COUNTRY. 

After  crossing  the  plains  of  Nebraska  and  Kansas,  the  great  mining 
coiintr\'  of  the  West  is  entered  by  way  of  Colorado.  The  entrance  to 
this  sublime  region  is  by  gradual  steps.  thirst  there  is  a  vast  elevated 
plain,  cut  up  by  the  streams  of  the  Platte  and  Arkansas  Rivers,  ami  diver- 
sified by  valleys.  A  lofty  ridge  sheds  the  waters  of  these  rivers,  disap- 
pearing in  the  great  masses  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  near  Pike's  Peak. 
In  other  localities  the  furrowed  plain  merges  into  the  foothills  of  the 
mountains,  which,  in  Colorado  obtain  their  greatest  altitude.  The 
mounds,  pyramids,  pinnacles,  towers  and  monuments  lifted  two  or  three 
miles  into  the  pure  air,  some  of  them  rifted  by  ragged  gorges  from 
summit  to  base,  inclose  a  number  of  fertile  tracts  of  land  whose  physical 
characteristics  are  similar  to  those  of  the  plains  to  the  east.  The  differ- 
ence, if  anything,  favors  the  mountains.  The  hills  and  mountains  sur- 
rounding them  are  clothed  with  pine  forests,  and  the  valleys  whicii 
follow  the  headwaters  of  the  noble  rivers  breaking  from  their  prisons, 
east  and  west,  are  green  and  flowery.  Some  idea  of  the  extent  of  these 
domains,  which  Nature  has  walled  about  with  such  grandeur,  may  be 
obtained  by  a  statement  of  the  fact  tliat  three  of  the  Colorado  parks  are 
larger  than  Delaware,  and  one  of  them  is  equal  in  area  to  Massachusetts. 
The  parks  are  splendid  pasture  lands.  They  are,  in  fact,  the  oases  of 
this  great  region  of  rocks  and  canons,  and  lie  almost  within  sight  of  the 
extensive  mining  operations  of  the  State.  Northwest  through  Wyom- 
ing, Idaho  and  Montana  into  Canada,  south  through  New  Mexico  into 
old  Mexico,  and  westward  to  the  coast  is  the  territory  which  com- 
prises the  Western  mining  country.  Since  the  discovery  of  the  fa- 
mous Comstock  lode,  thirty  years  ago,  the  Sierra  Nevada  Moun- 
tains have  been  the  dividing  line  between  the  siKer  and  the  gold 
regions.  These  minerals  are  generally  found  together,  but  in  the 
ores  extracted  east  of  the  mountains,  silver,  as  a  rule,  greatlv  pre- 
dominates. 

It  would  be  a  waste  of  words  to  enter  into  a  detailed  description  of 
the  various  processes  of  mining  for  gold  and  silver  —  to  takeone  to  the 
streams  and  mountains,  to  the  long  drainage  tunnels,  the  ponderous 
crushing  mills  and  furnaces,  the  enormous  iron  pans  where  the  chemical 
changes  are  made  to  take  place  by  which  the  silver  bullion  is  obtained, 
to  be  afterward  melted  and  cast  into  ingots;  or  to  visit  the  gold  wash- 
ings and  tell,  step  by  step,  the  various  processes  by  which  from  streams, 
hills  and  the  shores  of  the  ocean  is  separated  the  precious  stuff  which 
men  call  gold. 


1022  TAMikAMA    tU-"    iXATIONS. 

vei.i.owstonp:  national  park. 

Tile  tourist  whose  aim  is  to  inspire  the  salic-nt  features  of  the 
country  will  Hghtl\- pass  the  gold  and  siKer,  and  return  to  the  feast  of 
Rocky  Mountain  scencr\-.  Other  countries,  from  Japan  to  South  America, 
have  boasted  of  immense  dejjosits  of  s^old,  tlie  fabulous  hoards  displaj^ed 


I'AI.I.S  IN  NAridXAI,  PARK.      ' 

hy  the  Incas  of  Peru  e\ei:  shaminy  the  productions  of  California  —  but 
there  is  but  one  chain  of  Rocky  Mountains  and  it  can  have  no  parallel. 
This  would  stand  secure,  as  a  solemn  truth,  were  the  Rocky  Mountains 
but    the   one    series  of   spurs  whieli   they  strike    cnit    into    Northwestern 


VKLl.UWSTONK     X  A  IK  ).\  A  I ,     I'AKK.  IO23 

\V\ominy  to  yras])  Yellowstone,  or  tlie  National  Park.  The  mountain 
rang^es,  which  are  covered  w  ith  i)erpetual  snow,  tower  above  the  valleys, 
through  wliich  run  the  headwaters  of  the  Missouri,  Mississippi's  brother, 
iuul  child  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico;  the  Columbia  which  winds  to  the 
Pacific,  and  the  Colorado  which  finds  its  way  to  the  Culf  of  Mexico. 
The  \'ellowstone  River,  the  Missouri's  tributar\',  rei)eats  the  \aull-like 
•canons  of  the  Colorado  for  those  who  can  not  see  the  stream,  which 
.  makes  a  specialty  of  furnishing  these  wonders  ;  and,  if  there  were  not 
.startling"  phenomena  in  another  direction,  the  falls  of  the  Yellowstone 
would  be  absorbing  attractions.  The  Great  Falls  are  350  feet  in  height. 
\  ellowstone  Park  is  in  th(_'  patli  of  a  xolcano  district  which  includes 
Western  New  Mexico  and  Colorado  and  portions  of  Utah,  Wyoming, 
Idah'o  and  Montana.  Lava  rocks,  hot  salt  springs,  mud  volcanoes  and 
i;'c\'sers,  scattered  throughout  these  .States,  with  earth(juake  shocks  in 
the  upper  districts  of  the  region,  make  the  Rock_\-  Mountains  one  of  the 
most  pregnant  fields  of  iiu'estigation  for  the  geologist;  but  he  nuu'  con- 
centrate all  his  earnestni'ss  in  Yellowston(;  Park,  which  holds  out  to  him 
the  most  acti\'e  e\'idence  of  the  earth's  interior  forces  which  can  be  fouml 
on  itssurface.  The  geysers  of  Iceland  and  New  Zealand  are  humbled  in 
■com])arison.  There  are  water-falls,  hot  mineral  s|)rings  (some  of  which 
are  over  200^'  in  temperature), canons  and  sulphur  hills  along  the  Yellow- 
•stone  River  and  Lakes  ;  the  geysers  are  found  further  west,  near  the  Madi- 
■son  River.  Theyare  of  all  varieties — thosewhicharetrancpiil, those  which 
are  always  boiling  and  those  which  periodically  s[jout  \"ast  columns  of 
boilinof  water  to  a  height  of  200  or  2^0  feet.  Around  the  rim  of  th(' 
■crater  are  often  seen  the  most  fantastic  and  beautiful  dejjosils.  .Some- 
times the  diameter  is  only  a  few  feet  ;  at  other  times  from  thirty  to  sixty. 
The  basin  may  be  circular,  or  shaped  like  a  shell,  or  ragged  and  shape- 
less;  almost  U-vel  with  the  ground  or  liuilt  up  so  that  it  ap[)ears  like  the 
stump  of  a  gigantic  tree.  The  water  may  be  blue  or  colorless,  and  in  one 
instance  the  deposit  around  the  rim  of  the  basin  is  black  instead  of  white. 
Some  of  the  geysers  maintain  the  water  at  a  uniform  level  ;  others  spout 
to  an  enormous  height  at  regular  intervals,  the  water  recetling  into  the 
fearful  ca\ern  ami  disappearing  with  ahissanti  a  roar.  One  remarkable 
eevser  sends  tons  of  water  into  the  clouds  and  nothino;  returns  —  th(- 
evaporation  is  instantaneous  and  complete.  There  are  also  lioiling  mud 
springs,  the  color  of  the  contents  being  white,  blue,  brown  or  black. 
Acres  of  mineral  springs  may  be  visited,  but  with  hundreds  of  geysers 
boiling,  steaming,  hissing,  gurgling,  roaring  and  spouting  like  so  many 
infernal  monsters  —  the  ground  seeming  to  tremble  as  with  the  vibra- 
tions of  hidden   engines  —  little   time   is  devoted   to   the  milder   mani- 


10J4  I'AXURAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

festations  of  the  earth's  anger.  lif  that  grand  natural  park,  upon  the 
side  of  Pike's  Peak,  ornamented  by  the  hand  of  nature  with  castles 
and  cathedrals  of  bright  red  sandstone,  may  be  called  the  Garden  of  the 
Gods,  what  fanciful  name  shall  be  given  to  this  region?  It  is  the  battle 
"■round  of  ('■ods  and  devils. 


& 


UTAH  CIVILIZATION. 

As  if  the  sights  of  Colorado  and  Wyoming  were  not  sufficiently 
unique,  Utah,  the  next  political  division  to  the  west,  furnishes  a  desert 
and  the  Great  Salt  Lake.  This  most  concentrated  deposit  of  saltwater 
in  the  world  is  over  four  thousand  feet  above  the  sea.  To  the  southeast 
is  a  small  fresh  water  lake,  and  the  river  Jordan  connects  them.  It  has 
other  fresh  water  inlets,  but  no  visible  outlets.  The  country  around  is 
impregnated  with  salt,  a  decided  crust  being  frequently  seen  upon  the 
surface.  A  ridge  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  —  the  Wahsatch  —  follows, 
at  a  little  distance,  the  eastern  shores  of  the  lakes  and  rivers,  and  between 
it  and  Great  Salt  Lake  has  sprung  up  that  civilization  which  redeems 
the  country  from  being  a  Dead  Sea  district,  but  places  a  greater  burden 
upon  the  Nation  than  if  it  were  still  a  wilderness. 

The  Mormons  and  Salt  Lake  City  constitute  an  Eastern  civilization 
within  a  Western,  the  Prophet  having  very  much  the  same  visions  as 
Mohammed,  in  order  to  launch  upon  the  world  a  "reformed"  marriage 
system.  The  difference  was  that  Mohammed's  tendency  was  to  limit, 
and,  if  anything,  to  reduce  the  number  of  wives. 

The  ingenious  methods  of  irrigation  by  which  the  clear  water  of 
a  mountain  stream  flows  along  both  sides  of  the  broad  city  streets, 
and  the  orchards  and  gardens  which  smile  from  every  yard,  might 
lead  the  traveler  to  believe  that  he  had,  in  truth,  blundered  upon  a 
country  of  the  Moors.  Even  the  gigantic  tabernacle,  with  an  inverted 
bowl  resting  upon  pillars  for  a  roof,  has  an  Eastern  air  to  it.  Many  of 
the  houses  are  of  one  story,  with  separate  entrances  for  the  different 
wives.  They  are  built  of  adobe,  or  mud,  and  not  materially  different 
from  the  huts  of  the  Egyptian  Mohammedans.  Public  schools  are  more 
at  a  discount  than  they  are  in  Turkey,  education  being  synonomous 
with  Mormonism.  There  is  a  large  Gentile  element —  probably  a  third 
of  the  population  —  but  in  the  conduct  of  public  affairs  the  Latter-Day 
Saints  completely  overshadow  it. 

Besides  its  Tabernacle  and  stupendous  temple  block,  erected  at  a 
cost  of  $10,000,000,  Salt  Lake  City  has  many  imposing  public  edifices 
and  private  residences.      But  the  chief  object  in  going  to  -Salt  Lake  City 


SALMON'    FISIIIXG.  IO25 

is  not  SO  much  to  see  a  large,  refreshing  settlement  in  a  desert,  as  to  see 
a  Mormon  city —  the  City  of  the  Saints  upon  the  banks  of  the  Jordan. 

THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER. 

A  short  distance  from  the  northern  bend  of  the  Bear  River,  which 
flows  into  Salt  Lake,  the  Upper  Snake  River  takes  a  grand  sweep 
toward  the  west,  on  its  way  to  join  the  Columbia,  in  Washington  Terri- 
tor)'.  In  this  portion  of  its  violent  passage  through  Southeastern  Idaho 
the  river  casts  itself  over  several  steep  precipices,  the  falls  being  com- 
pared to  those  of  the  Yosemite  and  Niagara;  the  last  noteworthy  one 
called  the  Great  Falls,  being  especially  compared  to  the  cataract  of  the 
East.  Above  the  falls  the  river  is  divided  by  a  number  of  islands,  and 
descending  with  great  rapidity  the  volume  of  water  is  soon  reunited  and 
pitches  over  a  precipice,  two  hundred  feet,  into  its  bed  below.  The 
river  has  cut  its  channel  through  a  region  of  volcanic  rocks,  whose  per- 
pendicular walls  stand  hundreds  of  feet  above  the  water,  and  in  places 
its  tributaries,  which  run  down  from  the  mountains,  have  worn  their  way 
beneath  the  strata  of  lava  rocks  and  come  spouting  out  of  the  sides  of 
the  canon  into  the  main  stream. 

The  Snake  River  flows  north  between  Idaho  and  Oregon,  being 
navigable  below  the  falls  to  the  Powder  River,  which  it  receives  from 
the  Oreeon  side.  For  one  hundred  miles  farther,  or  to  the  Washington 
boundary  line,  the  river  rushes  over  stones  and  through  gorges  at  almost 
railroad  speed.  At  the  little  town  of  Lewiston  steamers  are  found 
lying  at  their  docks  which  have  ascended  from  the  Columbia  River. 

From  the  point  where  the  Snake  and  Columbia  join  forces  the  cur- 
rent is  powerful,  and,  broken  by  cascades  and  cataracts,  continues  its 
wild  career  between  perpendicular  walls  of  rock.  The  limit  of  naviga- 
tion for  small  steamers  is  Cascade  City,  where  the  Columbia  forces  its 
way  through  the  Cascade  range  of  mountains.  Fifty  miles  below,  the 
ocean  steamers  lie  at  the  wharves  of  Vancouver,  115  miles  from  the 
mouth  of  the  river,  where  the  noble  body  of  water  is  a  mile  from  bank  to 
bank.  The  effect  of  the  ocean  tide  is  seen  at  the  cascades,  at  Cascade 
City,  but  the  current  of  the  river  is  so  powerful  that  water  dipped  from 
it  at  Vancouver  is  fresh  and  pure. 

SALMON   FISHING. 

During  the  summer  and  early  fall,  when  the  vast  shoals  of  salmon 
are  ascending  the  streams  to  spawn,  the  Columbia  River  is  a  scene  of 
great  activity  —  activity  both  on  the  part  of  the  fish  and   the  fishermen, 

65 


I026  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

for  a  salmon  will  stem  the  strong  current  and  surmount  a  cascade 
which  is  fourteen  or  fifteen  feet  in  height.  The  females  ascend  first, 
the  males  following.  They  spawn  late  in  the  autumn,  most  of  them 
returning  to  the  sea  before  cold  weather  sets  fairly  in.  Hundreds  of 
fishermen,  with  rods,  lurk  for  the  delicate  fish  at  the  foot  of  the  water- 
falls and  rapids,  and  the  violence  of  the  water  does  not  detract  from  the 
advantageousness  of  the  locality  ;  for  if  the  cascade  can  be  leaped  the 
salmon  will  make  any  number  of  attempts  to  reach  higher  water.  By 
night  the  rivers  for  hundreds  of  miles  are  lit  up  by  torches,  which  guide 
the  boats  of  the  spearing  fishermen  over  the  restless  waters.  This  is 
perhaps  the  most  exciting  of  fishing  sports,  Indians  and  white  men  vic- 
ing with  each  other  in  the  chase.  The  fisheries,  however  —  those 
which  produce  the  bulk  of  the  canned  salmon  which  is  sent  from  the 
northwestern  districts  of  the  United  States  and  from  British  Columbia — - 
are  generally  conducted  at  the  mouths  of  rivers,  by  means  of  gill  nets. 
What  is  considered  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River  is  an  expansion  of 
its  channel  into  a  bay  or  harbor  fully  five  miles  across,  and  here  are  the 
ereat  salmon  fisheries  of  the  West,  the  canninsjf  establishments  and 
other  evidences  of  the  prosperity  of  this  extensive  industry.  The  chief 
point  for  the  shipment  of  salmon  is  Portland,  a  beautiful  little  city  on  a 
branch  of  the  Columbia  River  in  (3re!2'on,  fiowintr  from  the  south 
between  the  Cascade  Mountains  and  the  ocean. 

Oregon  has  a  few  fertile  valleys,  but  her  chief  features  are,  in  the 
east,  a  desert  of  sand,  ashes  and  lava  terraces,  and  in  the  west,  dense  for- 
ests of  pine,  fir,  cedar,  maple  and  ash,  which  creep  up  the  steep  sides  of 
the  mountain  chains  to  the  perpetual  snow  fields  at  their  summits.  The 
climate  of  Oreeon  is  variable,  but  that  west  of  the  Cascade  rancje  is  more 
like  that  of  California. 

THE  GOLDEN  STATE. 

The  climate  of  California  is  also  variable,  the  two  lofty  mountain 
ranges,  which  traverse  the  State  northwest  and  southeast,  and  the  natural 
differences  of  temperature  occasioned  by  the  degrees  of  latitude  over 
which  California  stretches,  produce  many  varieties  of  climate  I  n  the  Kla- 
math Valley,  Northern  California,  there  is  sometimes  sleighing  during  a 
month  of  the  year,  and  some  of  the  mining  towns  of  the  Sierra  Nevada 
fight  with  Colorado  drifts.  In  the  interior  valleys,  such  as  the  Sacramento 
and  Colorado,  which  are  shut  away  from  the  ocean  breezes  by  the  Coast 
range,  the  dry  heat  sends  the  mercury  as  high  as  120  degrees.  Yet,  as 
a  rule,  the  summers  of  California  are  cool  and  the  winters  warm,  and 


SAN    FRANCISCO.  IO27 

although,  even  on  the  coast,  the  temperature  may  vary  30  degrees  in 
twenty-four  hours,  the  mean  temperature  of  the  winter  and  tlie  summer 
montlis  will  differ  but  a  little.  The  nights  are  always  cool,  whether  they 
are  passed  on  the  coast  or  away  from  it. 

But  the  climate,  which  has  made  California  a  western  heaven  to  the 
weary  and  sick,  is  that  delicious  product  of  ocean,  sun,  mountain  and 
valley  which  hovers  over  the  land  south  of  San  I'rancisco.  I'or  six  or 
ten  months  of  the  year  steady  winds  blow  from  the  ocean,  and  they  are 
always  warm  and  drj-.  Roses  bloom  and  trees  are  green  the  year  through. 
In  the  San  Joaquin  Valley,  and  along  the  coast  at  Santa  Barbara,  Los 
Angeles,  San  Diego,  and  other  localities,  frost  is  a  fearful  dream.  The 
tropics  are  brought  to  America  without  their  miasmas,  unwholesome 
vapors,  serpents  and  uncouth  beasts.  The  vineyards  of  F"rance,  the 
pomegranates  of  India,  the  cypress,  the  orange  and  the  lemon  groves 
stretch  down  the  valleys  and  up  the  hill-sides,  encircle  houses  and  villages 
and  venture  with  their  wealth  of  color  and  fragrance  into  lawns  and 
gardens.  There  are  fat  ilocks  of  sheep  in  a  thousand  valleys  and  crop- 
ping the  tender  grass  of  a  thousand  hills.  Even  the  autumn  winds  do 
not  need  to  be  tempered  to  them.  The  wheat  fields  of  California  are 
other  gold  mines,  while  the  splendid,  happy,  cultured  people  who  find 
their  way  to  her  smallest  and  her  newest  towns,  make  stronger  her  claim 
to  the  title  of  the  Golden  State.  The  riches  of  the  temperate  zone  flow 
from  the  valley  of  the  Sacramento,  in  Northern  California,  and  the  pro- 
fusion of  the  tropics  swells  from  the  valleys  of  the  Pacific  and  San 
Joaquin,  in  the  south. 

SAN  FRANCISCO. 

The  San  Joaquin  and  the  Sacramento  rivers  are  supposed  to  be 
all  that  remain  of  an  inland  sea  whose  bed  was  between  the  Sierra 
Nevada  and  the  Coast  ranges.  Flowing  through  the  State  from  opposite 
directions  they  meet  and  force  their  way  through  the  intervening  barrier 
to  San  Francisco  Bay.  Sacramento,  the  state  capital,  is  north  of  this 
point  of  juncture.  It  is  protected  from  the  river,  which  sometimes  rises 
twenty  feet,  by  a  levee.  Sacramento  is  well  worth)-  of  such  protection,  if 
for  no  other  reason  than  on  acc:y,int  of  the  state  capitol,  which  with  its 
beautiful  grounds  covers  eighteen  acres  of  land. 

But  the  starting  point  from  which  to  visit  the  natural  wonders  of 
California  should  be  San  Francisco,  one  of  the  metropolitan  prodigies  of 
the  country  and  the  age.  At  the  time  of  the  gold  fever  of  1848  it  was 
a  miserable  village  of  1,000  people,  the  houses  being  built  upon  low 
sandy  hills  lying  at  the  foot  of  steep  and  lofty  elevations,  into  which  run 


I028 


PANORAMA    OV    NATIONS. 


deep  ravine?.  In  front  of  the  principal  settlement  was  a  cove,  contain- 
ing forty  feet  of  water,  and  extending  one-half  mile  inland.  With  the 
gold  excitement  came  the  emigration  overland  and,  by  sea,  from  the 
world  over,  so  that  great  ships  rode  at  anchor  in  tlu;  cove.  But  the  hills 
were  thrown  into  the  gullies,  and  the  cove  and  broad,  paved  streets  have 
taken  the  place  of  the  ocean's  waters.    San  Francisco  stands  upon  a  sandy 


A  SPECIMEN  ROOM. 

and  rocky  peninsula,  at  the  Golden  Gate  of  the  Golden  State,  a  magni- 
ficent city  of  400,000  people!  Like  New  York  she  has  extended  her 
territory  to  several  islands  of  the  noble  bay,  having  also  reached  out  into 
the  ocean  for  thirty  miles  and  taken  a  plat  of  land  into  her  domain. 
The  lofty  hills  which  overlooked  the  miserable  village  of  1848  have  their 
wrinkles  and  irregularities  smoothed  away  and  embrace  the  populous 
sections  of  the  city.  There  is  but  one  road  which  leads  from  the  penin- 
sula out  of  the  city.  - 


SAN    FRANCISCO. 


1029 


But  there  are  attractions  which  might  keep  one  upon  it  for  many  a 
day.  The  Palace  Hotel  is  the  largest  and  handsomest  in  the  world, 
with  superb  appointments.  Two  of  its  nine  stories  are  below  the 
ground  and  the  foundation  walls  are  twelve  feet  thick.  Its  most  strik- 
ing architectural  feature  is  the  court,  roofed  in  with  glass,  guarded 
around  by  handsome  balconies,  accessible  from  every  room  of  the 
hotel.     The  banks,  theatres  and  public  buildings  are  on  a  par  with  the 


g;Ji2Cf'-.-.  z^- 


CARMEL  MISSION. 

Palace  Hotel.  Not  far  from  the  great  business  centers  of  the  city  are 
French,  Spanish,  Mexican,  Italian  and  Chinese  quarters.  The  latter  is 
especially  one  of  San  Francisco's  drawing  cards.  In  this  American  city 
the  Chinese  theatres  and  the  temples,  with  Buddhist  and  Taouist  idols, 
are  fac  similes  of  those  found  in  the  parent  country. 

Opposite  to  the  Chinese  rookeries  and  gambling  and  smoking  dens 
are  the  palaces  of  the  bonanza  and  the  railroad  kings,  on  "  Nob  Hill," 
California  street.  The  cable  road  ascends  the  elevation  and  the  sight 
is  well  worth  the  ride  —  this  sight  of  the  palaces  of    the  West,  some  of 


1030  PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 

them  among  the  most  costly,  without,  and   the  most  luxuriously  fur- 
nished in  the  country. 

The  suburbs  of  San  Francisco  recompense  one  for  its  unattractive 
site,  the  drives  along  the  bay  and  ocean  affording  marine  views  of  sur- 
passing magnificence,  in  which  hundreds  of  seals  snorting  and  gliding  in 
the  sparkling  waters  or  basking  on  the  rocks  form  a  unique  feature.  In 
an  outer  district  of  the  city  is  the  adobe  church  of  the  old  Catholic  Mis- 
sion, built  in  177S.      Adjoining  it  are  other  buildings  nearly  as  old. 

OLD  CATHOLIC  MISSIONS. 

From  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  those  of  the  Pacific, 
through  Texas,  New  Mexico,  Arizona  and  California,  are  strewed 
remains  of  Spanish  civilization,  in  which  Catholicism  held  a  leading 
part.  Some  of  the  ancient  cathedrals,  with  their  heavy  walls,  square 
towers,  arched  bodies  and  mosque-like  domes,  present  striking  character- 
istics of  Spanish-Moorish  architecture.  One  of  the  grandest  ruins  of  the 
Mission  buildings  are  those  of. San  Jose,  near  San  Antonio,  Texas,  and 
one  of  the  most  picturesque  those  at  Monterey,  eighty-five  miles  south 
of  San  Francisco,  on  the  coast.  The  town,  which  is  decrepit  and  sta- 
tionary, was  the  capital  of  California  previous  to  the  rise  of  San  Francisco, 
and  Carmel  Mission  was  the  center  of  great  religious  activity. 

NATURE'S  WONDERS. 

From  the  petrified  forest  north  of  San  Francisco — about  seventy 
miles — to  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains,  causes  for  wonder  and  admiration 
spring  up  at  every  step  ;  but  as  the  range  throws  out  its  advance  guards 
in  the  shape  of  foot-hills,  the  stupendous  curiosities  come  thick  and  fast. 
In  the  very  region  of  those  mammoth  oaks  whose  areas  are  those  of  fair- 
sized  houses  and  whose  heights  are  those  of  great  cathedrals- — 30  feet 
through  and  350  feet  high  —  we  approach  the  panorama  of  the  Yosem- 
ite  Valley,  which  only  requires  Mount  Shasta,  standing  sentinel  at  its 
entrance,  to  be  to  the  Sierra  Nevadas  what  the  Yellowstone  Park  is  to 
the  Rocky  Mountains — the  essence  of  their  character.  The  enchanted 
and  enchanting  region  has  been  transferred  to  paper  and  canvas 
so  many  times  that  the  long  Bridal  Veil,  caught  by  the  trees  at  the  base 
of  the  cliff,  its  ui>per  part  swaying  with  every  breeze  ;  the  cathedral 
of  granite  which  needs  no  bell  to  call  to  the  worship  of  its  three 
thousand  feet  of  massive  architecture  ;  the  granite  Spires  and  Senti- 
nels ;  tlie  Virgin's  Tears  opposite  the  Bridal  Veil,*which  fall  a  thousand 
feet  to    the  base  of  an  adamant  wall;   and  beyond  them  all  the  Yosejn- 


THROUGH    TO    THK    MISSISSIPPI. 


103  c 


ite  Fall  which,  with  two  brief  rests,  makes  a  plunge  of  2,600  feet — all 
these,  and  the  tints  of  the  sky  lying  like  a  shell  behind  the  grayish- 
white  rocks,  have  made  Yosemite  Valley  not  the  property  of  California 

but  of  a  universe  of  enthusiasts.      It 
S^^W  is  not  only  the  Valley  of    the  Gods 
but   the    Valley    of    the    Angels    of 
Light. 

Throughout  nearly  the  entire 
length  of  the  Yosemite  one  walks  as 
if  on  a  Brussels  carpet,  but  the  figures 
are  real  Bowers  and  shrubs.  They 
creep  to  the  very  feet  of  the  stately 
pines  which  fringe  the  valley  ;  then 
come  the  cliffs  towering  into  the  fra- 
grant air  and  the  bright  sky,  throw- 
ing and  scatterinij  the  litrht  from  their 
veined  sides,  which  are  often  colored 
and  mapped  into  stupendous  geogra- 
phies by  the  waters  coursing  from 
their  summits  to   their     foundations. 


THROUGH  TO  THE  MIS- 
SISSIPPI. 

A   straight  line  drawn  from  Sac- 
ramento   to    the     Mississippi     River 
would  fall  about  ten  miles  south  of  St. 
Louis,  and  if  the  State  of    California 
were  placed  on  its  banks  it  would  lay 
from  near  Vicksburcr  to  the  northern 
boundary  of  Illinois. 
Commencing   the    journey  eastward    from    Southern 
California  the  most  interestinsf  route  is  through   Northern 
Arizona    and    New    Mexico,  traversing    the    great  canon 
country  of  the  Colorado    River  and  passing  through  the 
^m    old    .Spanish    settlements  of    Albuquerque,   San   Marcial, 
'^        .Santa   Fe,  etc.,  etc.     Santa   Fe,  is,  in    many  respects,  the 
'<feliti/'a ''^         most  interesting  town   in   America;    it   is  the  oldest,  and 
CATHEDRAL  ROCK.  Joes  uot  desire  to  take  on    any  new    ways.    Its    streets, 
its  houses  entered   by  ladders  at   the   top,  its  brick  and  mud  churches, 
its     Spanish    and    Mexican    costumes,    its    plaza    shaded    with    cotton- 


1032  PANORAMA    OF     NATIONS. 

wood  trees  and  surrounded  by  mercantile  houses  and  the  Gov. 
ernor's  palace  mark  it  as  belonging-  to  the  middle  ages,  as  irreclaim- 
ably  as  any  town  in  old  Brittany,  France.  The  Governor's  palace,  one 
story  in  height,  contains  the  mansion  of  the  chief  executive,  the  legisla- 
tive hall  and  the  court  room.  For  300  years  it  has  been  the  meeting 
place  of  governing  bodies,  being  erected  in  1582.  It  is  the  oldest  build- 
ing in  America.  In  the  northern  portion  of  the  town  are  two  unfinished 
stone  buildings  which  would  have  constituted  the  Territorial  headquar- 
ters, if  Congress  had  not  for  thirty  years  neglected  to  send  on  the  nec- 
essary appropriations  to  complete  them.  Yet  the  streets  of  Santa  Fe 
present  signs  of  animation,  for  the  town  is  the  center  of  Fupplies  for  the 
surrounding  country  and  the  freight  wagons,  oxen  and  donkeys,  or  bure 
ros,  generally  monopolize  the  thoroughfares. 

If  one  has  any  desire  to  taste  the  bitter  and  the  sweet  of  life  on  the 
plains,  from  the  famous  summer  resort  and  springs  of  Las  Vegas,  south- 
east of  Santa  Fe,  he  may  leave  behind  the  border  land  of  the  mountain 
country  and  soon  touch  the  northwestern  rim  of  the  vast  Staked  Plain  of 
Texas.  The  entire  western  portion  of  the  State  is  given  up  to  the  herd- 
ing animals — cattle,  sheep,  horses,  buffalo  and  deer.  Savages,  also,  who 
have  not  tasted  the  delights  of  reservation  life,  scour  the  plains. 

From  Las  Vegas  to  Atchison,  the  Santa  Fe  road  skims  over  the 
northern  plains.  The  journey  from  Kansas  City  to  St.  Louis  b)'  way  of 
the  Missouri  Pacific  is  along  the  southern  bank  of  the  Missouri  River. 
The  unsightly  clay  bluffs  which  stretch  along  the  Kansas  and  Nebraska 
boundaries  are  left  behind  for  bold,  wooded  elevations,  cultivated  and 
Sdorned  with  spacious,  modern  residences. 

SAINT    LOUIS. 

The  metropolis  of  the  Central  Mississippi  Valley,  and  one  of  the 
five  largest  cities  in  the  country,  is  old  and  rich,  dignified  and  prosper- 
ing. It  probably  ranks  third  as  a  manufacturing  city  and  its  wholesale 
trade  extends  into  every  town  of  the  western  countr)-.  St.  Louis  is 
largely  a  German  community  and  its  growth  and  present  financial  condi- 
tion show  the  evidences  of  solid  substance.  The  bridge  which  connects 
it  with  East  St.  Louis,  across  the  Mississippi  River,  is  not  only  an  archi- 
tectural and  engineering"  triumph,  but  has  brought  the  railroad  termini 
to  the  western  shore. 

St.  Louis'  trade  is  national  in  its  scope.  She  is  a  large  grain  market 
and  first  in  the  manufacture  of  llour.  Not  onl)'  do  li\'e  stock  ami  proxis- 
ionspour  into  her  channels  of  trade,  but  as  a  port  of  delivery  in  the  New 


o 


< 

W 
< 


RENEWED    LIFE   OF    THE   SOUTH.  IO33 

Orleans  customs  district,  she  has,  within  the  past  fifteen  years,  become 
the  doorway  through  which  many  foreign  goods  reach  the  people  of  the 
West,  From  the  time  (a  century  and  a  quarter  ago)  that  an  Indian 
trading-post  was  established  on  the  present  site  of  St.  Louis  by  the 
Director-General  of  the  then  Territory  of  Louisiana,  the  city  has  had 
the  most  intimate  connections  with  New  Orleans  and  the  South,  and  is 
one  of  the  leading  cotton  markets. 

The  city  is  built  upon  three  terraces,  the  last  one  rising  200  feet 
above  the  river  level.  It  is  well  and  regularly  built  and  contains  many 
handsome  public  buildings,  residences,  parks  and  boulevards. 

NEW   ORLEANS. 

Down  the  river  by  steamer  to  New  Orleans  would  mean  a  journey 
four  hundred  miles  more  in  length  than  the  trip  from  Chicago  to  New 
York.  The  city  lies  between  the  Mississippi  River  and  Lake  Pontchar- 
train,  in  the  midst  of  a  district  of  swamps  and  lagoons,  being  protected 
from  inundation  by  large  dikes,  or,  as  they  arc  called  in  the  United 
States,  levees.  It  ranks  next  to  New  York  in  its  foreign  commerce,  is 
the  greatest  cotton  market  in  the  country,  and  has  shared  in  the  business 
revival  of  the  South.  Along  its  levee  are  lines  of  cotton  and  sugar 
sheds,  while  its  harbor  shelters  bulky  steamships  from  Cuba,  Florida, 
Philadelphia,  New  York,  Liverpool,  Havre  and  Bremen.  The  populace 
comprises  specimens  of  many  nationalities  and  colors,  the  quaintest  and 
most  concentrated  exhibition  of  New  Orleans'  odd  characters  being 
found  at  the  French  market,  wliich  has  a  world-wide  fame. 

RENEWED  LIFE  OF  THE   SOUTH. 

Within  the  past  few  years  the  country  has  commenced  to  realize 
that  the  South  has  been  neglected  for  the  West.  Tourists  have  traveled 
the  country  ;  have  gone  into  the  mountains  of  North  Carolina  and 
Tennessee,  and  have  rested  at  Asheville,  Chattanooga,  Atlanta,  Savan- 
nah and  Birmingham.  They  have  been  inclined  to  regard  the  cities  of 
the  South  as  so  many  sad  reminiscences,  and  return  to  the  North  and 
the  West,  enthusiastic  over  the  grand  scenery  of  the  Cumberland  Moun- 
tains. The  cotton,  sugar  and  tobacco  plantations  were  changing  hands 
many  of  the  old  southern  mansions  were  falling  into  decay  —  but  what 
remained  were  very  picturesque  and  their  decay  was  like  that  of  mellow 
russet  apples.  The  sportsman,  tourist  and  the  invalid  would  pass  on  to 
Florida  and  sail  on  the  St.  John's  River,  fishing  in  its  waters  and  hunt- 
ing on  its  banks.     They  would  look  up  at  the  lofty  palm,  cypress  and 


10  34 


PANORAMA    OF    NATIONS. 


palmetto  trees,  walk  in  the  orange  groves  and  toil,  with  pleasure,  through 
tangled  beds  of  ivy  and  yellow  jasmines.  Strange  birds,  plants,  shells, 
bulbs  and  parasites,  fine  hotels  and  boarding  houses  added  to  the  gener- 
ally-expressed opinion  that  as  a  dead  or  dying  land,  in  which  to  be 
refreshed  and  amused,  the  South  was  superb. 

But  a  change  has  come  over  the  spirit  of  such  dreams.  Not  only  is 
fresh  capital  flowing  toward  the  neglected  plantations  of  the  South,  but 
the  mountains  which  cut  the  States  in  two  are  yielding  up  their  coal 
deposits  and  rich  ores.  Chattanooga,  Birmingham,  Atlanta,  and  so  on 
to  the  sea,  are  springing  into  a  brisk  manufacturing  life.  Land  specu- 
lators whose  toes  were  always  turned  westward  are  scattering  through  the 
iron  districts  of  the  Southern  States.  They  may  not  be  a  desirable 
addition  to  the  population,  but  are  like  straws  which  show  that  the 
wind  lies  in  a  favorable  quarter.  The  friendly  relations  between  north- 
ern and  southern  capitalists,  between  northern  and  southern  littera- 
teurs—  the  hearty  after-dinner  speeches  which  Georgia  makes  upon  the 
soil  of  Massachusetts  —  the  meeting  of  the  Blue  and  the  Gray  upon  the 
battle-fields  of  the  war  to  consecrate  monuments  to  the  brave  of  either 
household- — all  these,  and  many  more  evidences  of  a  returning  brother- 
hood point  not  only  to  a  new  era  for  the  South  but  for  the  North. 


FINIS. 


iT7    1975 


THIS  Pr  -.Tj-  Ts 


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